Three men are assigned by the Office of Scientific Investigation to man rocket ships to outer space and attempt to capture a meteor.Three men are assigned by the Office of Scientific Investigation to man rocket ships to outer space and attempt to capture a meteor.Three men are assigned by the Office of Scientific Investigation to man rocket ships to outer space and attempt to capture a meteor.
IMDb RATING
5.4/10
843
YOUR RATING
- Directors
- Richard Carlson
- Herbert L. Strock(uncredited)
- Writers
- Curt Siodmak(screenplay)
- Ivan Tors(story)
- Stars
- Directors
- Richard Carlson
- Herbert L. Strock(uncredited)
- Writers
- Curt Siodmak(screenplay)
- Ivan Tors(story)
- Stars
James Best
- Dr. Sidney K. Fuller
- (as James K. Best)
Dick Cogan
- Research Laboratory Manager
- (uncredited)
Jack George
- Susan's Photographer
- (uncredited)
John Hedloe
- Archibald Guiness
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Richard Carlson
- Herbert L. Strock(uncredited)
- Writers
- Curt Siodmak(screenplay)
- Ivan Tors(story) (uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPhotographed in color by Color Corporation Of America; when sold to television in 1956, most prints and broadcasts were in black & white. The 35MM color master used for the DVD release, occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies, shows a lot of wear and a few splices, particularly at the reel changes, but may be the best that has survived.
- GoofsIn the film's first minutes, two crews race through the desert to recover equipment from a rocket that has landed. One is in a truck pulling a trailer, and the trailer has a big black box in it. When the truck and trailer runs over plants and bumps, the trailer bounces around, and we see in a quick shot that the big black box is thrown out of the trailer. But it is still in the trailer in later shots, such as on reaching the landing site. Also a vehicle carrying electronic equipment that more than likely contained vacuum tubes before the invention of solid-state electrics would not be driven in such a reckless manner with unsecured cargo in the trailer.
- Quotes
Kitty White: [Opening song lyrics sung by Kitty White, though IMDb's quote section would not let me add her as "other" in the quotes section] "Riders to the Stars - that is what we are every time we kiss in the night. Jupiter and Mars aren't very far anytime your holding me tight. Your embrace changed time and place. Hurled in space were we, and now we're Whirling past the moon, far away from Earth just the way I dreamed love would be. Riders to the stars are we."
- ConnectionsReferenced in Monster Kid Radio: Tom Biegler ate the mushrooms of Matango, Part Two (2013)
Featured review
Not Destination Moon, but Still Good
I recently bought a videotape copy of this on eBay to test my recollection of an old favorite. This film was shown often on the old "Chiller Theater" in the NYC viewing area during the 1960's (I think that they owned a stock of about six films). I was at a much more impressionable age at the time and sometimes these things diminish over the decades. Still, I remembered this as being special. Well, it turns out to be a pretty decent effort by both cast and crew. Significantly, it is directed by Richard Carlson, star of such notable films as "The Magnetic Monster," and who found his apex with "It Came from Outer Space." Both of these are on my "favorites" list. Carlson points this film in a direction well apart from the more typical silly space dramas of the 1950's. The cast, which includes Carlson, is first-rate. Look for William Lundigan, who probably earned his starring role on "Men Into Space" (yes, look it up!) with this film. OK, it's not "Destination Moon," but to me it easily surpasses "Rocketship X-M," a real stinker from the same period (starring Loyd Bridges!) over which some aficionados go ga-ga. IF ONLY CARLSON COULD HAVE HAD GEORGE PAL'S SPECIAL EFFECTS. Carlson unfortunately had to rely on really cheap models-on-strings and grainy stock footage of V-2 rocket tests. Usually, I can overlook low-cost effects, but these are SO cheap that the film suffers somewhat as a result. But note the dialog, the human interactions, and most of all, the sense of mission and wonder on the part of the team that needs to pave our way to the stars... Then think about the fact that this made years before Sputnik.
***01/01/2007 UPDATE*** TCM just broadcast a BEAUTIFUL color print of this gem with no commercial interruptions. I hope you had your video recorders running. I certainly did!
***01/01/2007 UPDATE*** TCM just broadcast a BEAUTIFUL color print of this gem with no commercial interruptions. I hope you had your video recorders running. I certainly did!
helpful•393
- XPDay
- Feb 10, 2001
Details
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- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- R 3 überfällig
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Sound mix
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