First Men in the Moon (1964)

Director:

Nathan Juran

Writers:

Nigel Kneale (screenplay) &
Jan Read (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 November 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

H.G. Wells' Astounding Adventure in Dynamation!

Plot:

Based on the HG Wells story. The world is delighted when a space craft containing a crew made up of the world's astronauts lands on the moon...

Plot Keywords:

Moon | Astronaut | Flag | Space | Epidemic

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Edward Judd	...	Arnold Bedford
Martha Hyer	...	Katherine 'Kate' Callender
Lionel Jeffries	...	Joseph Cavor
Miles Malleson	...	Dymchurch Registrar
Norman Bird	...	Stuart, Moon Landing Crew
Gladys Henson	...	Nursing Home Matron
Hugh McDermott	...	Richard Challis, UN Space Agency
Betty McDowall	...	Margaret Hoy, UN Space Agency

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' First Men in the Moon (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:11 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:12 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Chertsey, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Ameran Films

Trivia:

This is the only one of Ray Harryhausen's films to be shot in Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) due to the difficulty of compositing images in his Dynamation Process. Many of the models had to be sculpted in the "squeezed" dimensions so that when they were photographed with an anamorphic lens, they would appear in their normal shape.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Large 48-star US flag in the parade scene (presumably stock footage).

Quotes:

Selenite: It's... absolutely... imperial.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Troldspejlet: (#28.15)" (2002)

Another winner from the master animator!

This is movie number ten for the great Ray Harryhausen, who provides his usual stunning animation, although the plot is a bit cynical for some taste, lacking the cheerful charm of such movies as "Journey to the Center of the Earth". In this one we get animated Selenites, giant caterpillar-like "Moon Cows", and a big-brained Grand Lunar on his regal throne. The special effects in the scenes of Professor Cavor's spherical spaceship en route to the Moon are beautiful.

The opening scene is clever: the "first" astronauts to land on the moon (an international group) is stunned by the discovery of a tiny British flag on the lunar surface. A message attached to the flag identifies the real first Moon landers, and the authorities on Earth get in touch with one of them, an aging Edward Judd, who tells the strange tale of his turn-of-the century expedition with Professor Cavor (Jeffries) and Judd's fiance' (Hyer).