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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. Written by
Anonymous
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Taglines:
The Amazing Story of the Boldest Adventure Dared by Man!
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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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Soundtracks
"Electronic Tonalities"
(uncredited)
from
Forbidden Planet
composed by
Bebe Barron and
Louis Barron
heard during the scenes on board the rocket
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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.