Missile to the Moon (1958)

Escaped convicts Gary and Lon are caught hiding in a rocket by scientist Dirk Green, who forces them to pilot the ship to the moon. Dirk, who's secretly a moon being, wants to return to his... See full summary »

Director:

Richard E. Cunha

Writers:

H.E. Barrie (screenplay), Vincent Fotre (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Travis, Cathy Downs, K.T. Stevens

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Travis	...	Steve Dayton
Cathy Downs	...	June Saxton
K.T. Stevens	...	The Lido
Tommy Cook	...	Gene Fennell
Nina Bara	...	Alpha
Gary Clarke	...	Lon
Michael Whalen	...	Dirk Green
Laurie Mitchell	...	Lambda
Leslie Parrish	...	Zema (as Marjorie Hellen)
Henry Hunter	...	Col. Wickers
Lee Roberts	...	Sheriff Cramer
Pat Mowry	...	Moon Girl
Tania Velia	...	Moon Girl
Sanita Pelkey	...	Moon Girl
Lisa Simone	...	Moon Girl

Storyline

Escaped convicts Gary and Lon are caught hiding in a rocket by scientist Dirk Green, who forces them to pilot the ship to the moon. Dirk, who's secretly a moon being, wants to return to his home satellite. Dirk's partner Steve Dayton and his fiancé June stowaway on the ship by accident. Will they all make it back safely?

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Plot Keywords:

moon | rocket | subterranean | space | moon people | 

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Taglines:

A Giant Fiendish Creature!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 January 1962 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Bestie des Grauens

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Layton Film Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Leading lady Cathy Downs' screams are dubbed - they were taken from Allison Hayes and the soundtrack of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

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Goofs

In the blast-off sequence, cuts are made to stock footage of a World War II vintage German V2 rocket launch. The V2 looks nothing like the "ship" that was shown out the window, not to mention that the V2 launch was in broad daylight and "our" launch was at night.

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Quotes

The Lido: You have not even commented on my blindness.
Steve Dayton: I was very sorry to see it.

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Connections

Featured in Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

User Reviews

There are spiders on the Moon!

Richard Cunha did not direct many movies but the few he did give us are fantastic. You know right away you are in an alternate universe when you watch this one. Hero Richard Travis pulls back a curtain to give us a look at what is supposed to be a giant rocket way out in the background; but you can tell immediately that it is a wooden model just a few inches away! Oh it just gets better from there! Scientist Michael Whalen blasts off for the Moon with a makeshift crew of 2 escaped JD's (Gary Clarke of HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER fame and Tommy Cook of no particular fame at all). Mr. Travis and girlfriend Cathy Downs (former fiancée of THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN) go aboard just before blastoff and are unable to get off in time . . . does that mean they were shanghaied? Amazingly the extra weight does not affect fuel or oxygen consumption and apart from the obligatory meteor shower they reach the Moon with no problem. Remember to keep repeating "It's only a movie, only a movie, only a movie . . ."

This is not the Moon of DESTINATION MOON, oh no! This Moon is inhabited by walking rocks that look like Gumby on steroids, a giant spider that looks like a puppet (well okay it IS a puppet but it's a darn mean looking puppet!) and a civilisation of beautiful women. They have a distinct problem though, they are running out of oxygen and must take off for another planet soon or else! They want the Earth people to show them how to build a rocket to carry them to safety. Meanwhile moon girl Alpha (Nina Bara) takes one look at Travis and decides she must have him for a mate and her unrequited love is more important than the survival of her own race. Talk about self absorbed!

Is it art? No. Is it fun? You bet! The puppet spider had already been seen in the 3-D film CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON but Mr. Cunha's film is much more fun. The rock men are surprisingly good and the Moon girls are fabulous. Look closely for Leslie Parrish (Daisy Mae of L'IL ABNER fame) and Lisa Simone who would go on to meet THE GIANT GILA MONSTER among the lunar beauties.

Amazing some TV prints cut the scenes of the spider claiming a victim and the climactic shot that shows why you should not go out in the sun while visiting the moon. Some DVD prints of this now Public Domain title offer the film uncut. Notice I said some, not all!