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
Oldrich Lukes	...	Amerikanischer Atomphysiker / Prof. Harringway Hawling
Ignacy Machowski	...	Polnischer Chefingenieur / Prof. Saltyk / Prof. Durand
Julius Ongewe	...	Afrikanischer Fernsehtechniker / Talua
Michail N. Postnikow	...	Sowjetischer Astronaut / Prof. Arsenew / Prof. Orloff
Kurt Rackelmann	...	Indischer Mathematiker / Prof. Sikarna
Günther Simon	...	Deutscher Pilot / Robert / Raimund Brinkmann
Hua-Ta Tang	...	Chinesischer Linguist / Dr. Tchen Yu / Lao Tsu
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

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

During principal photography, the first English Film Festival was being held in Berlin. Various British film dignitaries were brought to DEFA to meet the director, Prof. Kurt Maetzig, and watch as some scenes were being shot.

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Goofs

In the English-dubbed version, the chess-playing robot announces the move King to B-8. The actor moving the robot's pieces moves the king to D-8.

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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

Featured in The Thingy: Confessions of a Teenage Placenta (2013)

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.