1954 in science fiction

The year 1954 was marked, in science fiction, by the following events.

Births and deaths

Births

• Iain M. Banks (d. 2013)
• Marek Baraniecki
• Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
• Paul Di Filippo
• Colin Greenland
• Marek Huberath
• Kazuo Ishiguro
• Michael P. Kube-McDowell
• Shariann Lewitt
• James D. Macdonald
• Ken MacLeod
• Victor Milán (d. 2018)
• John J. Miller (d. 2022)
• Melanie Rawn
• Joel Rosenberg (d. 2011)
• Richard Paul Russo
• Bruce Sterling
• Marc Stiegler
• J. Michael Straczynski
• Mark W. Tiedemann
• James Van Pelt
• Lawrence Watt-Evans
• David Wingrove

Deaths

• Alexander Abasheli (b. 1884)
• Alpheus Hyatt Verrill (b. 1871)

Literary releases

• Donald Tuck publishes Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy, which is still used as a reference resource for scholars of science fiction.

Novels

Further information: Category:1954 science fiction novels

• Brain Wave by Poul Anderson, Earth's inhabitants become super-intelligent when the planet leaves a restrictive energy field.
• The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov, a detective and a robot partner solve a murder in a futuristic city.
• The Forgotten Planet by Murray Leinster, survivors adapt to a planet overrun by giant insects and plants.
• I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, the last human battles vampires in a post-apocalyptic world.
• Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, a human and an alien collaborate on a high-gravity planet to recover a lost probe.
• The Star Beast by Robert A. Heinlein (juvenile), a boy discovers his pet is an alien royalty, leading to interstellar diplomacy.
• The Stars Are Ours! by Andre Norton, survivors of an oppressive regime escape Earth to settle on a new planet.
• The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron (children's book), children travel to a hidden planet and help its inhabitants solve a crisis.

Short stories

• "The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin
• "The Father-thing" by Philip K. Dick
• "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester

Movies

Main article: List of science fiction films of the 1950s

Title	Director	Cast	Country	Subgenre/Notes
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Richard Fleischer	Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas	United States	Adventure Drama Family Fantasy
Creature from the Black Lagoon	Jack Arnold	Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno	United States	Horror
Devil Girl from Mars	David MacDonald	Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Adrienne Corri	United Kingdom	Horror
Godzilla (a.k.a Gojira)	Ishirō Honda	Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Takashi Shimura	Japan	Horror Kaijū
Gog	Ivan Tors	Richard Egan, Constance Dowling, Herbert Marshall	United States	Drama Horror Romance Thriller
Killers from Space	W. Lee Wilder	Peter Graves, Barbara Bestar, James Seay, Frank Gerstle	United States	Horror Mystery
Monster from The Ocean Floor	Wyott Ordung	Anne Kimball, Stuart Wade, Dick Pinner	United States	Horror
Riders to the Stars	Richard Carlson	William Lundigan, Herbert Marshall	United States	Drama
The Rocket Man	Oscar Rudolph	Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Anne Francis, John Agar, George Winslow	United States	Comedy Famille
The Snow Creature	W. Lee Wilder	William Phipps	United States	Horror
Stranger From Venus	Burt Balaban	Patricia Neal, Helmut Dantine, Derek Bond	United States
Target Earth	Sherman A. Rose	Richard Denning, Kathleen Crowley, Virginia Grey	United States	Horror
Them!	Gordon Douglas	James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness	United States	Horror
Tobor the Great	Lee Sholem	Charles Drake, Karin Booth, Billy Chapin	United States	Adventure Family

Awards

The Hugo Awards were not held this year.

See also

• 1954 in science