The Big Adventure_ would be one of the most iconic science fiction movies of all time. When it was released on Christmas Eve 1953, _Forbidden Planet_ had a budget of $750,000, the most expensive movie yet produced in Hollywood. The movie was shot at the RKO studios on an estimated budget of $2.5 million. It featured special effects and sets by special effects director William Cameron Menzies. The production cost a total of $4.5 million and went three times over budget. There had been several previous attempts to bring H. G. Wells' _The War of the Worlds_ to the screen. This 1938 radio show was dramatized in an abridged 90-minute film released in 1953. The movie featured Rod Taylor and Barbara Rush as an interracial couple running from a Martian invasion, but the low-budget film was considered to be one of the worst ever made in Hollywood. In 1951, NBC made a half-hour television drama based on H. G. Wells' book. With a script by John Campbell and teleplay by Gene L. Coon, the film starred Leslie Nielsen as Professor Potter and Darren McGavin as Dr. Ebling. In 1953, an ABC radio dramatization featured John Hoyt as Professor Potter and Orson Bean as the captain of the _Arkham_. This version was adapted for the screen by George Worthing Yates. Yates had adapted the screenplay for George Pal's _War of the Worlds_ , which was released in 1953 as a motion picture. The popularity of the radio and television versions made this movie an instant hit. The movie grossed more than $3 million in its first three months. It cost $700,000, and with the return of its profits, the picture had made $3.8 million by the end of 1954. It was a smash hit, making a profit of $1.5 million. The movie was made for television by ABC Television for a reported budget of $250,000. The film's success led to other science fiction movies in the 1950s, including _Them_ (1954), _It Came from Outer Space_ (1956), _Creature from the Black Lagoon_ (1954), _The Black Scorpion_ (1957), and _The Blob_ (1958). Science fiction in the 1950s reflected how technology would change society. By 1957, the average weekly number of American families with television sets jumped from 39 million to 74 million. The H. G. Wells novel _The War of the Worlds_ was no longer speculative; it was about real life. A _Time_ magazine cover story on science fiction in 1958 cited its popularity with readers as evidence of how successful science fiction had become. Science fiction had finally arrived. In December 1953, the U.S. Postal Service issued a stamp in honor of H. G. Wells. The stamp was printed with the title of _War of the Worlds_. This stamp was the most popular stamp issued by the USPS in the twentieth century. In the world of 1950s science fiction, the biggest stars were not the actors, but the director and special effects man. The two men who were behind _The War of the Worlds_ were the production's two most important figures. They would be remembered for their innovations that changed special effects. George Pal was born in 1906 in Austria-Hungary. He immigrated to Canada in 1934, and then to the United States. His father moved the family back to Europe after the outbreak of war, where George enrolled in art school in Vienna. In 1930, his father died of cancer, and two years later, George's mother died of cancer. He decided to travel around Europe to complete his education, before he started to work in the movie business in 1937. George Pal's first job was working as an assistant to special effects director Willis O'Brien on the movie _King Kong_ (1933), where he assisted O'Brien in the special effects, including the creation of Kong. Pal returned to Los Angeles, where he met producer Jules Buck, and joined Buck's special effects company. George created the special effects for the movie _Destination Moon_ (1950). _Destination Moon_ opened in late 1951. It was adapted from the pulp magazine story "Moon over Miami," by Fletcher Pratt, and was a story of the first lunar landing. Buck's company made special effects for _Destination Moon_ and it was the film's biggest hit. It was the first in a series of science fiction movies for which Pal would create the special effects. Buck would become an important film production designer for special effects artists including George Pal. Pal had been asked to direct _King Kong_ after Jack Arnold, the director, had a heart attack. Arnold was forced to leave directing _War of the Worlds_. Since Pal had already been hired to direct the picture, he stepped into the director's chair. The choice to direct _War of the Worlds_ proved to be one of the smartest decisions of George Pal's career. The director was in the right place at the right time. The special effects had become a hot commodity in Hollywood. There were several science fiction movies at the time that showed special effects. However, it was _It Came from Outer Space_ that caught the public's attention. _It Came from Outer Space_ was released in February 1953. The film had been adapted by Gene L. Coon from Ray Nelson's original story. The movie was adapted into a movie of the week by director Jack Arnold. It starred Richard Carlson and Barbara Rush. At the end of its run, _It Came from Outer Space_ was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Special Effects. It was George Pal's idea to make special effects the focus of the film and to use his work in other science fiction movies. He used the special effects process to create dramatic suspense. He employed a process that simulated the realistic special effects seen on television. His goal was to use the special effects to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. He wanted the audience to never know when a meteorite would strike, or when a giant dinosaur would start eating the characters. His decision to use actual footage from the _War of the Worlds_ radio show was a publicity move. The film made use of actual segments from the program. Pal used the special effects crew that had worked on _It Came from Outer Space_ in the movie. They put on a spectacle in the same manner as seen on the TV screen. George Pal himself was one of the special effects crew. He took an active role in designing the visual effects for _War of the Worlds_. It was the beginning of the practice of the special effects artist serving as the director. The special effects helped the movie's box office record. _War of the Worlds_ was, without question, one of the most profitable movies to hit theaters. It cost $750,000 and grossed over $2.5 million in its first month. _War of the Worlds_ became a major success in the science fiction genre. The novel _The War of the Worlds_ became a major inspiration for future works. With George Pal and Orson Welles at its helm, science fiction was on the rise. With _War of the Worlds_ , George Pal had made science fiction a commercial success. Many other science fiction films followed the success of this movie. The effects from the movie were popularized with a _Mad_ magazine cover in the March 1958 issue, which showed a man being run over by a meteorite. A similar image would be used in the next science fiction movie. The success of _The War of the Worlds_ led to similar films. It was this success that would make H. G. Wells' _War of the Worlds_ a legendary work of literature and popular culture. Science fiction would come to dominate the cultural landscape of the 1950s. The novel _The War of the Worlds_ proved to be an inspiration for other works of science fiction that would inspire a generation. In its first year of release, _The War of the Worlds_ sold a total of 1,000,000 copies. The publication of the novel created a series of imitators, including science fiction movies. Science fiction would continue to have many imitators. Science fiction films and television shows would become more prevalent in the 1950s. These were often movies and television shows that were adapted from the short stories and novels of H. G. Wells. _Destination Moon_ was the first movie of the science fiction genre to be adapted as a television show. In 1953, Universal Studios produced a successful television show based on the movie _Them!_ Universal had also bought the rights to _The War of the Worlds_ from George Pal, and the rights to George Pal's special effects team from RKO Pictures. Universal had the rights to turn George Pal's original story into a film or into a television show. With the movie and the television show about to be shown to audiences, Universal had a chance to turn H. G. Wells' classic novel into a sci-fi show. The science fiction radio show was transformed into a feature film. The film was released to theaters in 1957. _The War of the Worlds_ proved to be a resounding hit, and the success of the picture would allow Universal to create other science fiction programs. In this era of television, science fiction had