Wernher von Braun (1960)

The story of rocket scientist Dr. Werner von Braun's career, from the 1920s until the late 1950s.

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Jay Dratler, George Froeschel (story)

Stars:

Curd Jürgens, Victoria Shaw, Herbert Lom

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Curd Jürgens	...	Wernher von Braun
Victoria Shaw	...	Maria von Braun
Herbert Lom	...	Anton Reger
Gia Scala	...	Elizabeth Beyer
James Daly	...	U.S. Major William Taggert
Adrian Hoven	...	Mischke
Gerard Heinz	...	Professor Oberth
Karel Stepanek	...	Captain Dornberger
Peter Capell	...	Dr. Neumann
Hayden Rorke	...	U.S. Army Major
Austin Willis	...	U.S. General John B. Medaris
Alan Gifford	...	U.S. Army Colonel
Helmo Kindermann	...	General Kulp
Lea Seidl	...	Baroness von Braun
John Crawford	...	Dr. Bosco - White Sands, New Mexico

Storyline

The life story of the famed rocket scientist Dr. Werner von Braun, one of the most brilliant and controversial figures of the space age. Dr. von Braun helped pioneer man's adventure into space through his rocket experiments; his was the brain behind the V-2 rockets which blasted London in World War II; his was also the brain which led America into the development and the launching of space satellites.

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Plot Keywords:

rocket | scientist | satellite | nasa | military intelligence | 

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Taglines:

The Most Incredible Story Of The Space Age! WERNHER VON BRAUN is the Man Who Made It Come True!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the American Film Institute: "The film was greeted with demonstrations against von Braun at showings in Europe and New York, according to various news stories. Prior to the world premiere in Munich, von Braun and Jurgens held a press conference during which members of the Communist and British press hounded von Braun with charges that the film whitewashed his war work. The press conference prompted von Braun to issue the following statement: 'I have very deep and sincere regrets for the victims of the V-2 rockets, but there were victims on both sides. A war is a war, and when my country is at war, my duty is to help win that war.' Later, a crowd of protesters mobbed the theater where the premiere was held. Demonstrators in London dropped anti-Nazi pamphlets onto theatergoers from a balcony. In New York, the film was picketed by an anti-Fascist youth organization. The film was previewed in Washington at the Senate Office auditorium, and its Oct 1960 opening in Washington was attended by First Lady Mamie Eisenhower and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The film was chosen to open the Edinburgh Film Festival, where it received a special diploma of merit."

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Goofs

The 30 second countdown to the launch of the Jupiter-C rocket, putting America's first satellite into orbit, takes 1 minute 14 seconds.

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Soundtracks

I Aim At The Stars
Music by Laurie Johnson
Lyrics by Lionel Bart

User Reviews

Complicated man

"I Aim at the Stars" purports to be the story of Werner von Braun, one of the men responsible for getting the U.S. into space. In many ways, it is, but like many geniuses, von Braun lived a life full of controversy. To the film's credit, that controversy is somewhat handled here, though not enough.

The film covers von Braun's obsession with space travel, his work for Germany during the war, which resulted in rockets being used as war weapons, and he and his teammates handing themselves over to the Americans after the war. One word comes to mind: collaborator, but in von Braun's case, it goes a little deeper. Some people, such as opera star Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, collaborated with the Nazis. von Braun collaborated with anybody who could help him further his work. When that was no longer Germany, he was out of there.

It's foolish to go into all the aspects of von Braun not covered in the film. There are many more objective accounts of his life and work with the Nazis and whether or not he had to join or was a devoted member of the party. Curt Jurgens does an excellent job as von Braun, depicting him as a strong and determined man dedicated to his work first, last, and always.

The beautiful Victoria Shaw has a small role as his wife, Maria; James Daly plays an American soldier violently opposed to von Braun working for the U.S. Herbert Lom plays a member of von Braun's team who refuses to go to America, and he's very good.

There is some great rocket footage; many of the scenes in the film are short, almost like television scenes. It's not a big-budget movie. There is a love story subplot between a spy and one of von Braun's team; in fact, there was a spy, a female dentist, who reported some of his negative comments to the Nazis.

Werner von Braun was an individual of great accomplishments who helped the U.S. win the war in space. In the film, he is depicted as a reluctant Nazi, and it's true that he was, in fact, arrested by the Nazis for saying things against the party privately. In the end he was an opportunist and a survivor who did what had to be done to achieve his goals. Like many biographies, this film is merely one view. As to his efforts to get into space and instead making war weapons, there's always the joke about the movie: "I aim at the stars, but sometimes I hit London."

Details

Country:

West Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 September 1960 (Finland)

Also Known As:

I Aim at the Stars

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Morningside Productions, Fama-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1