Race to Space (2001)

In the 1960s a young woman works at NASA as an animal trainer responsible for the chimpanzee who will go into space.

Director:

Sean McNamara

Writers:

Eric Gardner, Steven H. Wilson

Stars:

James Woods, Annabeth Gish, Alex D. Linz

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Woods	...	Dr. Wilhelm von Huber
Annabeth Gish	...	Dr. Donni McGuinness
Alex D. Linz	...	Wilhelm 'Billy' von Huber
Wesley Mann	...	Rudolph
Patrick Richwood	...	Dieter
William Devane	...	Roger Thornhill
Mark Moses	...	Alan Shepard
William Atherton	...	Ralph Stanton
Michael Tylo	...	Guidance Technician
Scott Thompson Baker	...	Telemetry Technician
Michael Jeffrey Woods	...	Dexterity Technician
T.J. Beacom	...	Ed the Bully
James Benson	...	Gertz
Jack McGee	...	Fielding
Marc Kittay	...	Rat Patrol #1

Storyline

In the 1960s a young woman works at NASA as an animal trainer responsible for the chimpanzee who will go into space.

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Plot Keywords:

nasa | chimpanzee | space | independent film

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Taglines:

Together they surprised America and made history.

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some language and peril

Details

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Avventura nello spazio

Filming Locations:

Cape Canaveral Air Station, Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Century Entertainment, Telepool

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie shares many commonalities with Philip Kaufman's The Right Stuff, including the problems with designing the Mercury capsule and the presence of Mac the chimp and Alan Shepherd.

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Goofs

One of the characters drives a Volkswagen, at least a 1958. VW came out with square back window with the 58 model. This time period is the middle of 1957.

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Connections

References High Noon (1952)

User Reviews

chimp and child =heroes

Some random thoughts about this monkey business. Billy saves Mac and Mac saves Billy. A true friendship that any child would love. The training chimp is full of mischief and simple passion. Billy tries to fit in to his school surroundings but is bullied. What better way for a child to deal with his hurt than to rise above the immediate and dream about the race to space and get involved in a project where bullies are not- even though Billy is not allowed in at first. We see bully adults too. Along the way Billy helps his headstrong father get clued in to his new culture. His father accepts the responsibility of fatherhood when he sees his son in the arms of an American astronaut hero. I like the transition from the Volkswagon to the Corvette. The Florida Thanksgiving was sentimental as I watched this film on the other side of the planet on that holiday with a class that is to learn English. Teaching is my job. I feel less impressed with the first human astronauts when learning about the animal test subjects used to make their 'passenger ride' a common routine. Pets do teach a child responsibility and Billy matured in more ways than one. I liked his collection of baseball cards and how some inanimate objects can be a friend as well. We see how the film is active in portraying women as active in science and sports which was blossoming for them during the 60's.