Project Moon Base (1953)

A saboteur posing as a scientist strives to destroy the world's first space station.

Director:

Richard Talmadge

Writers:

Robert A. Heinlein (screenplay) (as Robert Heinlein), Jack Seaman (screenplay)

Stars:

Donna Martell, Hayden Rorke, Ross Ford

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Donna Martell	...	Colonel Briteis
Hayden Rorke	...	General Greene
Ross Ford	...	Major Moore
Larry Johns	...	Doctor Wernher
Herb Jacobs	...	Mr. Roundtree
Barbara Morrison	...	Polly Prattles
Ernestine Barrier	...	Madame President
James Craven	...	Commodore Carlson
John Hedloe	...	Adjutant
Peter Adams	...	Captain Carmody
Robert Karnes	...	Sam
John Straub	...	Chaplain
Charles Keane	...	Spacom Operator
John Tomecko	...	Blockhouse Operator
Robert Paltz	...	Bellboy

Storyline

In the not-too-distant future of 1970, the United States is considering building bases on the Moon, and send a female colonel and two men to investigate. One of the men turns out to be a foreign spy, and the entire operation--and the future of the free world--is in danger.

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | psychotronic film | year 1970 | space | near future | 

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Taglines:

Thrills Come Rocketing to the Screen as Science Smashes a New Frontier!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was lambasted by Joel and the Bots on Mystery Science Theater 3000. (S2E9)

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Goofs

The story takes place in 1972 where space travel is accepted, yet early in the movie the airplane used is propeller driven. With all of the other spacecraft special effects, it would seem reasonable to project commercial air travel into the future as well. [Disputed: Faulty reasoning. By 1953, all the forms of air travel in use today, 2014, had already been invented and were in use. We were still using propellor-driven aircraft in the 1970s. We still are today.]

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Quotes

Col. Briteis: [after panicking over their predicament] Sorry for going female on you, Major.

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Connections

Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Project Moonbase (1969)

User Reviews

Spies On The Moon

This low budget science fiction film with story by Robert Heinlein of all people was given to the American movie-going public by Lippert Pictures. Certainly a writer of Heinlein's reputation in the science fiction genre deserved better than a film by Lippert.

We're into the future, 1970 to be precise and the Cold War is still going on and it's race to the moon to see who can establish a base there and point missiles at Earth. There's a US constructed and operated space station out there already and the Communists want to see it destroyed and our progress in space halted and maybe even reversed.

What to do but plant a spy on board a mission to the moon who will take over the ship and destroy the space station. The spy is Larry Johns who is discovered by that tried and true device so popular during World War II, knowledge of baseball. I mean anybody who's never heard of the Brooklyn Dodgers has to be an enemy agent. And here the Dodgers never went west.

As if problems with Russian spies isn't enough, pilot Donna Martell and co-pilot Ross Ford are feuding. She was jumped over him in rank and given the first orbital space flight due to her sex and Ford doesn't like it. He kind of likes her though and they do get kind of close.

Even seen from a Cold War perspective I have to believe that Heinlein's story was a great deal more complex. The sets are Lippert style cheap and the story is to ridiculous to describe further.

Even the Man in the Moon winced.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Project Moonbase

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galaxy Pictures Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1