DESTINATION MOON (1950)

This colorful, independently made science fiction film by George Pal Productions, distributed by Eagle-Lion Classics, sits near the top of early Fifties science fiction movies. There are no alien creatures in rubber suits arising from the ashes of atomic testing. A typical Hollywood tactic of imagined nuclear doom. Rather, it is an intelligent explanation of space travel, highlighting its assumed and known dangers---filmed in rich Technicolor. Despite a B-movie cast, the competent acting takes the premise seriously and breaks new ground for the genre. The film can be accurately prophetic, but one cannot ignore the implausible sequences. Leith Stevens’ excellent score establishes excitement and mystery right from the opening moon image. His score contributes heavily to the success of this box office winner.

You need not be a rocket scientist to be in this movie. But if you are the Warner Anderson character, it helps. The film opens with the optimistic launching of his latest rocket to send a satellite into orbit. On hand for the assessment is Tom Powers, playing a retired General. Their confidence is shattered when the rocket quickly plummets to the desert floor. With funds and minds exhausted, they abandon the project and move on to an even more fantastic project. Powers turns to John Archer, CEO of his own aircraft manufacturing company. When he first hears Power's argument about going to the moon, he thinks the General may have returned to his heavy drinking. In reality, he persuades Archer to consider the importance of “making the moon great again” by getting there and establishing a missile base for America’s protection before an aggressor gets there first. These opening scenes provide the strongest acting in the movie. The actors are convincingly genuine and the audience is in the room with them.

Archer gathers over a dozen brilliant engineers to hear their proposal. It is quite a convincing presentation thanks to Woody Woodpecker, the very popular cartoon character of the era. With simplicity, Woody explains rocket physics like no human could, except Walter Lantz, Woody’s creator. The four-minute cartoon also helps the audience understand space travel from a non-threatening position.

It is up to these brilliant industrialists, with the guidance of Anderson and Archer, to build an advanced atomic-powered spaceship, harnessing the atom for peaceful purposes. Anti-atomic fear comes into play and the project is soon threatened by fake news which falsely purports to be public opinion. As Archer states prophetically, “Manufactured and organized with money and brains, somebody's out to get us.” The “moonies” simply launch the mission ahead of schedule without any press announcement, previous test flights or a trained crew. This possibly signs their death warrant if not successful. One thing is certain. It is definitely implausible. As if planning a long vacation without enough time to pack, they rush to get the rocket up in a mere seventeen hours. Such was the unlimited thinking in the optimistic, “can do” attitude of post-war America. Powers and Dick Wesson fill out the four-man crew. It was customary during this period for one crew member to provide levity. Preferably from Brooklyn. This responsibility falls on Wesson. A substitute crew member who is squeamish about “spatial” travel or death.

For identification purposes on a gray moonscape, each crew member has their own tertiary-colored space suit for high visibility. A guy could get lost in muted silver. Rather comical today, the suits resemble the Michelin Man after a crash diet with inflated, articulated elbows and knees, topped off by helmets resembling interior lamps borrowed from a Frank Lloyd Wright building. 

The weightless effects are handled pretty well, in general. The g-forces on their faces, not so much, as each actor is assigned a g-force expression. Wesson is the best example. One view of the rocket touching down on the lunar surface looks similar to the real 1969 event and Anderson’s description of the moon’s surface is uncannily similar to Apollo 11’s comments. Not to have the audience too complacent with wonder, problems occur when trying to jettison home. A miscalculation of fuel reserves makes the rocket too heavy for liftoff. Not unlike a typical liquidation sale, everything must go. Especially, weight. One crew member attempts to make the ultimate sacrifice so the remaining crew can return to Earth.

Note: Despite the systematic, perfect pattern of same-sized stars, Pal’s space effects are nicely done. With no studio restricting his budget or making suggestions, it pays off. The pan shots of the moon’s surface are filled with eerie awe. The scale of the rocket and Anderson’s claim of the moon for the good of all mankind are inspired. In many cases outdated, this film could be assessed by nit-picking the mistakes or ideas about space travel, in hindsight. With a little history under your space belt, watch the film in a mid-twentieth-century state of mind.