12 to the Moon (1960)

An international team embarks on an expedition to the moon in an uncommonly spacious rocketship. There they encounter a faceless alien intelligence who conclude that the human race is too ... See full summary »

Director:

David Bradley

Writers:

Fred Gebhardt (story), DeWitt Bodeen (screenplay) (as De Witt Bodeen)

Stars:

Ken Clark, Michi Kobi, Tom Conway

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ken Clark	...	Capt. John Anderson
Michi Kobi	...	Dr. Hideko Murata
Tom Conway	...	Dr. Feodor Orloff
Anthony Dexter	...	Dr. Luis Vargas (as Tony Dexter)
John Wengraf	...	Dr. Erich Heinrich
Robert Montgomery Jr.	...	Roddy Murdock (as Bob Montgomery Jr.)
Phillip Baird	...	Dr. William Rochester
Richard Weber	...	Dr. David Ruskin
Muzaffer Tema	...	Dr. Selim Hamid (as Tema Bey)
Roger Til	...	Dr. Etienne Martel
Cory Devlin	...	Dr. Asmara Markonen
Anna-Lisa	...	Dr. Sigrid Bomark
Francis X. Bushman	...	Secretary General of the International Space Order

Storyline

An international team embarks on an expedition to the moon in an uncommonly spacious rocketship. There they encounter a faceless alien intelligence who conclude that the human race is too immature and dangerous and must be destroyed.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | man wrapped in a towel | turk | japan | moon | 

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Taglines:

starring An International Cast

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Genres:

Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

NASA landed six missions on the Moon, each with a two-man crew. Therefore, the number of astronauts who eventually did walk on the lunar surface actually is twelve.

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Goofs

Dr. Rochester steps into the "quicksand" and is sucked under. But before it cuts away from the wide shot, where he first cries out and drops out of shot, he is visible dropping to the set floor to simulate getting sucked in. The following close-ups depict him sinking slowly into the moon surface.

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Quotes

Dr. Feodor Orloff: Lost, everything lost. What a fool! What a foolish waste.

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Crazy Credits

The "starring" cast credits are shown against a background of stars. Each name seems to zoom outward from the center of the screen, like meteors in a shower; but as each one appears it stops and remains onscreen until all 12 names are visible simultaneously. Ken Clark's name is the first shown, followed in order by Michi Kobi, Tom Conway, Tony Dexter, John Wengraf, Bob Montgomery Jr., Phillip Baird, Richard Weber, Tema Bey, Roger Til, Cory Devlin, and "and Anna-Lisa"; but when they have all settled in their places, the first row of names has Clark, Baird, Dexter, Til, Conway; the second row has Devlin, Bey, Montgomery, Wengraf; and the third row has Kobi, Anna-Lisa, Weber. Francis X. Bushman's name appears on a second screen as a "guest star".

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Connections

Featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000: 12 to the Moon (1994)

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Soundtracks

Lynch Fever
(uncredited)
Music by Trevor Duncan

User Reviews

The Dirty Dozen

Looking decidedly limp next to its colorful cofeature, Toho's "Battle in Outer Space," Columbia's 1959 "12 to the Moon" was shot independently in just 8 days on a budget of $150,000, from producer Fred Gebhardt, responsible for "The Phantom Planet" two years later (using two actors from this film, Francis X. Bushman and Anthony Dexter). Scientists from a dozen different nations form an international expedition to the moon aboard the Lunar Eagle 1, taking off at 9 minutes, reaching their destination at 24 minutes (mostly concerned with meteor showers along the way). The lunar surface provides the film's most elaborate set, dodging small fissures, finding gold, two people going missing after a tender moment in a cave, another falling victim to quicksand. The nine survivors receive cryptic messages in hieroglyphics from the citizens of the Moon, lifting off for home at 51 minutes, only to dodge more meteors before finding North America encased in an icy prison, all the inhabitants in a state of suspended animation. For all its tediously sober moments early on, the picture descends into juvenile fantasy by its conclusion, the Moon men enjoying a change of heart to welcome all future expeditions. The main screenwriter is DeWitt Bodeen, virtually at the end of his career, quite a surprise considering his pedigree (Val Lewton's "Cat People" and "The Seventh Victim" both featuring Tom Conway), while director David Bradley sadly earned raspberries for his mishandling of 1963's "The Madmen of Mandoras," later reworked into the even worse "They Saved Hitler's Brain," undoubtedly a head of its time! Tom Conway's casting as the Russian seemed rather appropriate as he and younger brother George Sanders were actually born in St. Petersburg, and stalwart Ken Clark ("Attack of the Giant Leeches") is the American captain (the only other recognizable veteran is John Wengraf). A movie not well thought out and certainly not well remembered.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Twelve to the Moon

Filming Locations:

California Studios - 5530 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$150,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Luna Productions Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1