Rocketship X-M (1950)

Director:

Kurt Neumann

Writers:

Orville H. Hampton (additional dialogue)
Kurt Neumann (written by)

Release Date:

2 June 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Most Amazing Story Ever Filmed!

Plot:

Astronauts (Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery, Jr., and Hugh O'Brien) blast off to explore the moon on...

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Martian | Caveman | Rocket Crash | Theremin

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Lloyd Bridges	...	Col. Floyd Graham
Osa Massen	...	Dr. Lisa Van Horn
John Emery	...	Dr. Karl Eckstrom
Noah Beery Jr.	...	Maj. William Corrigan
Hugh O'Brian	...	Harry Chamberlain
Morris Ankrum	...	Dr. Ralph Fleming
Patrick Aherne	...	Reporter #1 (as Patrick Ahern)
Sherry Moreland	...	Martian Girl
John Dutra	...	Physician
Kathy Marlowe	...	Reporter (as Katherine Marlowe)

Also Known As:

Expedition Moon
None Came Back (USA) (working title)
Rocket to the Moon (USA) (working title)
Rocketship Expedition Moon (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved | West Germany:12 (f) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (video rating) (1996)

Filming Locations:

Death Valley National Park, California, USA

Company:

Lippert Pictures

Trivia:

Promotional material sent to exhibitors carried the disclaimer "This is not 'Destination Moon'."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the rocket ship is launched for the first time, most of it is transparent, allowing the launch pad and other background props to shine right through it.

Quotes:

Floyd: I've been wondering, how did a girl like you get mixed up in a thing like this in the first place.
Dr. Lisa Van Horn: I suppose you think that women should only cook and sew and bear children.
Floyd: Isn't that enough?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956)

An early anti-nuclear war film done with imagination and style.

Despite what we would now consider laughable scientific goofs, this science-fiction film carried itself well as a dramatic film. The actors were all solid professionals. The Martian settings were believable. The sentiments, while a bit pretentious, were sincere and laudable. It was an early attempt at mature science-fiction and succeeded better than many more polished, but cynical efforts that came later on.