From the Earth to the Moon (1958)

Set just after the American civil war, businessman and inventor Victor Barbicane invents a new source of power called Power X. He plans to use it to power rockets, and to show its potential... See full summary »

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Jules Verne (novels), Robert Blees (screenplay),

Stars:

Joseph Cotten, George Sanders, Debra Paget

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joseph Cotten	...	Victor Barbicane
George Sanders	...	Stuyvesant Nicholl
Debra Paget	...	Virginia Nicholl
Don Dubbins	...	Ben Sharpe
Patric Knowles	...	Josef Cartier
Carl Esmond	...	Jules Verne
Henry Daniell	...	Morgana
Melville Cooper	...	Bancroft
Ludwig Stössel	...	Aldo Von Metz (as Ludwig Stossel)

Storyline

Set just after the American civil war, businessman and inventor Victor Barbicane invents a new source of power called Power X. He plans to use it to power rockets, and to show its potential he plans to send a projectile to the moon. Joining him for the trip are his assistant Ben Sharpe, Barbicane's arch-rival Stuyvesant Nicholl, and Nicholl's daughter Virginia. Nicholl believes that Power X goes against the will of God and sabotages the projectile so that they cannot return to earth, setting up a suspenseful finale as they battle to repair the projectile.

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Plot Keywords:

sabotage | moon | civil war | travel to the moon | cannon | 

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Taglines:

The Amazing Story of the Boldest Adventure Dared by Man!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 November 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Da Terra à Lua

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Waverly Productions, RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This went into production as RKO was preparing to shut down. It was believed to have had a much larger budget which was later cut. This greatly affected the quality of the special effects.

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Goofs

During the meteor shower, sparks from the passing meteor fall through the main viewing port into the ship, revealing the absence of glass.

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Connections

Version of From the Earth to the Moon (1979)

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Soundtracks

"Electronic Tonalities"
(uncredited)
from Forbidden Planet
composed by Bebe Barron and Louis Barron
heard during the scenes on board the rocket

User Reviews

Total waste of time

Dull, dull, dull. Did I mention it was dull?

I've seen many an old science fiction movie made in the 50s and 60s, and I can't remember one more boring than this. Bad acting, bad plot, bad effects, bad music, horrid science. Hard to believe this was made years after "The War of the Worlds" and "Forbidden Planet." In fact, the only SF movie I can recall that was comparable in deathly dullness was "Quatermass and the Pit" aka "Five Million Years to Earth." This was RKO Picture Corporation's last release, and if it wasn't solely responsible for RKO's demise, it was the final nail (and a big one) in RKO's coffin. What a difference from the miniseries of the same name released in 1998. Even 1964's "First Men in the Moon," based on a similar H.G. Wells story, was far superior. That, at least, tried to inject a bit of fun and humor into the story here and there, not to mention having good, old-fashioned Ray Harryhausen special effects.

Jules Verne must have been spinning in his grave faster than the supposed astronauts here in their acceleration tubes. SF movies have come a long way since this, and we should thank the stars.