Track of the Moon Beast

This is one of those movies that is often panned as a “worst movie ever.” Track of the Moon Beast (TMB) is certainly a low-B indie production with a third-tier cast, but other “worst” films suffer more. Filmed in 1972, but released in 1976, did not help. Chase Cordell, who usually played bit parts like “Officer” or “Man #1” got his starring moment in TMB as the poor mineralogist named Paul who gets stricken by the moon chunk. Leigh Drake co-stars as his eye candy love interest, Kathy. Drake played in only two other films, as “dispatcher” and “officer”. Just about everyone involved, from producers to grips, were among the little nobodies of the movie industry. But, they all got together to make themselves a movie.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A huge meteorite collides with the moon. This impact sends billions of moon bits spraying off into space. Some fall into earth’s atmosphere. Watching the meteor shower is Paul, a mineralogist working the mountains, and his instant girlfriend, Kathy, a photographer. A tiny meteor fragment hits Paul in the head, leaving only a small scratch. They go to “his place” (actually, he lives with his mother, but she’s away). There is kissing. The next day, they attend a geology conference. Near one of the moon rocks, Paul feels sick. Later, they attend a folk-rock concert, featuring the “hit” song California Lady. Paul feels ill again, so Kathy takes him home. At night, when the full moon rises, Paul turns into a lizard man who likes to kill. He kills a drunk bowler coming home late. The sheriff is stumped by the gruesome deaths, so calls in Johnny Longbow, native american anthropologist. Johnny recounts some indian legends about man hit by lights from the sky, who becomes a lizard man. When Paul doesn’t get better, Johnny takes him to get tests. The X-rays show the fragment in his brain. Later, Paul turns into the Moon Beast again, and kills some campers. More doctors fly in to check out Paul. The fragment has broken up in his brain. Somehow, they just know that Paul will become atomically unstable and spontaneously combust. Paul and Kathy overhear this grim doctor talk. Paul wants to die as a man, not a flaming lizard, so runs away. Kathy covers for him. Unable to buy a shotgun, since there is an APB out for him, Paul goes up into the mountains to throw himself off, or something. Kathy follows him up to the mountains, totally devoted to the man she just met two days ago. Johnny has fashioned an arrowhead from one of the moon fragments, intending to shoot lizard-Paul. The added moon material should hasten the combustion. Kathy pleads for some other alternative that would keep and “Us”. But it’s not to be. Paul becomes the Moon Beast and freaks out Kathy. Johnny shoots lizardPaul. He, and/or the film, glow red for awhile before he is reduced to a small pile of burning paper. Everyone gets in their cars and leaves. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Fans of “so bad it’s good” films will find much to enjoy. The trope of something-turns-him-into-a-beast is tried and true (to the point of being threadbare). Despite being a product of the mid 70s, TMB has a very 50s feel to it. (the low-budget, extra-cheap 50s). And, there's something to be said in favor of Ms. Drake's nice legs.

Cultural Connection
Man’s Inner Monster — The trope is very old. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is an early iteration. The Wolfman in the 1940 and a score of low-budget films in the 50s and 60s. Culturally, there is an expectation that somewhere deep down inside of men, there lurks a monster. That’s what people call a serial killer or molester, or even a major swindler. Inside of mankind IS the capacity to do great evil. Stories like Dr. Jekyll and The Wolfman, et al, seem to be a way for the culture to look (via theatrical abstraction) at the face of that inner evil.

Notes
Wolfman Redux — The writers (Bill Finger and Charles Sinclair) did not work too hard to generate the story. The premise in TMB is essentially that of The Wolfman, but with a less mystical cause. But, in essence, it’s the same problem. Normal human by day, the rising full moon turns him into a monster that likes to kill. Both men, knowing the awful truth about themselves, want to die. To do so, however, takes a special weapon: a silver bullet, or an arrowhead of moon rock.

Amateur Hour — Many film critics kvetch about the low production values of TMB or the bad acting, etc. Granted, it’s not Casablanca, or even The Wolfman, but look at it this way. What if a bunch of people in the lower margins of the movie industry got together to do a movie themselves? An assistant director, Richard Ashe, would get to be The Director this time. Some associate producers on some obscure films would get to produce one of their own. A couple of writers (Finger and Sinclair) who wrote some television episodes, would get to do their own feature film screenplay. A guy who, up until TMB, played only uncredited bit parts or roles like “Man #2”, would get to be THE star. An attractive young folk singer thinks she’d like to try being an actress, gets to be the love interest. A whole bunch of other bit-part actors and actresses would get to play a character with a name! A singer who would have been in heaven to be a “one hit wonder,” gets to sing an entire song in the film. Woohoo! Don’t look at TBM as “bad” movie, but as a group project by a bunch of little nobodies you’ve never heard of, nor would again...but they got together and made a movie!

Worst Actress Ever? — Several critics have scoffed at Leigh Drake as being a terrible actress. Of course she was bad. She wasn't an actress. She was (and still is) a folk singer who may have attracted the producers’ eye (young, blonde, leggy) and said to her, “how would you like to star in a movie?” She should have said no? She gave it a shot. Yes, even Cordell (as wooden as he is) does manage to emote better than Drake does. Yes, she delivers her lines more successfully than with feeling, but watch her face, her eyes. She’s trying. She is a folk singer (band named Sugar Magnolia) trying to emote. One might suspect she did not get much help from her director — who had done a few jobs as assistant director in second units on some other obscure small films. “Yeah, Leigh, honey, that’s good enough. Next Scene!” Watch Drake freak out at the ending. The girl is clearly trying. Cut her some slack. Compare her to the two doctors, who may well be actual scientists told to go stand over there and read what’s on this card. TMB is their only film credit, and for obvious reasons.

Attempted Exploitation — For no particularly good reason, Ashe has actor Chase Cordell (Paul) appear rather frequently with his shirt off. Perhaps Ashe thought female viewers would like seeing a bit of amateur beefcake. Hmm. Maybe. For obvious reasons, Ashe has Leigh Drake appear only in very short skirts or shorts. Drake has nice legs and long legs, so Ashe sets up scenes and angles to show them off. They are almost more of the co-star than Drake herself. Clearly, the leggy exposure was expected to appeal to male viewers. There is a bit of attempted gore (ripping off a camper’s arm, etc.) but done so quickly and dimly (as befitting a small budget), that it would have little appeal to those who like that sort of thing. Ashe tried to jazz up the blandness of the script he had to work with. Chase’s chest and Leigh’s legs just weren’t enough. Lame lines are still lame lines.

Rock On — As thin as it is, the rationale behind the story, is that somehow moon rocks have an energy affinity for one another. While they’re on the moon together, all is peaceful and calm. But if separated, the moon rocks (somehow) transmit/attract energy from each other. Hence the fragment in Paul’s brain, when energized by the appearance of the full moon (the mother rock), causes him to mutate into a lizard man. Why not a squid man or an adorable puppy man, is never explained. Apparently, it’s just something innate in human DNA (our latent lizard-ness?), since it happened before to the indians. Paul was not a fluke, but a repeat.

Telltale Bumpers -- Proof that TMB was filmed earlier than '76 can be seen in all the cars that appear in the film.
They are all '71 or '72 Plymouth models. Note that they have the tidy little bumpers. Starting with 1974 models, (then) new crash impact laws required beefier bumpers. Since the tooling for most car platforms had a five year life cycle (or more), the expedient solution was to graft on honkin' huge chrome slabs.  These are what made '74-'76 models so, um, charming. Later refreshes of  model styling would absorb the honkin' huge impact absorbers to give absurdly large front and rear overhangs. The "charm" of late-70s, early-80s models. Newer materials would eventually let cars look a bit less absurd while fulfilling the law.

Bottom line? TMB is low-rent entertainment. It isn’t particularly sci-fi. It does take the semi-mystical premise of The Wolfman and try to give it more of a scientific spin. Moon Rocks, with a propensity to beam energy to each other…sometimes. Don’t expect a good movie. It will help. Expect an amateur production on a very low budget and at least give them some credit for trying.

Stowaway to the Moon

This first sci-fi film of 1975 did not have a theatrical release, but was a made-for-TV movie. Stowaway to the Moon (StM) is included in this study because of its affinity to several early 50s sci-fi movies about the dangers of space travel, and that it has Lloyd Bridges and John Carradine in the cast. Both figured in 50s sci-fi. StM is an example of that sub-genre of “hard” science fiction — which features credible technology doing serious science-y things, just with a fictional story line. This time, it’s told as a for-kids movie.

Quick Plot Synopsis
EJ is an 11 year old boy who dreams of being an astronaut. He has devised a plan to sneak aboard an Apollo mission just prior to launch. Dressed as a worker, he gets aboard and hides in a storage bin. The launch takes place, despite computers saying the rocket is 87 pounds overweight. En route to the moon, astronaut Rick discovers EJ in the bin. There is much official hand wringing and ranting about this ruining the mission. This gets subsumed by the popular appeal of a boy in space. And, since they spent all that money and came al that way, they might as well go through with the mission. This proves beneficial since Ben, the Command Module pilot comes down with a bad flu. He’s too sick to continue, so EJ takes over the necessary tasks. The LEM crew, Rick and Dave, go off course and land somewhere lost. Much worry and fret from Houston. EJ eventually spots them. They find their sought-after Genesis Rocks and fly back up. Before they redock, however, EJ turned the wrong valve and vented most of the Command Module’s atmosphere. Rick docks the LEM just in time. The three adults have their space suits for oxygen, etc. EJ must shelter in the LEM on minimum heat and oxygen. Houston works on fixes to stretch the oxygen supply. EJ is losing consciousness, but Ben has him look at the approaching earth and wax poetic about what a wonderful sight it was. That worked. At the last minute before reentry, EJ pressurizes the LEM and rejoins the 3 adults. This gives the Command Module just enough air for re-entry. Cross-fade the fiery re-entry of (something) to a campfire. EJ remembers the nice things the astronauts said about him. Roll credits. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
While predictable enough, the story remains mildly engaging enough. Happily, the writer and director did not make EJ the more-modern-style smarty pants kid. Instead, he’s portrayed (and acted) more believable. For those who grew up in the Apollo era, all of the stock footage and references will have nostalgia value.

Cultural Connection
Waning Moon — The Apollo program had wrapped up by the time this movie came out. Apollo 17, the last manned moon mission, returned in Decmeber of 1972. This was only two and a half years after the first man on the moon: Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11, July of 1969. But, by those few short years later, America’s fickle interest in manned moon missions had waned. Where once millions tuned in eager to get any scrap of news about Apollo 11, audiences for Apollo 16 and 17 were small. Some viewers even complained that news coverage of Apollo was cutting into their Brady Bunch or Sanford and Son.

Notes
Based on the Book — Author William Shelton published his novel, “Stowaway to the Moon: The Camelot odyssey” in 1973, the year after the last Apollo mission. The movie follows his plot and mood — that of a fan of the Apollo missions. CBS turned his story into a movie.

Apollo 13 B — StM can be seen as a sort of mild retelling of the Apollo 13 story. That parallel isn’t played very strongly, however. Its more of an overlay atop the precocious-boy-saves-day plot. Charlie asks his team for solutions to the lack of oxygen problem — just like in Apollo 13 — but no clever solution is shown. Things just work out okay.

RXM Revisisted — The presence of Lloyd Bridges invites comparison to the 1950 film, Rocketship X M, in which the 32 year-old Bridges played Col. Floyd Graham, on a rocket bound for the moon, but which goes errant and lands on Mars. There is also a nice affinity for the 1950 classic, Destination Moon which featured a lunar landing mission which runs into trouble, but by pluck and determination, manage to return to earth okay. Even after 20 years, the story thread still had some legs.

Star Gazing — In addition to Bridges, note another veteran fixture from 50s sci-fi: John Carradine. He gets a small bit part in StM as the backwoods Mr. Avril who does not contribute much to the story beyond supplying the boys with the boat they used to sneak into the launch site. Carradine played in such 50s B-flims as Incredible Petrified World, The Unearthly (’57), and Cosmic Man (’59). His role as Avril was more of a cameo than anything.

Security? What Security? — The portrayal of NASA security in StM was lax and loose, even by the real standards of the day. After all, it was still the Cold War era. But the extremely casual approach to security in the movie can strike 21st century viewers as bizarre. People are able to boat up to drains under the barbed wire fence? All those security cameras, and the guys watching them just nonchalantly guess who an unidentified (and obviously too small) person is? No one is actually watching the capsule? The security gate is a purely voluntary stop? (no gate). Yes, the 70s were a milder, gentler time, but not THAT mild and gentle. After all, there were school shootings, hijackings and the Munich Massacre at the 1972 Olympic games. (The "good ol' days" weren't always that good)

Boy-O-Vision — For viewers who snark at the naivety and simplicity of the story, consider that it could “have all been a dream.” The whole story could be what EJ imagines as he’s sitting in the capsule exhibit at the NASA visitor center in the movie's first scene. As a boy’s daydream, things would naturally be simpler and a bit naive. Instead of snarking, look at StM as the vision of a space program fanboy — and a young one.

God, Before He Was un-PC — Interesting to 21st century ears are the references to God by the crew and EJ. When EJ is marveling at the moon, he summarizes the amazingness with “compliments of the Creator.” EJ and Ben talks about home as the “land of milk and honey”, both acknowledging that it was read to them from the Bible. When EJ is rhapsodizing about how beautiful the earth would look to pioneers looking for a home, he says, “This is the one God picked out for us,” the land of milk and honey. With the 21st century’s tyranny by apoplectic ACLU lawyers, prime time TV just can’t do such things anymore.

Bottom line? StM isn’t a cerebral film or a fanciful sci-fi. Instead, it’s a juvenile-market “hard” sci-fi for fans of the early 70s NASA world. StM is banal enough and mildly entertaining enough. It’s, perhaps, not worth a great effort to seek out, unless one were a big fan of 60s and 70s NASA missions. But, it’s not bad either.

Moon Zero Two

As a study in contrast, Hammer Films released a space-based sci-fi, Moon Zero Two (MZ2) shortly after it's more-customary Frankenstein film, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. Both played to American audiences in early 1970. Hammer billed it as a moon "western." James Olson stars as Captain William Kemp. He's more famous for his role in The Andromeda Strain. Catherine Schell co-stars. She was more famous for her role as Maya in the mid-70s TV series Space:1999.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Captain Bill Kemp (James Olson) and his partner Korminski pilot their lunar-lander-style space ship up to a dead satellite and retrieve it. They land on the moon to sell for scrap.They encounter some banal bureaucratic red tape. Bill is told by Liz, the head of moon security (and a romantic partner of his) that he is under orders to ground is old ship (Moon Zero Two) because when it breaks down it gives space travel a risky image. The "Corporation" counts of space tourist income. Bill was a famous explorer astronaut who refuses to stoop to being a passenger pilot. A rich (and shifty) man named Hubbard hires Kemp for a profitable, but illegal mission. They fly to a small asteroid of solid sapphire and strop some rocket engines to it. These will alter its orbit so that it will crash on the far side of the moon (that's the illegal part). There it can be mined. When they return to the moon, a pretty young woman named Clementine seeks Bill's help to find her brother. He has a mining claim on the far side but hasn't been heard from. They take his ship to a frontier base, FarSide Five, then a lunar rover ("bug") to her brother's claim. Once there, they find him dead and men shooting at them. Bill subdues them and they return to FarSide Five. Liz is there to arrest Bill for flying while grounded. Hubbard and his goons arrive, shoot Liz and threaten to shoot Clementine if Bill doesn't help steer the astroid down. With Hubbard, goons and hostages aboard his ship, Bill flies to the asteroid. Almost everyone is on the asteroid. While setting the asteroid's rocket engines for a final burn, Bill manages to subdue some goons. He starts the rockets before Hubbard and remaining minion can unclip themselves. Bill jumps free. The asteroid crashes on the brother's claim, so Clementine is now a very wealthy woman. She and Bill trade flirty innuendos and head back to the moon. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
MZ2 is almost tragically dated, as if it were an Austin Powers In Space parody, except the producers were serious. In this, MZ2 is an interesting glimpse of the swinging ethos of the late 60s. Note all the vibrant colors and flamboyant wigs. Then too, there is a fairly fresh (for a re-tread western) plot.

Cultural Take
The overall scenario is that of a western set in space. This isn't totally new. Gene Rodenberry had pitched his Star Trek project as "Wagon Train to the Stars.". Though, Kirk's adventures were not as overtly "western". Still, MZ2 is evidence that space was losing its "terrible unknown" image. With the actual moon landing in 1969, outer space was becoming an extension of human civilization. There might still be monsters, but now there were also petty civil servants, cumbersome regulations, retail stores, bars with dancing girls, mobsters with minions and rowdy miners. Space was starting to look pretty familiar.

Notes
Space Bond -- Captain Bill is written in the James Bond style. He is presumed to be attractive to all women, and he's more than eager to bed any and all. Fortunately for Bill, it appears that outer space will be populated with only attractive women. Even the middle-aged Liz (Adrienne Corri was 39 at the time) looked pretty good in a bikini.

A Nod to Neil -- At one point, Bill points out to Clementine a monument on the moon to the first landing there by Neil Armstrong. MZ2 was released in the UK in October of 1969. They must have been in production when Armstrong landed (ust three months earlier), so stuck in a quick scene.

Pre-Solo -- Captain Bill is a forerunner of the Han Solo type of character. He's capable and courageous, flies an obsolescent ship in need of repairs, and makes his living on gray edges of legality. The writers also shared George Lucas's notion of a "used future" which has been around long enough for OUR shiny-new technology to be cast as jalopies. (Nevermind that the sets all look pretty clean and tidy)

Hammer Shift -- They started out the 50s with some sci-fi, such as The Quatermass Xperiment, but found that Victorian settings and gothic horror tales (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy) were highly profitable. By the late 60s, however, the Victorian gothic thing was less popular (and less profitable). So, it is interesting to see Hammer return to its roots.

Bottom line? MZ2 isn't great, but it's worthwhile B sci-fi entertainment . It has a very dated look and some pretty marginal acting. The special effects are okay at times, less so at others (even by the standards of the day). Yet, beyond the slightly campy womanizing flavor, lurks a taste of the future of sci-fi's gritty vision of the future. The visuals show the influence of Kubrik's 2001 (just on a lesser budget).

Mission Stardust

This German-Italian co-production was originally released with the title 4...3...2...1...Morte! in Italy and Germany in late '67 . The English-dubbed version played in American as Mission Stardust (MS) in November of '68. Based loosely on the Perry Rhodan stories popular in Europe, MS shares the fate of most books (or TV shows) turned into movies. They're too different for hard-core fans to love, and too unusual for the non-initiate to love. MS did make good drive-in fodder, however. There were enough sexual innuendos and hints of voyeurism to appeal to the teenaged drive-in crowd.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A secretive mission to the moon is planned, to check out some unusual metal readings. Major. Perry Rhodan will command, aided by Capt. Mike Bull, Captain Flipper and Dr. Manoli. When they're about to land on the moon, something goes awry and they land far off course. Communications are jammed, so Perry and Mike explore in the Rover. Eventually, they discover a spherical alien craft. A robot ushers them in. They meet two aliens from the planet Arkon -- an old scientist named Crest and the beautiful platinum blonde, Thora. They were on a mission to find a new, young race to interbreed with when they had mechanical trouble. Perry and Thora exchange insults and boasts over superior and inferior beings. Crest is sick with Leukemia. Perry knows an earth doctor with a cure for it. They travel to earth in a miniature version of the sphere ship. They land in east Africa to find Dr. Haggard, but all this is known to a crime boss named Arkin who is arranging to steal the alien ship. Perry and Mike make their way through shady characters to Dr. Haggard and bring him back to the ship. Perry stays behind to stop Arkin's men, but gets captured. All the while, a bombastic army general is obsessed with arresting the aliens, but is prevented by Thora's force field. It turns out that Captain Flipper is one of Arkin's men, so Arkin knows all. Dr. Haggard and his nurses (blonde and shapely, naturally) turn out to be fakes employed by Arkin too. They try to hijack the ship, but Thora releases her robots who zap all the baddies into oblivion. Flipper escapes with Thora as hostage. She is taken to Larkin's secret island base. He threatens her menacingly. Flipper plays with her gadgets, turning on her locator beacon. Perry, Mike and Crest arrive in the pod ship. Mike and Perry burst into Arkin's lair. They free Thora and the real Dr. Haggard. Arkin escapes. Thora blows up the whole island out of angry spite. Arkin, however, somehow followed them aboard and hold them at gunpoint. Perry and Mike move in slowly on Arkin, saying that he can get them all. Arkin gets cowardly in final moments, then falls out an air lock into the cold void of space. The pod is en route to the moon. Back aboard the mother ship, Crest feels all better since the real Dr. Haggard cured his leukemia. Crest would like a treaty between their races, for interbreeding. Mike is keen on being a stud, but Perry and Thora are already making out heavily in the next room. The 'experiment' has already begun. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Spaghetti sci-fi has an off-beat earnestness that is appealing. The special effects and models are classic B sci-fi of the late 50s and early 60s. The plot and action could easily have fit into a secret-agent film, or a western, so it's simple fun. The alien ship models and sets are amusing too.

Cold War Angle
There is little of the Cold War in MS. The plot amounts to a spy-crime-western set in space, with a couple of human "aliens" in the mix.

Notes
Based on the Books -- Elements of the plot were borrowed from the Perry Rhodan sci-fi series of novellas popular in Europe in the early and mid-60s. The books ran through thousands of installments, so Rhodan fans had an enormous story base they lived in. No single movie could live up to that. As often happens in feature film versions of much longer sagas, much had to be condensed or left out. New material (such as the stereotype villain) are added to spice up the action. (Cerebral musing over dark matter and parallel universes works in books, but dies on the screen)

Tough Babe -- The character of Thora is about the only one with any depth. The rest are predictably two-dimensional. Thora is, on the one hand, the feminist ideal of the tough-talking, independent, modern woman. On the other hand, she is pretty easily subdued by various men, knocked out with one punch, and most importantly, melts into love-butter in the arms of the "primative" earthly hunk hero, Rhodan. These latter traits are decidedly old-school "woman" and tend to override her tough feminist portrayals.

Kirk's Ilk -- Later, more "enlightened" cultures would prefer their fictional leaders to have less libido. Compare Star Trek's stoic Picard to babe-magnet Kirk. Yet, Kirk was a man of his times -- square jawed, tough, ready with his fists and equally ready to smooch up the pretty space princesses. Perry Rhodan is a commander in the same zeitgeist. Though his character in MS was fairly flat, all the hallmarks of the archetype were there.

Babe Watch -- Also apparent, and goes hand in hand with the Hunk Captain character, is the woman-as-sexiness character. Even the tough-babe Thora is a platinum blonde, young and curvaceous. She does a shadow striptease just to reinforce the point. (side note: If the Arkons had advanced beyond primitive physicality, why did she bother to dress behind a screen?) The fake doctor's two assistants were tall, young, very blond and curvaceous. Of course, movie makers knew that young men were the larger market for movie tickets, so a bit of pandering is not surprising.

Bottom line? MS is not a particularly "deep" movie. All of its characters are predictable standards. The models, sets and special effects are adequate, but not impressive. The visual style has an italian flavor, reminiscent of the Gamma One films. Yet, at it's heart, MS is a crime drama. The alpha-villain schemes to steal the MacGuffin. Hunky hero stops him and melts the heart of icy leading lady. Rhodan fans may be turned off by the trite. Fans of B sci-fi may simply entertained.

Countdown

There weren't many "Hard" science fiction movies, but the genre was still viable, even in the late 60s with all the real space program action. Countdown was Roger Altman's first feature film as director an starred some A-level actors, such as Robert Duvall and James Caan. Warner Brothers put some A-level effort into Countdown, yet it isn't particularly well known. Told in a semi-drama, semi-documentary style, it is a "Right Stuff" tale of a rushed Plan B moon program. The science-fictional part is not especially strong, given the science-factual state of things in 1968.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Astronauts training in an Apollo simulator have their session ended early. They grumble about it later, but their leader, Chiz (Duvall), knows why. The Pilgrim Program. The Russians will be sending a moon landing mission up in four weeks. The Americans had a secret alternate plan to the Apollo program (Pilgrim) in case this happened. One man would be sent to the moon in a one-way rocket. He would stay on the moon for a few months in a shelter pod launched and landed before him. Later, a manned Apollo mission would come to retrieve him. The equipment is all ready, but the Russians complicated matters by sending up a civilian. Even though Chiz is trained and qualified, he's an Air Force colonel. NASA and the White House insist that an American civilian be their first man. Lee, one of Chiz's crew, is tapped. Chiz is outraged, but agrees to train Lee in the few days they have. Chiz pushes Lee's training hard, half to get him ready, half hoping he'll drop out and Chiz can step in. Lee persists, driven by the same astronaut dream. After a press leak about Pilgrim, the Russians launch a week early. Deflated at not being first, everyone carries on. The shelter pod (a LEM lander) is launched and landed successfully. Lee is launched on schedule. He encounters a power drain malfunction en route which tests his character and hinders radio contact. The Russians have lost contact with their team too. As Lee orbits the moon, he does not see the beacon of the shelter. With only seconds left before he must abort and return to earth he lies about seeing it. Mission control okays his retro burn and he lands. Now all radio contact is lost. Lee gets out of the Gemini lander and walks around. He has just three hours of oxygen in his suit. He finds the crashed Russian lander on its side. The three dead cosmonauts are sprawled around. Everyone on earth is nervously awaiting some news, but get none. Lee takes the Soviet flag from a dead cosmonaut and lays it out on a nearby rock with his own American flag. With little air left and nowhere to go, Lee spins the toy mouse his son gave him. It points stage-right, so he walks that direction. People on earth are losing hope as his time has run out. Lee looks at his watch to see that he has just minutes of air left. A red glow on his arm catches his attention. It is the locator beacon atop the shelter. The happy triumphant music ramps up as Lee walks towards salvation. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The story is a blend of NASA reality (circa the mid 60s) and the Golden Era's imagination of a manned trip to the moon.

Cold War Angle
The Cold War, translated into the Space Race, is very much the driver of the plot. It is the Americans vs. the Russians. An indication of how the Cold War had calmed a bit, post-Cuban-Missiles, was the token of respect shown for the dead cosmonauts. Lee unfurls their soviet flag along with his own American flag.

Notes
New Polish on Old Apple -- There is a nostalgic air to Countdown, despite the "modern" setting and then-current NASA footage. There is a feel of Destination Moon ('50) to it. The Americans send a never-been-tested mission in a semi-desperate effort to get there before the Russians. Troubles are encountered (that's hardly new). A lone American is almost stranded, expected to die on the moon. Ironically, he was not the intended astronaut, but a last-minute draftee. At the last minute, he is saved. The old trope had legs.

Reckless Race -- The background urgency of the Cold War animated the space race. The Americans felt it. The Soviets felt it. In the 1959 soviet sci-fi Nebo Zovyot it was the Americans who recklessly rushed a lander program in order to trump the cooly organized soviets. Countdown has a sort of double twist on the reckless race. The Americans have Apollo, so the Soviets rush a manned program to trump it. The Americans learn of this and implement a rush plan of their own: Pilgrim. When the Soviets learn of Pilgrim they rush their rush plan beyond the safety margin.

Proper Women -- Amid all the personal drama in Countdown, which can approach soap opera levels at times, is the background message of what proper wives of heros should be. This is an interesting exposé on the older social culture -- before "liberation" and the "Me generation" turned life into a selfish free-for-all. The "proper" wife was pretty, trim, polite, and a good mother. Lee's wife, Micky, is the key example. She is all of the above, but when the dangerous truth comes out, she stoically stands by her man.

Alternate Ending? -- An unsubstantiated rumor says that director Robert Altman planned different ending but was overruled by the studio. Altman's later movies, such as M•A•S•H and others, with their grittier, less-happy tones, lend some credence to the rumor. Also supporting the rumor is the vast unlikeliness that Lee would just happen to wander around and stumble upon the shelter lander. Audiences still preferred happy endings. Perhaps it was the studio brass's marketing sense that kicked in. Perhaps it was a sense of national pride kicking in. As America's Apollo program was only a year or so from really landing on the moon, portraying an American go to die on the moon was just too unpatriotic. Whatever the source, the film has its unlikely, but happy ending.

Bottom line? Countdown is weak example of the "Right Stuff" genre. The drama portions play a bit flat and sometimes drag. The old NASA footage (which was cutting edge stuff when the film was released) have some historical interest. From a sci-fi collector's point of view, it is an example of the older style of "hard" science fiction. For non-sci-fi fans, the film isn't riveting, but watchable.

2001: A Space Odyssey

Like the other big movie of 1968 (Planet of the Apes), vast quantities have already been written about Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. As such, this review will not cover everything. 2001 is a huge milestone in sci-fi. It has a few genuflections to its 50s ancestry, but it is the first of the modern sci-fi epics. In it, you can see the foundations of Star Wars and beyond. Yet, 2001 is as enigmatic as it was monumental. With a plot as sweeping as the evolution of man from animal to star child, it is very ambitious. It can be too ambitious and artsy for some.

Quick Plot Synopsis
2001 comes in four distinct "chapters". Here they are in very brief form:
Chapter One: Superchimps -- Dawn comes in earth's ancient past. Clans of chimpanzees graze on plants with other animals. They fight with other chimp clans over a water hole. One night, a big black obelisk appears near one chimp clan. They freak out, but get curious and touch it. They learn to use clubs. With them, they kill animals for meat and drive off the rival clan from the water hole. Man is created.
Chapter Two: Moon Discovery -- Mankind has routine PanAm flights in space, space stations, and bases on the moon. Dr. Floyd travels via these modern wonders to the moon. Men have discovered a strange magnetic anomaly. Excavated in a pit is a big black obelisk (just like the chimps got). When the astronauts touch it, a piercing tone erupts (along with a radio beam to Jupiter, we later learn).
Chapter Three: Hal Goes Mad -- The interplanetary ship Discovery One is en route to Jupiter. Aboard are three researchers in hibernation and pilots Dave Bowman and Frank Poole. The HAL9000 computer runs the ship's systems. All is routine to the point of boring until Hal reports the imminent failure of a component of their antenna array. Frank replaces the unit, but the old one checks out fine. Suspecting that Hal is malfunctioning, Dave and Frank conspire to switch Hal off. Hal figures this out. While EVA to check the antenna again, Hal causes Frank to spin off into space. Dave goes after him in a pod and retrieves his body. Hal won't let Dave back aboard. Dave gets in anyway and shuts Hal down.
Chapter Four: Jupiter and Beyond -- Once at Jupiter, Dave leaves the Discovery in a pod. He encounters another obelisk floating in Jupiter orbit. He goes through a veritable orgy of colored lights and colorized landscapes. Eventually, he encounters himself in a rococo bedroom as an older man. Then he's on his deathbed. The obelisk appears at the foot of his bed. Dave turns into a star child (fetus with big eyes). The End.

Why is this movie fun?
2001 is too big of a movie not to find something to like. The sets and models work is impressive, even in today's world of CGI. The many loose ends of the plot add intrigue. Kubrik's sense of visual art is impressive. The visual "ballet" of ship and station, or the careful steps of the stewardesses, all to Straus's Blue Danube, was fun to watch too.

Cold War Angle
Though not as evident in the movie, Clarke's novel was more overt. In his 2001, the Cold War is still raging. The satellites orbiting in the beginning of Chapter Two were warhead platforms (in the book). Kubrick made them less obviously so. At the end of Clarke's novel, nuclear armageddon is about to start, but Dave as Star Child intervenes. Kubrick glossed over this too with his floating star child not doing much more than staring at the earth.

Notes
Companion Book -- Clarke's novel was developed at the same time as the movie's screenplay. As such, the stories in the two are very close. They deviated on a few inconsequential points -- such as Discovery's destination being Saturn in the book, Jupiter in the film. Most of the differences can be chalked up to the nature of print vs. movies. Books can use third person omniscient narrators to fill in details and back story. Movies are primarily visual and action-oriented. Kubrik could only suggest back story concepts with visual symbols. Clarke could monologue details.

The Cusp -- Kubrik's production marks a turning point from old Golden Age sci-fi space dramas, to the modern Star Wars age and beyond. Yet, as that link, it has its feet on both sides. The various space ships and shuttles are all very 70s and 80s. Yet, the big spinning wheel space station is a legacy to the 50s, Conquest of Space in particular. By the late 60s, NASA no longer thought an orbital station was a necessary step to the moon. The Apollo program, then only a year away from landing on the moon, would fly there directly. Yet, Kubrik and Clarke kept the old big wheel.

Evolution's Third Strike -- 2001 was the third movie in early 1968 to inadvertently undermine the popularly held theory of man's evolution. That is, of the slow and steady progress via random mutations and natural selection eventually leading to sentient man. All three movies propose that something from outside interfered and caused mankind as we know it. In Planet of the Apes, it was a nuclear war that sparked all three ape species to sentience. In Five Million Years to Earth, it was the highly advanced Martians who genetically altered earth apes to produce men. In 2001, it was a vague "higher power" that provided the change. Before the appearance of the obelisk, they were just animals -- hungry vegetarian chimps. After the obelisk, they used tools, walked more erect, and they learned to kill. (some might argue that this was not an improvement.) Even 2001's continuing "evolution" of man into a Star Child, is due to the unseen divine hand. Bowman doesn't evolve himself in some Neitzschian way (as implied with Kubrik's choice of "change" music: "Also Sprach Zarazustra", Richard Strauss's tone poem inspired by Neitzche's book of the same name.) Nor does Bowman evolve in the Darwinian way. Instead, he is transformed by a power outside himself and nature.

Classic Technophobia -- The showdown with HAL is the classic battle of man vs. total automation. People did not trust computers, even though in 1968 most people had little contact with them. 2001 is (partially) a cautionary tale about giving automated systems too much control, or people too little. An early foreshadowing of HAL was the self-aware supercomputer in The Invisible Boy ('57). Another precursor to HAL was the super computer NOVAC in Gog ('54). It began killing off the base's scientists because it controlled all of the base's systems. HAL's undoing was the dissonance from being ordered to lie to Bowman and Poole about the nature of the mission. Clarke elevates a human flaw into a virtue. People can handle lying. Logically pure computers can't.

Invitation to the Stars -- Unlike the other two spark-volution movies, Clarke's 2001 frames it as an invitation. It wasn't a nuclear mistake, or a self-serving experiment gone awry. Instead, a "higher power" injects an exception to nature. Even at the last, the obelisk appears before dying old Dave, standing at the door, as it were. Transformation is not forced upon Dave. It's only when he lifts his hand to it, beckoning, that he is reborn by that higher power (not by his own power) -- made a new creature.

Parallel Pits -- Perhaps it is a coincidence, and perhaps not, but the scene of the obelisk on the moon is very reminiscent of the BBC's Quatermass and the Pit ('59). In both, the alien item, buried millions of years ago, is discovered. The object is excavated and sit in the bottom of a square pit, with ramps leading down into it. In both, the object suddenly emits a powerful sound (or influence) on the people in the pit. Had Kubrik (or Clarke) seen the BBC series nine years earlier?

Bottom line? 2001 is a must-see movie for its landmark value alone. It is a deeply thoughtful movie, but has long stretches of little action. As such, it will frustrate viewers accustomed to fast-paced action films. For example, the "orgy" of lights and colors as Dave enters the obelisk lasts for ten full minutes. At 2 hours and 20 minutes, 2001 may be too long for the young and restless. Still, for its cultural impact alone, its worth the time.

They Came From Beyond Space

Embassy Pictures brought American viewers another Amicus sci-fi film from Britain. They Came From Beyond Space (TCBS) was a modest budget film -- not ultra-cheap, but not lavish either. It is yet another installment in the alien-takeover sub-genre. It does carry a distinctly British flavor to its paranoia.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A "V" shaped formation of meteorites lands in a farm field in Cornwall, England. A team of scientists is dispatched to investigate. While they examine the rocks, they are taken over by beings of pure thought who rode inside. One of the scientists is Lee, girlfriend of Curtis, the extra-brilliant scientist who was not allowed to travel with the team. Curious at the loss of contact, Curtis travels to the site anyway. The possessed humans have built a fence, posted guards with guns and have run up big bills buying all manner of equipment and supplies. Government agents investigate too, but a mysterious plague breaks out. People suddenly fall dead (apparently) with red spots on their skin. There is no known cure for the Crimson Plague. The possessed people convince the government that they're building a rocket to take the dead for burial on the moon -- as the only safe solution. Curtis senses something else is going on, so keep trying to get into the compound. Eventually, he succeeds, but is taken prisoner. His former colleagues are all possessed by aliens. Even some people thought dead of plague are alive and working. Curtis escapes his cell, stuns Lee and carries her out. He takes her to a geeky friend's lab. They devise an anti-possession helmet (almost a tinfoil hat), a set of goggles that can "see" who's an alien or not, and a ray gun to stun or kill them. They devise a process to free Lee of her alien. Using Lee pretending to be still possessed, they get back into the compound. They sneak aboard the rocket bound for the moon. Once on the moon, they are monologued by the Master of the Moon who tells how they evolved into energy beings but were dying out. They needed some new bodies to possess, but crashed on Earth's moon. In a play for pity, the Master says they just want to go home to die. Curtis lets down his guard and is captured. The Master plans to remove the silver plate in his head and transfer himself to Curtis. Meanwhile, Farge escaped and foments a workers' revolt. This interrupts the operation. The aliens are all dejected about losing. Curtis says earthlings would have helped them build a ship to go home, if they had just asked nicely. The energy alien leaves his host body, who gets all cheery and shakes hands with Curtis. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Yet another alien-takeover flick could be dull, but the eclectic British flavor keeps it different. Curtis' very clean 1924 Bentley is quite a rare treat to watch. It's almost a co-star.

Cold War Angle
The alien-takeover trope is a handy metaphor for patriots being "turned" to ally with the Dark Side. The not-so-subtle moral of the story is that someone might look like a soulless fiend intent on conquest, but deep down, they're just regular guys. If we'd just talk more, we could all get along. Kumbayah.

Notes
Based on the Book -- Joseph Miller wrote a novel titled, "The Gods Hate Kansas" in 1941. This basing means that TCBS's roots are among the oldest of the alien-takeover tribe. TCBS follows the book's plot fairly closely, except for the location (Kansas vs. Cornwall). All the major plot points are there: Meteorites with aliens aboard, who had crashed on the moon. Energy beings take over people and start building a secret compound and a rocket. An unstoppable plague breaks out which turns out to be a tool of the aliens to get workers, the hero has a metal plate in his head so he can't be taken over AND the ending where the hero says they just had to ask.

Possessing Lineage -- Just as a recap, the notion of aliens taking over humans is old. The Man from Planet X ('51) even went so far as to have the taken-over humans acting as manual labor too. It Came From Outer Space ('53) also featured aliens taking over townsfolk to act as manual labor to repair their ship. Apparently, it's tough to find repair shops in this stretch of the galaxy. The most famous take-over film, Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56) was an earth conquest theme, not a repair job. From that famous example, to lesser examples, such as War of the Satellites ('58) and The Day Mars Invaded Earth ('63), the plot device of aliens taking over humans for nefarious deeds was becoming traditional to the point of becoming cliche.

Forbidden Fruit Fascination -- A recurring element in British sci-fi, is the notion of a closed-off compound. There must be something in the British psyche -- like a cat that cannot resist an empty box -- that is fascinated by the idea of a cordoned off zone that no one is permitted to enter. Perhaps the Brits have an innate conspiracy theory gene. All of the "Damned" movies featured secret compounds.

Bottom line? TCBS is a notch above the cheaper B sci-fi of the mid 60s, yet it's not all that special either. The alien-takeover trope has gotten long in the tooth, so lost most of its tension value. The peculiarities inherent in a British film, such as the Bentley, add some interest.

Way...Way Out

Just to keep sci-fi from being too serious, 20th Century Fox released, Way...Way Out (WWO) in late 1966 as a spoof on the space program and the Cold War. It stars Jerry Lewis as the reluctant astronaut, Peter Mattamore. He and Connie Stevens are sent to the moon as a hastily arranged married couple to staff America's lunar weather base. Anita Ekberg and Dick Shawn play the Russians.

Quick Plot Synopsis
In the future (1989, according to the poster) NASA has a problem. It's two-man lunar team have gone nuts. One of them has become a woman-obssessed psychopath. Both are sick of each other. The Russian team has been fine, since it is a man and a woman. Professor Quonset must relieve his dysfunctional team in three days, and has been ordered to send a man and wife pair. The trouble is, the young couple he's chosen have had a lover's spat and refuse to go. Next on the list is Peter Mattamore (Lewis), who has been avoiding space duty since day one. Only two women in the program are qualified: the dumpy Miss Davenport and the kittenish Miss Forbes (Stevens). She objects to the forced marriage of convenience (for NASA). Peter tries to coax her by being charming, but fails. They agree to a marriage-in-name-only, for the scientific opportunity. Once on the moon, and the crazed old team departed, Peter and Eileen try to settle in. They are visited by the beautiful Russian cosmonaut, Anna. She immediately clings to Peter, spawning jealousy in Eileen. Anna wants to sleep over, as she and the overly amorous Igor had a spat. Igor comes over too and a Russian Party ensues with much drunkenness. It ends when Peter and Igor have a comic fight with weightless gags. When Peter awakens, three days later, he is told there is a Cold War crisis. He is ordered to "secure the moon". He clobbers Igor, but the crisis was nothing. Nevermind. Anna has decided she wants Igor to marry her. He just wants the informal free love they've had thus far. Anna tells Igor she's pregnant. A virtual wedding is conducted from earth. The Russians crow about the first baby born on the moon being yet another Russian first. Quonset and all of NASA are chagrinned at being "beaten" by the Russians. Eileen tells Quonset not to worry, she is just as far along as Anna -- even though only married for 5 days. Quonset is puzzled but happy. Peter is confused. Eileen is just as pregnant because Anna isn't. She just said it to get Igor to marry her. Eileen hints heavily that she and Peter should work on making America first. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
It's a Jerry Lewis comedy. It is supposed to be fun. The humor is less slapstick and more "adult", with many innuendos or outright sexual references.

Cold War Angle
As a spoof, the Cold War gets its share. At one point, General Hallenby tells Peter that the world is on the brink of nuclear armageddon because the Russians moved troops into someplace (which they can't recall). Three minutes later, the crisis has passed. It was all a misunderstanding. It was the Russian Peace Corps.

Notes
Project Moon Base II -- Back in 1953, Project Moon Base set up the story in which an American male astronaut and a pretty young female astronaut are temporarily alone together on "Moon Base One." Since America would be shocked at an unmarried couple co-habitating, they are married via a televised ceremony. WWO repeats this trope, but with the marriage occurring before liftoff instead of on the moon. Igor and Anna, however, did get the televised ceremony. The notion of America being shocked was more sincere in 1953. By 1966, "free love" was becoming mainstream enough that the moral shock was more spoof than reality.

Lighter Lewis -- Jerry Lewis was already famous for his zany slapstick humor. At 40 years old, his "crazy kid" schtick would have seemed forced. In WWO, he calls on his more subtle style. This, he pulls off rather well. Note the scene where it's their first night on the moon. She insists that he sleep on the couch -- no hanky panky. He keeps delivering lines like, "After being awake for 72 hours, a man needs sleep. All he wants to do is go to be and do it." -- all with a straight face.

Musical Connection -- The title music is played by Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Gary is Jerry Lewis' son. His band was a going concern, starting in 1960 and having a number one hit in 1965 -- "This Diamond Ring." The title, (oft repeated in the lyrics) is so charmingly 60s.

Car Geek Moment -- Not everyone is fascinated by "cars of the future" from the 50s and 60s, but those who are, get a brief treat. Just before the launch, Peter is driven up to the launch site in the Ford Aurora station wagon. Very cool. As he walks to the gantry, in the background are three other "future" cars to help suggest that the story takes place in 1989, not 1966. The red one is the GM X-Stiletto. The gray one looks like the Pontiac Banshee ('64), but it is hard to get a good look. Too many people in the way. Briefly visible, too, is the blue GM Runabout, also from 1964. 20th Century Fox had some pull, apparently.

Bottom line? WWO is an entertaining spoof. While not one of Lewis' bigger, funnier movies, it has plenty of moments. As sci-fi, it is pretty "lite".

First Men in the Moon

1964 was a better year for sci-fi and Columbia's First Men in the Moon (FMM) was the year's big-budget treat. HG Wells' 1899 novel was adapted to a more modern retelling by Nigel Kneal (of Quatermass fame), but is still fairly faithful to the original. Two men (and a woman) travel to the moon in 1899 and encounter a civilization of insect-like beings. FMM also features the animation of Ray Harryhausen. He gives the usual monster (moon cows), but brings the selenites to life.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A modern (1960s) UN moon mission lands, only to discover a little British flag and a paper claiming the moon for Queen Victoria. On earth, they trace the names to an old Arnold Bedford in a nursing home. He tells his story as flashback. He rented a cottage next door to an eccentric inventor. Cavor created Cavorite, a substance which blocks gravity. Bedford sees the money-making potential, so attaches himself to the work. Cavor, however, wants to explore the moon. To that end, he built a sphere. Bedford agrees to go with him, thinking of gold on the moon. Bedford's fiancee, Kate, is pulled aboard at the last minute. Amid some mild antics en route, they arrive on the moon. Cavor and Bedford explore, finding a labyrinth of tunnels and little insect people. They return to the surface, but the sphere (with Kate inside) has been taken by the selenites. They re-enter the tunnels in search, but become separated when a giant "moon cow" caterpillar beast attacks them. The selenite scientists study Cavor and Kate, eventually learning english. The selenites are disassembling the sphere for study. Cavor is given an audience with the Grand Lunar. He tells the Grand Lunar about earth and men. Cavor's description of war alarms the Grand Lunar, who decrees that Cavor must remain on the moon to prevent more defective earthmen make the trip. Meanwhile, Bedford and Kate have reassembled the sphere, but need Cavor to get the shutters to work. Bedford interrupts the Grand Lunar audience, causing a fight. Cavor and Bedford flee to the sphere. Cavor fixes it, but refuses to return to earth. Bedford and Kate return. End flashback. Old Bedford sums up his tale. TV reports that the astronauts on the moon find abandoned underground cities. Quick conjecture is that some virus wiped out the inhabitants. Bedford quips that Cavor did have a bad cold. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There is much to like in FMM. Lionel Jeffries almost steals the show with his highly colorful portrayal of Cavor. The matt art, scenery, sets and models are well done. Harryhausen's work doesn't dominate, but enhances the alien-world feel.

Cold War Angle
There is more of Wells' original anti-imperialism message than anything of the Cold War. The portrayed fact that the first moon landing was an international effort shows a bit of optimism.

Notes
Based on the Book -- Nigel Kneal's screenplay tries to maintain much of Wells' original story, but a few concessions had to be made to make a good movie for mid-60s audiences. Rather than modernize the tale, Kneal framed the Victorian story as a flashback within modern bookends. Kneal omitted the frozen atmosphere and fungal plant life, (as modern audiences would not buy that). He kept a simplified version of the selenite civilization, and the moon cows. He also kept Bedford returning and Cavor remaining.

Dipping From Other Wells -- Kneal's script pulls in elements from a couple of Wells' other stories. He repeats the trope of the aliens taking the protagonist's machine underground, which Wells had in The Time Machine. Kneal borrows from Wells' War of the Worlds to have the aliens all killed off by a simple earth germ. In Wells' novel, the selenites are not wiped out. Modern folk knew the moon was lifeless, so a handy plague was needed.

Labor Pains -- Embedded in Wells' novel, and echoed somewhat in Kneal's screenplay, was stratified, dehumanizing industrial society. A cute counterfoil to that and commentary on unionized culture, was the scene at Cavor's house where the three workers argue about whose job it was to stoke the furnace. The metal worker complained that since he wasn't a stoker (by profession), it therefore wasn't his job. The gardener agreed that he wasn't a stoker either. The butler also agreed that he was a butler, not a stoker, so none of them stoked, but all went out for a pint.

Imperialist Flip-side -- In Wells' War of the Words, imperialist humans get a taste of their own medicine from the über-imperialist Martians. In FFM, imperialist humans go to someone else's planet. In both the novel and the screenplay, the two protagonists embody classic British imperialism. Cavor is the benevolent explorer, missionary and claimer of places. Bedford is the exploiter capitalist, who puts little value on the lives of the "brownies". This condensed duo of earth-ish imperialism plops down amid a greater power. Cavor and Bedford play out the traditional arguments (benevolence vs. conquest) but Bedford's view prevails and he goes about smashing their cities. In Kneal's script, imperialist man manages to completely ruins things -- even if only by accident (Cavor's cold germs). This has several earth history parallels too.

Intrusive Women -- It was fairly common in 19th century sci-fi (e.g. Wells and Verne) to have only men as the protagonists. Post-WWII Hollywood was unable to resist inserting a woman into the character mix. They usually served as simple cheesecake, or love-triangle fodder, or the damel to be rescued. In FFM, Kate is a bit less flagrantly the intruded woman. She is useful to keep up dialogue while Cavor and Bedford are separated. She is a occasionally the damsel, but not obnoxiously so. (Heck, she blasts some selenites with a shotgun). We can be thankful the producers resisted including a cute animal in Disney fashion.

Bottom line? FMM is a classic that no one should miss -- even viewers who don't normally go in for sci-fi. The story is thoughtful, the acting good, and the production very good.

12 to the Moon

Ten years after Destination Moon, and man is still mounting his first mission to the moon. Released by Columbia as the B film with Battle In Outer Space as the A, 12 to the Moon (12ttM) was solidly in the 50s tradition of a low-budget B feature. 12ttM is sometimes nominated for the dishonor of 'worst film ever.' It lacks a budget for any impressive effects or sets. The pace is slow, and the acting varies between flat and over-the-top. Yet, in this tale of man's first mission to the moon, there lurks within an attempt at several social statements. The writers were at least trying to say something. The international and culturally diverse crew predate Gene Roddenberry's more famous Enterprise crew by five years.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The International Space Order sends a multi-national crew of 12 scientists to the moon to claim it for all and prevent nationalist squabbling. Predictably, about half way to the moon, they encounter a meteorite swarm. They land on the moon and begin exploration. The Swede and Turk find a cave with air inside. They take off their helmets, kiss and go deeper in the cave. A shimmering shape floats in and creates a wall of ice behind them. The other 10 astronauts go looking for them. One is lost in quicksand. The 9 return to the ship. The moon beings communicate with them via symbols on one of the ship's displays. Handily, the Japanese woman is able to "read" them. The moonies tell the earthlings to leave, they're not welcome. They will keep the Swede and Turk to study this 'love' emotion. The earthlings are to leave behind their two cats, and depart. They do. En route, they encounter another meteorite swarm. As they approach earth, they see that a new ice age is quickly settling in. The moonies are bombing earth with freeze bombs. The rocket is starting to freeze too. Their only hope is to drop an atomic bomb into a volcano to break the freeze. They assemble a bomb, but the Frenchman tries to sabotage it to not blow up. The Russian catches him. They fight. Frenchy loses. The Polish Jew and son-of-a-Nazi draw short sticks to fly the bomb in. They succeed, but die in the attempt. The bomb was not enough and everything freezes down. At the last minute, the moonies relent and thaw everything. The Swede/Turk love and the Jew/German self-sacrifice prove that earthlings aren't all bad. The earth is saved. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The trope of man's first trip to the moon was already long in the tooth in late '59, so it was interesting to see what the writers would do with it. The culturally diverse drew provide ample social commentary. There are ample odd bits to ponder.

Cold War Angle
There is a strong attempt at internationalism as the cure for Cold War us-vs-them thinking. The crew is full of pairs of "former" foes working together for the international cause. A subplot involves the Frenchman (as closet communist) figuring to leave north america frozen so the Soviets could prevail.

Notes
Former Foes, Two-by-Two -- The huge crew size was necessary fom a story telling point of view. Several pairs of former foes, sources of earth factionalism and strife, are shown overcoming their differences. There is the most obvious Cold War ideological pair with American Anderson and Russian Orloff. There is the Polish Jew, Ruskin and the son of a Nazi, Heinrich. Less blatant are men vs women via the two female crew members. Black vs white via the Nigerian. More subtle is the Christian vs Muslim with the Turk, Hamid. We also have age vs. youth with Heinrich (the old man of the 12) and young prodigy, Roddy.

Catharsis -- A dominant subplot revolves around Dr. Heinrich. He is actually the son of a Nazi deathcamp doctor Bernauer. He was so ashamed of his father's sins that he changed his name. This makes a parallel to post-war Germany trying to break with its Nazi past. In tandem, is the polish Jew, Ruskin who learns to put his hatred of the Nazi's behind him and accept Heinrich as a friend. The writers' hope for peace is quite evident.

Race Repair -- A significant addition is the Nigerian navigator, Markonen. Race relations in the US was getting hot in the late 50s. Emmett Till had been murdered 5 years prior. Rosa Parks sparked the bus boycotts 4 years prior. The Little Rock Nine crisis was just two years prior to production. Between production and release, the Greensboro Sit-Ins grabbed headlines. Worse was yet to come. Casting a black crewman, equal to the other 11, was pretty bold.

Angry Moon -- Echoing the sentiment of Angry Red Planet released a few months earlier, the moon-beings want nothing to do with earthlings. Here is their diatribe: "I speak for the great coordinator of the moon. We advise and warn you. Return to earth at once. You have done enough damage. You have been bombarding us for years incessantly. Leave us in peace. ... We are not enslaved by your earthly emotions: Greed, Lust, Passions of Conquest. We cannot allow you to stay here. You would only contaminate our perfect form of harmony."
For all their self-righteousness, however, the moon-beings are content enough to kill (on a large scale) on incomplete information. They complained of the earth people damaging their moon, yet were content to freeze large portions of the earth.

They're After Our...Cats! -- A curious non-sequetur comes amid the moonies' demands that the earthlings leave the moon. Before they left, they were to bring the moonies the two cats they brought along. "Cats have an unusual feel for us, but unfortunately, we have none here on the moon. They interest us almost as much as the two human beings who joined us." This is an odd story bit to ponder.

Low Budget Fun -- When the crew are about to disembark, note the first glimpse of the sound stage moonscape. You'll see a darkly dressed stage hand walk back behind the big boulder. When the crew step out onto the moon, note the frames for studio lights above stars. Perhaps these were cropped out in the widescreen version, but not in the TCM copy. Enjoy Roger Til's outrageous french accent. Admire the techno-babble Ruskin uses to explain why their space helmets have no glass visors. There is so much low budget fun.

Bottom line? 12ttM suffers many of the usual low-budget woes. It's slow paced and talky. It may be a movie that only fans of 50s B sci-fi can enjoy. Beneath all the cliches, however, are some attempts at serious statements. This gives the film some redeeming merit.

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Destination Space

Essentially a pilot for what CBS envisioned as a TV series, Destination Space (DS) is a B grade mash-up of new material and footage from Paramount's Conquest of Space (1955). As a stand-alone movie, DS lacks meat on its bones. Of course, it's job as a pilot to a series was to set the stage and develop some characters. This, it does, at the expense of action and plot. Nonetheless, the integration of the older Conquest footage is fairly well done. There was enough other Conquest footage of rockets and the big wheel space station that did not get used, so the mash-up might have worked over a season's episodes. However, CBS opted not to produce the series, so only this pilot remains.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Men aboard an orbiting wheel space station count down to the launch of a rocket whose crew are to orbit the moon. Before the launch can occur, a rogue meteor zooms in and damages the space station. Amid smoke, sparks and being tossed about in the unstable and wobbly space station, the crew manage to regain control. The damage, however, is severe enough to delay the moon mission. The commander, Jim Benedict, is called down to Washington DC to face a senate hearing on the expenses and delays. He also socializes with his girlfriend and other friends and colleagues. A demagogue senator Royce tries to make a big case out of the delays but Jim gives a rousing speech about naysayers being the biggest roadblock to exploring strange new worlds. Royce insists that a Dr. Easton be among the crew to report on progress. All agree. After a month's repairs, the rocket is again in countdown mode. This time, however, a stuck servo causes the nuclear reactor to begin going critical. With time running out, astronaut Dave manages to loosen the frozen servo. The reactor cools and all are save. The trouble will cause another month's delay, but Dr. Easton promises to report on the issue honestly. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There are several familiar faces among the cast. John Agar plays Colonel Mathews. Several others cast members were regular TV stars in the 60s. It is also fun to see how the director and editors integrated the original Conquest of Space footage.

Cold War Angle
This is subtle as part of the space race. At one point, however, Mathews makes it blatant. In griping about Senator Royce, he says, "He and people like him couldn't help the enemy more if they were paid agents." The Enemy. It was simply understood as part of the fabric of Cold War life.

Notes
Serious Sci-fi -- The decade opened with a big-budget example of "real" science fiction: Destination Moon. The story was not about aliens, monsters or saucers. It was what real men would or could do with credibly fictional technology. This sub-genre had its fans, but wasn't as popular as more fantastic sci-fi (aliens, monsters, etc.) Conquest of Space was another big-budget example from mid-decade and a source for most of the "space" footage in this movie. By late in the 50s, real space programs were gearing up. Non-fantistic sci-fi had less draw. This may be part of why CBS opted not to produce the TV series.

Pre-JFK -- An element of realism in DS is that it wasn't malicious aliens or a lack of technology which kept man from the moon. It was bureaucratic meddling. The immediate villain of the tale is Senator Royce who lobbies to cut the program's funding. To combat this political foe, Jim Benedict gives a rousing speech about the need for decisiveness. "Let us make up our minds if we want a space program or not....Let us go forward in the American way....to a new frontier..." President Kennedy would give a similarly rousing speech before congress in 1961 to kick off America's race to the moon.

Dead-End Triangle -- Much of DS's run time was devoted to character development for the series' episodes. One such bit of development which came to nothing in the pilot, was the ever-popular love triangle. Jim, the leader, and Dave the pilot are friends. Dave's wife Kim has a no-longer-secret crush on Jim. Jim, however, is engaged (or almost) to June. Nothing is made of this in the pilot. It was fodder for first season tensions -- which never came.

Bottom line? DS is obscure and not easy to find. Unless you're devoted to watching all 50s sci-fi movies, or a big fan of Conquest of Space (or perhaps a John Agar fan), there may not be enough reason to get this movie. If you can find it free, or running on late night TV, it might be interesting to see what how far TV sci-fi had progressed since the days of Video Ranger and Rocky Jones.

Missile to the Moon

This little B-movie is obviously a remake of Catwomen of the Moon. One wonders why the producers thought this was a good idea. Perhaps their marketing folks said there was some quick/easy money to be made with a film that features a bunch of beauty pageant winners in dance leotards, high heels and tall hair. In that case, the Catwomen script provided a means. The script of Missile to the Moon (MTTM) follows the story of Catwomen pretty closely, but with just enough differences to provide a little interest to B-film fans.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dirk Green has privately built a rocket for traveling to the moon. The government plans to commandeer the project, because only governments can do space travel. Dirk blasts off that night. Inside the rocket are two escaped convicts, whom Dirk hijacks into being his crew. Dirk's assistant Steve and his fiance June happen to get aboard too. During a meteor storm, a big battery falls on Dirk. Mortally injured, he gives Steve a medallion then dies. When they get to the moon, the four find rock monsters. They escape into a cave only to become prisoners of and the all-female remnant of a civilization living underground in ever-shrinking air pockets. They mistake Steve for Dirk because of the medallion. Dirk came from the moon. The queen plans to take her subjects to earth. Alpha, the second-ranking moon woman rebels and kills the queen. She plans to kill the other earthlings, marry Steve (even though he isn't Dirk) and take her moon girls to a different planet. Moon-babe Lambda falls for the convict named Gary. He's only interested in the cave full of diamonds. Lambda is killed by the cave-dwelling spider monster. Zema, falls in love with the other convict, Lon. During the belly-dancing wedding ceremony, Lon and Gary save June from execution by the spider monster. Alpha, angry at their escape, orders Zema to flood the caves with poison gas. Zema instead tosses a grenade which breaks up their last pocket of air. The moon women dramatically expire. On the surface, Gary is laden down with bags of diamonds. The rock creatures force him into the deadly full sun. He burns up. June, Lon and Steve get to the ship. June asks Steve if she's prettier than Alpha. Only good ol' mother earth is prettier. Har har. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
MTTM is a remake of Catwomen of the Moon, but cranked up a notch or two. It's fun to see how much MTTM matches Catwomen and where it deviates.

Cold War Angle
There aren't really any Cold War metaphors or references in MTTM.

Notes
Catwomen Redux -- Yes, MTTM is a recasting of the story Catwomen of the Moon. Check that link for a recap. In some ways, MTTM is a cheaper copy (most notably in the props). In other ways, MTTM goes further than Catwomen did. MTTM has two loving traitors. Lambda falls for Gary and dies. Zema falls for Lon and dies. A twist in the Zema duplicate is that she causes the end of the moon women. MTTM has a repeat of the greedy-man (Walt with gold, Gary with diamonds). MTTM has the same spider puppet as Catwomen but made more menacing with big toothy mandibles. MTTM adds the laughably slow, but intriguing rock creatures. Like Catwomen, there is a very odd preoccupation with romantic pairings and whether someone loves them or not (or is pretty enough). An alien civilization and bizarre creatures are not important enough. Boy-girl attractions. Now that's important.

Telltale Budget -- MTTM is a typical low-budget production, so it's fun to spot the usual shortcuts. You'll see some V2 footage used many times, and an astoundingly cheap flat prop "rocket" for the on-the-moon shots. The rock creatures are actually kind of fun. A toddler could out run them, yet the actors respond as if they were tigers.

Rare Air -- The moon women supposedly have the last pocket of air, but it's interesting to see that only Air Force jumpsuits, pilot's helmets and oxygen masks are needed on the moon's surface. And, when Gary strays into the sun, he bursts into flames. The lit torch in the cave was 'proof' that there was oxygen earlier in the story.

Green Cheesecake -- One could imagine Producer Marc Frederic starting with the idea of a quick-buck movie whose "hook" was a cast of a dozen beauty pageant winners.
But what to have them do?. The plot of Catwomen provided a venue, so remake it was. Instead of the catwomen's artsy full black leotards, MTTM has the pageant winners in high heels, dance leotards and bangeled up like budget Las Vegas showgirls. Such an obvious pandering to teen male audience tastes is amusing. Watch how all the pageant babes are always striking glamor poses.

Bottom line? MTTM is more fun if you've seen Catwomen already. Compare and contrast, as the professors say. Beyond that, look past the extreme cheapness of the production and take in another (somewhat wacky) installment in the "lost women" sub-genre.

From Earth to the Moon

Later in the 50s, the major studios had shied away from producing big budget sci-fi movies. Movies of classics were safer. Warner Brothers distributed From Earth to the Moon (FEtoM), based on Jules Verne's novel, is one of these. Usually, being shot in color was the hallmark of an A movie. B movies were typically black and white. FEtoM resists this handy formula. It's shot in Technicolor, but shares more in common with the B family. It has spotty acting, weak special effects, stock footage and gaping plot holes. FEtoM also carries a strong Cold War theme, another trait 50s sci-fi B movies are famous for. Director Bryon Haskins (of War of the Worlds and Conquest of Space) did a nice enough job, but could not make a silk purse of it. As one of the last gasps from the nearly defunct RKO studios, there wasn't the budget for greatness.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Victor Barbicane, a wealthy arms maker, addresses a group of other arms industrialists. They grew rich during the Civil War, but the peace is rough on them. Victor proposes a new scheme to restore their wealth. He has a new explosive he calls "Power X," that can propel an artillery shell thousands of miles. Every nation will have to have it just to keep up. To test such a massively destructive force, and to demonstrate it to the world, Victor proposes a giant cannon and an exploding shot on the moon. All the industrialists are in. A southern rival, Mr. Nicholl challenges Victor to a contest. Victor's Power X explosive versus Nicholl's special armor plate. Power X wins. Everyone is sold on Power X and construction begins. President Grant secretly tells Victor that existence of Power X threatens world peace. For his country, Victor must cancel the project. He does, to much ridicule. He decides to do his moon shot anyhow, as a manned mission by Victor, NIcholl and Ben. Nicholl's daughter Virginia stows away. En route to the moon, it is discovered that Nicholl sabotaged the rockets as a final revenge. With much work, the three men jerry-rig some repairs. The aft section lands Victor and Nicholl on the moon. The forward section contains Ben and Virginia. It is implied that no one returns. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
FEtoM is one of the early examples of "steampunk". Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ('54) was an earlier (and better) example, but FEtoM has some steampunk charm too. Morris Ankrum as President Grant is a fun nugget.

Cold War Angle
Verne's story was seriously rewritten to add "Power X" -- a blatant stand-in for nuclear power. Grant says, "You look upon it as a new source of energy. Others look upon it as a new source of destruction." An arms race and dangerous cold war will result. Much of the story is a recast of the nuclear dilemma in Victorian times.

Notes
Based (loosely) On The Book -- Verne's novel endured some pretty major changes for the screenplay. The inevitable Hollywood romance thread was worked in. Nicholl is given a beautiful 20-something daughter. Victor Barbicane is given a hunky young assistant. A huge difference from the novel is that Barbicane's moon ship returns safely. FEtoM borrows Rocketship X-M's dour ending, more in step with atomic age angst.

Bad FX -- Perhaps too much of FEtoM's budget went to the TechniColor processing. The special effects suffered. Note particularly, the model shots of the capsule "in flight." Positioned upright, the flames from the aft curl and smoke upward, killing any suggestion of a projectile in motion. Watch for the angled shot of the model. The power and gas supply boom supporting the model is blatantly visible.

Columbiad -- Virginia christens the moon capsule "Columbiad". By the 1950s, audiences were accustomed to space ships having names. But, the shell has no name in the book. Actually, in the book, Verne refers to the giant gun itself as a columbiad. This is a type of cannon used from the early 1800s to the late 1800s. In the mid 1800s, it was the state-of-the-art weapon -- the ultimate in muzzle loading, smooth bore artillery. Yet, like most technologies, it had its heyday but became obsolete.

Bottom line? FEtoM is a Hollywoodized remix of one of Verne's lesser sci-fi novels. It aspired to be an A movie, but amounts to a Technicolor B. Fans of steampunk can enjoy the sets and gizmos. Fans of saucers and aliens will probably find FEtoM slow and somewhat underwhelming. The actual moon trip comes too near the end to satisfy the average rocket fan.

Catwomen of the Moon

This a great example of B-grade sci-fi movies. It combines recycled props, low-budget effects, second-tier acting and a strange plot. It would have been right at home as an episode in the original Star Trek series. Catwomen must have developed somewhat of a fan base back then, as it was remade in 1958 as Missile to the Moon. It was adapted somewhat in 1956 as Fire Maidens of Outer Space. The catwomen must have found some resonance in 50s audiences.

Catwomen of the Moon (CWotM) is a sort of "sister" film to Project Moon Base. Even though they were being produced by two separate film companies, following two different moon-mission plots, they used many of the same props, sets and costumes in order to save money. The B-movie market was thin on margin, so any cost-savings was desirable.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A mission to the moon has five people aboard a rocket. Laird, the Kirk-like commander. Kip, the co-pilot. Helen, the typical lone female crew member is the navigator. Doug is the radio operator. Walt is the engineer. He's the "red shirt" of the bunch. While en route, the crew radio home some trite little messages. Helen's is cryptic. "Hello Alpha. We're on our way." She doesn't remember doing it. There is a pointless encounter with a usual meteor, which only provokes the love triangle between Laird, Helen and Kip. Near the moon, Helen picks a landing spot on the dark side, which no one could have known about. Once on the moon, Helen leads the crew to a cave. In the cave, they find an oxygen atmosphere, and are attacked by two giant spiders (puppets). The catwomen steal their space suits. The crew find the catwomen's "ancient civilization" city -- a mishmash of roman, hindu and buddhist motifs. The catwomen have been communicating/controlling Helen telepathically. Alpha, leader of the catwomen, induced the earth men to send the ship to the moon so they could steal it and travel to earth. The last lunar air pocket would run out soon. Once on earth the catwomen would rule via mind control of all the earth women and institute their own eugenics program. Walt, the typical greedy materialist red-shirt, gets greedy the catwomen's cave full of gold. One of the catwomen kills him there. The catwomen assigned to kill Doug, falls in love with him instead, spills the beans about the plot and dies for it. There are some struggles between the men and the catwomen. In the end, the catwomen are killed (off screen, thankfully) and the four earthlings rocket away.

Why is this movie fun?
Firstly, it's fun to see the family resemblance to Project Moon Base. The rockets (interior and exterior) are the same with minor modifications. It's fun to see low-budget shortcuts like wheeled office chairs with seatbelts, and spinning empty 16mm film reels sufficing for rocket gear.
Secondly, are the similarities with other works. The plot premise of aliens seeking to steal an earthling rocket so as to get to, and take over the earth, is reminiscent of Flight to Mars ('51). The civilization-of-women sub-genre gets a little boost too, with some familiar elements, and a few notable twists.

Cold War Angle
CWotM is more space drama than allegory. One could try to stretch the mind-control by villains and a plot to rule the earth into something Cold War, but that seems too long of a stretch. CWotM is more about women than war.

Notes
Familiar Props Patrol -- The spacesuits are yet another re-use of those in Destination Moon. The helmets, however, are mixed. The two metal "bell jar" helmets were used in the sister movie Project Moon Base. the three acrylic spheres appeared a few months earlier in Abbot & Costello's ...Go to Mars. In CWotM they had flat acrylic across the conical fronts which you could see steaming up with actor breath. The rocket models and interior set are the same as Project Moon Base. The cave spider puppet looks remarkably like that used in Mesa of Lost Women, except for the odd horn on its head. Mesa was too cheap of a movie to have created that spider puppet, so it must have come from an earlier film. I've just not found that earlier film yet.

Familiar Plot -- Despite the overall oddity, CWotM recycles two familiar sub-plots. The first is that of aliens who, despite being much more advanced than ourselves, want to steal one of our rockets so they can come to earth and dominate. This sub-plot appeared in Flight to Mars in 1951. The second is that of a group of mostly men discovering a "lost" civilization of beautiful young women. This sub-plot figured in several prior films: Tarzan and the Amazons ('45), Queen of the Amazons ('47), Mesa of Lost Women ('53) and Abbot & Costello Go to Mars ('53). It also shares elements of the "lost women" movies like Preshistoric Women ('50) and Bowanga Bowanga (Wild Women) ('51). More on that below.

More Lost Women -- CWotM shares several elements of the "Lost Women" sub-genre. There are a group of 20-something beautiful, trim women who live without men. They're supposedly an ancient race. They perform their special dance together. The lobby poster implied that they all craved men, but only one does. There is one, usually the leader, who persists in her dislike (if not hate) of men. An element which gets more use later, is their communicating telepathically. This made a small showing in Mesa of Lost Women but could be easily missed.

There are some notable differences, too, however. The catwomen are not dressed in typical Hollywood style, despite the movie's posters touting "Hollywood Cover Girls". Atypically, there are no blonds. No long flowing hair. No tight shorts or ample cleavage. Instead, the catwomen are in all-black leotards with a bit of gold (or red?) "yoke" around the neckline. We're still intended to appreciate their curvaceousness, as one slow camera pan of a catwoman from toe to head gives us. Still, the all-in-black look is such a departure from the usual Hollywood glamor motif, it's worth noting.

Feminism Editorializing -- A common undercurrent in "lost women" sub-genre is editorializing on feminism. The women's leaders are depicted as man-haters. Their culture doesn't need men. They are smart, but ruthless. The leader often wants to take over the (man-run) earth. A "good" woman feels love for one of the men. For that "sin" of rebellion, she is killed by the man-haters. In the end, they are killed. Since they dislike men and love, the loss of them is not mourned. Only the death of Lambda (the one who loved) is mourned.

Replete with Romance -- A somewhat odd undercurrent in CWotM is how often male-female relationships intrude on the story. The love-triangle between Laird, Helen and Kip gets an inordinate amount of attention. When confronted by an alien race bent on killing them, and one of their own crew-mates being under mind-control by the aliens, the big question on Kip's mind is, "Do you love Laird?" Perhaps this romance obsession is because the film was aimed at drive-in audiences (teens) who tend to be similarly obsessed.

In the end, CWotM is a perfect example of obtuse sci-fi B-movies. High art, it isn't. It is, however, a fun bit of obscuria. It might not be the first planet-of-women film, but it's a notable early one.