First Spaceship on Venus (1960)

When an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.

Director:

Kurt Maetzig

Writers:

Stanislaw Lem (novel), Jan Fethke (adaptation) (as J. Fethke)

Stars:

Yôko Tani, Oldrich Lukes, Ignacy Machowski

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Yôko Tani	...	Die japanische Ärztin / Sumiko Ogimura MD (as Yoko Tani)
Oldrich Lukes	...	Amerikanischer Atomphysiker / Prof. Harringway Hawling
Ignacy Machowski	...	Polnischer Chefingenieur / Prof. Saltyk / Prof. Durand
Julius Ongewe	...	Afrikanischer Fernsehtechniker / Talua
Mikhail N. Postnikov	...	Sowjetischer Astronaut / Prof. Arsenew / Prof. Orloff (as Michail N. Postnikow)
Kurt Rackelmann	...	Indischer Mathematiker / Prof. Sikarna
Günther Simon	...	Deutscher Pilot / Robert / Raimund Brinkmann
Hua-Ta Tang	...	Chinesischer Linguist / Dr. Tchen Yu / Lao Tsu (as Tang Hua-Ta)
Lucyna Winnicka	...	Fernsehreporterin / Joan Moran (as Lucina Winnicka)

Storyline

(U.S. Version) A mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus. A rocket expedition to Venus is launched to discover the origin of the spool and the race that created it.

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Plot Keywords:

space travel | nuclear threat | venus the planet | alien technology | spacecraft | 

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Taglines:

You are there... on man's most incredible journey!

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The German version contains a reference to one of the professors having his career stalled when he was thrown out of the university by the Nazis. Director and co-writer Kurt Maetzig had his career stalled by the Nazis because his mother was Jewish.

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Goofs

During an excursion on the surface of Venus, one of the crew damages his suit and he radios that his air is leaking out. Assuming his suit pressure is roughly Earth normal, the problem would be that the Venusian atmosphere (mostly carbon dioxide) was leaking in because the air pressure on the surface of Venus is dozens of times more dense than Earth's. His suit should inflate, not deflate.

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Alternate Versions

This film was released in the United States as _First Spaceship on Venus (1962)_. This version was edited down to 80 minutes, dubbed into English, and had Andrzej Markowski's score replaced by a stock score prepared by Gordon Zahler of the General Music Corporation.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Being from Another Planet (1992)

User Reviews

Good old sci fi

This movie suprised me. I thought I was going to see a cheesy old science fiction movie. But this movie, for its time, is actually really good. The special effects are pretty impressive for a film this old, and I love the design of the spaceship. I have no idea what kind of budget this movie was done on, but there are a lot of scenes in this movie that look BIG budget! The sets are very impressive, lavish and expansive. And the enviornment of Venus is detailed, spooky, and bizarre. I didn't care for the little plastic spiders, I thought that was distractingly goofy. I was very suprised to see such a forward thinking and racially diversified cast. For its time, such diversity was totally unheard of. Its a little long and slightly boring, but for good old fashioned sci fi, with cool alien landscapes and bizarre spaceships, this is a must see. Thats why I am rating this movie fairly high, giving it an 8.

Details

Country:

East Germany Poland

Language:

German

Release Date:

31 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

First Spaceship on Venus

Filming Locations:

DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

VEB DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Künstlerische Arbeitsgruppe ''Roter Kreis'', Film Polski

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 95 min (short)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo

Color:

Color (Agfacolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1