First Man Into Space (1959)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Robert Day

Writers:

John Croydon (screenplay) and
Charles F. Vetter (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 February 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

First motion picture to lift the veil, forsee the future in a spectacular drama of the first man in history to be rocketed into the terrifying unknown of outer space!

Plot:

The first pilot to leave Earth's atmosphere lands, then vanishes; but something with a craving for blood prowls the countryside...

Plot Keywords:

Dust | Throat Ripping | Space Vampire | Alien | Astronaut

Cast

Marshall Thompson	...	Commander Charles Ernest Prescott
Marla Landi	...	Tia Francesca
Bill Edwards	...	Lieutenant Dan Milton Prescott
Robert Ayres	...	Captain Ben Richards
Bill Nagy	...	Wilson
Carl Jaffe	...	Dr. Paul von Essen
Roger Delgado	...	Mexican Consul
John McLaren	...	Harold Atkins - State Dept. Official (also as John Mclaren)
Spencer Teakle	...	Ratings Control Room
Chuck Keyser	...	Ratings Control Room
John Fabian	...	Ratings Control Room
Richard Shaw	...	Witney
Bill Nick	...	Clancy (also as William R. Nick)
Helen Forrest	...	Secretary (also as Helen Forest)
Roland Brand	...	Truck Driver (as Rowland Brand)

Also Known As:

Satellite of Blood (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

77 min | West Germany:78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:PG | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Company:

Amalgamated Productions

Trivia:

Bill Edwards is dubbed.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Commander Prescott exits a building, he passes a sign that reads, "Flight Operations - Authorised Personnel Only". The film is set on an American Air Force base in New Mexico, and no sign in the United States would use the British spelling of "authorized", with an "s" instead of a "z". (The fact that the film was shot in England accounts for this error.)

Quotes:

Doctor Paul von Essen: The conquest of new worlds always makes demands of human life. And there will always be men who will accept the risk.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Making Space (2007) (V)

Low budget sci-fi, but still interesting.

Rivalry between brothers leads to main story line. Navy Commander Chuck Prescott(Marshall Thompson)has developed the Y12 aircraft to test how far man can go up in the atmosphere. His brother, Lt. Dan Prescott(Bill Edwards), seems to be the best test pilot around and is chosen to go up in the Y12. Dan of course has a problem with taking orders and is also an over confident dare devil.

On Dan's second flight, he hits over the 300 miles up comfort zone and his craft passes through a meteor dust storm. Returning to earth, Dan becomes a monster that resembles 200 pounds of bad asphalt. He also has a demanding craving for blood, whether it be from farm animals or fellow human beings.

Short runtime of an hour and seventeen minutes; black & white with near stoic acting...typical of low budget sci-fi.

Rounding out the cast is Marla Landi, Robert Ayers and Carl Jaffe. Noteworthy trivia: about two months after this film was released; the Russians put the real first man in space.