Destination Moon (1950)

One of the first science fiction films to attempt a high level of accurate technical detail tells the story of the first trip to the moon.

Director:

Irving Pichel

Writers:

Alford Van Ronkel (written for the screen by), Robert A. Heinlein (written for the screen by),

Stars:

John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Archer	...	Jim Barnes
Warner Anderson	...	Dr. Charles Cargraves
Tom Powers	...	General Thayer
Dick Wesson	...	Joe Sweeney
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Emily Cargraves

Storyline

After their their latest rocket fails, Dr. Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer have to start over again. this time, Gen. Thayer approaches Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon. Together they gather the captains of industry and all pledge to support the goals of having the united States be the first to put a man on the moon. They build their rocket and successfully leave the Earth's gravitational pull and make the landing as scheduled. Barnes has miscalculated their fuel consumption however and after stripping the ship bare, they are still 100 lbs too heavy meaning that one of them will have to stay behind.

---

Plot Keywords:

moon | astronaut | scientist | general | doctor | 

---

Taglines:

TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Endstation Mond

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$5,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

George Pal Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Of the film's 90-minute runtime, only half actually shows the trip to the Moon. The film's entire first half is devoted to the construction of the rocket and to giving reasons for going to the Moon in the first place.

---

Goofs

When first watching this film, it appears as though the crew looks through the round port that leads into the airlock to view the Earth outside the ship. This looks like a continuity error, but it is not - the confusion comes from the elaborate "special effect" of weightlessness generated with a rotating set and magnetic boots. The crew was squatting on the "wall" of the cabin and looking "out" through a round porthole on the outer wall of the ship, not down through the floor. There is indeed a round airlock door that leads down into a lower cabin where the spacesuits are kept, but it is not the same round port they looked through to see outside. The rotated perspective, the magnetic shoe use, and the two round windows causes this common misconception.

---

Quotes

General Thayer: On the Moon! Jim, Doc, we're on the Moon!
Joe Sweeney: And we're alive - holy cow! General, the next time you tell me you can get to the Moon, I'll believe you!

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the film, a story of the first flight to the Moon, the words THIS IS THE END are displayed first, then OF THE BEGINNING is added.

---

Connections

Featured in Monsterama Sci-Fi Late Night Creature Feature Show Vol. 1 (1996)

User Reviews

Fine '50s SF, never the like to be made again.

Pal, Bonestell, and Heinlein. If you know those names, you already know this film. If not, set your Wayback Machine for half-a-century ago and step in: you're going to the moon, the way it should have been done. You'll ride a cigar-shaped rocket, making the whole trip on one engine and one stage. You'll wear a bubble-headed spacesuit with corrugated arms. You'll have to lighten your ship to make it home and, oh boy, that's going to be a puzzle! Spaceflight turned out to be much, much more complex than this movie projected, but this is still a serious attempt (some, who must not have seen Lang's "Woman in the Moon," say this is the _first_ serious attempt) at making a movie about a moon landing. If you're like me and are feeling the pangs of disillusionment, go watch this film and relive the illusion that a trip to the moon could be accomplished with a pipewrench, slide-rule, and honest sweat. Ignore the last-minute inclusion of a character for comic relief; that seems to have been required in movies of this era.

BTW, when I met the venerable Isaac Asimov in 1972, I asked him what he thought of this film. He lightheartedly scoffed at, "ice on the moon." As you may know, NASA now believes there _is_ ice on the moon. Maybe this half-forgotten movie has something to teach us yet. (No offense, Dr. A; you were the great one.)