Destination Moon (1950)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Irving Pichel

Writers:

Robert A. Heinlein (novel)
Alford Van Ronkel (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

August 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING!

Plot:

One of the first science fiction films to attempt a high level of accurate technical detail tells the story of the first trip to the moon.

Plot Keywords:

Moon | Astronaut | Scientist | Industry | 1950s

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

John Archer	...	Jim Barnes
Warner Anderson	...	Dr. Charles Cargraves
Tom Powers	...	General Thayer
Dick Wesson	...	Joe Sweeney
Erin O'Brien-Moore	...	Emily Cargraves
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grace Stafford	...	Woody Woodpecker (voice)

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Not Rated (DVD) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (certificate #14432)

Filming Locations:

General Service Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

George Pal Productions

Trivia:

This marked the first time that Grace Stafford (cartoon producer Walter Lantz's wife) did the voice of Woody Woodpecker.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the moonwalk, studio lights are seen reflected in the glass visors of the astronauts' helmets.

Quotes:

Woody Woodpecker: Ha-ha-ha-HA-ha! It'll never get off the ground. Hmph - no propellers!
Cartoon Narrator: Rockets do not employ propellers. They use jets.
Woody Woodpecker: So do gas stoves, but they don't fly to the Moon.
Cartoon Narrator: Obviously you know nothing about rockets. Now, let's pretend that umbrella of yours is a shotgun.
[It turns into one]
Cartoon Narrator: Shoot it.
[Woody shoots and goes sliding backwards]
Woody Woodpecker: Who pushed me?
Cartoon Narrator: The gun, Woody. The charge not only fired out of the muzzle, it kicked back with equal force against the barrel.
Woody Woodpecker: Ahhh, it wouldn't happen again in a hundred times.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Edited into Midnight Movie Massacre (1988)

Fine '50s SF, never the like to be made again.

Pal, Bonestell, and Heinlein. If you know those names, you already know this film. If not, set your Wayback Machine for half-a-century ago and step in: you're going to the moon, the way it should have been done. You'll ride a cigar-shaped rocket, making the whole trip on one engine and one stage. You'll wear a bubble-headed spacesuit with corrugated arms. You'll have to lighten your ship to make it home and, oh boy, that's going to be a puzzle! Spaceflight turned out to be much, much more complex than this movie projected, but this is still a serious attempt (some, who must not have seen Lang's "Woman in the Moon," say this is the _first_ serious attempt) at making a movie about a moon landing. If you're like me and are feeling the pangs of disillusionment, go watch this film and relive the illusion that a trip to the moon could be accomplished with a pipewrench, slide-rule, and honest sweat. Ignore the last-minute inclusion of a character for comic relief; that seems to have been required in movies of this era.

BTW, when I met the venerable Isaac Asimov in 1972, I asked him what he thought of this film. He lightheartedly scoffed at, "ice on the moon." As you may know, NASA now believes there _is_ ice on the moon. Maybe this half-forgotten movie has something to teach us yet. (No offense, Dr. A; you were the great one.)