First Man Into Space (1959)

Director:

Robert Day

Writers:

John Croydon (screenplay) and
Charles F. Vetter (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

27 February 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

First motion picture to lift the veil, forsee the future in a spectacular drama of the first man in history to be rocketed into the terrifying unknown of outer space!

Plot:

The first pilot to leave Earth's atmosphere lands, then vanishes; but something with a craving for blood prowls the countryside...

Plot Keywords:

Alien | Astronaut | Dust | Space Vampire | Mutant

Cast

Marshall Thompson	...	Commander Charles Ernest Prescott
Marla Landi	...	Tia Francesca
Bill Edwards	...	Lieutenant Dan Milton Prescott
Robert Ayres	...	Captain Ben Richards
Bill Nagy	...	Wilson
Carl Jaffe	...	Dr. Paul von Essen
Roger Delgado	...	Mexican Consul
John McLaren	...	Harold Atkins - State Dept. Official (also as John Mclaren)
Spencer Teakle	...	Ratings Control Room
Chuck Keyser	...	Ratings Control Room
John Fabian	...	Ratings Control Room
Richard Shaw	...	Witney
Bill Nick	...	Clancy (also as William R. Nick)
Helen Forrest	...	Secretary (also as Helen Forest)
Roland Brand	...	Truck Driver (as Rowland Brand)
Barry Shawzin	...	Mexican Farmer
Mark Sheldon	...	Doctor
Michael Bell	...	State Trooper
Sheree Winton	...	Nurse - at Blood Bank
Franklyn Fox	...	Chief Petty Officer
Larry Taylor	...	Shore Patrolman (as Laurence Taylor)

Directed by
Robert Day

Writing credits
John Croydon		(screenplay) (as John C. Cooper) and
Charles F. Vetter		(screenplay) (as Lance Z. Hargreaves)
Wyott Ordung		(story)

Produced by
John Croydon	....	producer
Charles F. Vetter	....	producer (as Charles Vetter Jr)
Richard Gordon	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Buxton Orr

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Faithfull		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Peter Mayhew

Art Direction by
Denys Pavitt		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Anna Selby-Walker		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Eileen Warwick	....	hair stylist
Michael Morris	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
George Mills	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Stanley Goulder	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Terence Cotter	....	sound recordist
Peter Musgrave	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Frank Drake	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Guerin	....	wardrobe
Anna Selby-Walker	....	dresses supervisor: Miss Landi

Music Department
Buxton Orr	....	conductor

Other crew
John George	....	location manager
Kay Rawlings	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Amalgamated Productions

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1959) (USA) (theatrical)
• Producers Associates (1959) (UK) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Hollywood's Attic (video)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Media Home Entertainment (video)
• Monterey Home Video (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Rhino Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Something Weird Video (SWV) (video)
• Teleworld (199?) (USA) (TV re-syndication)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Gordon Films Inc.  releasing agency: USA (uncredited)
• SounDrama  electronic effects by (as Sound Drama)

Also Known As:

Satellite of Blood (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

77 min | West Germany:78 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:PG | UK:X (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:16

Company:

Amalgamated Productions

Trivia:

Bill Edwards is dubbed.

Goofs:

When Commander Prescott exits a building, he passes a sign that reads, "Flight Operations - Authorised Personnel Only". The film is set on an American Air Force base in New Mexico, and no sign in the United States would use the British spelling of "authorized", with an "s" instead of a "z". (The fact that the film was shot in England accounts for this error.)

Quotes:

Doctor Paul von Essen: The conquest of new worlds always makes demands of human life. And there will always be men who will accept the risk.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Diner (1982)

Good 1950's scifi

1959 movie about a test pilot who disobeys orders and ends up flying higher than he should -becoming the title in the process. He also returns to earth looking like the burnt casserole man.

Filmed in England yet set in White Sands New Mexico this is a slow but decent little scifi thriller about an experiment that goes horribly wrong. Its the sort of thing you put on late at night to fall asleep to or laugh at or drift off in the ways that black and white movies of the period are prone to make you do.

Not one of my favorites I recently picked it up as part of a Criterion box set called Madmen and Monsters of four lesser films from the late 1950's packaged together with a host of typical extras. Why Criterion would choose these films was a bit beyond me until I realized that all of the films were made by the same producers and were the follow ups to Fiend Without a Face (the crawling brain film) which Criterion put out several years ago. The transfer and such is sterling and the commentary is very informative dealing with the film and the producers life as exploitation filmmakers and to be honest listening to it boosted my appreciation of the film.

Its a good way to see the film- though to be honest I'm still not convinced the film needed a Criterion edition-especially since its pricey set (which I got greatly reduced) will limit peoples exposure to the film.