Destination Moon (1950)

Directed by

Irving Pichel

Genre

drama film, adventure film, science fiction film, speculative fiction film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 31m

Rated

12

Rating

5.9 of 10 from 100 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A group of American industrialists and scientists race to build the first rocket to the moon. They argue that private industry must lead space exploration to keep the United States ahead in a coming space race. The film shows the technical problems they solve to make the trip happen.

earnestspeculativeslow-pacededucativeoptimisticfocusedseriousmethodical

What happens

Destination Moon (a.k.a. Operation Moon) is a 1950 American Technicolor science fiction film, independently produced by George Pal and directed by Irving Pichel, that stars John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson and Grace Stafford (voice). The film was distributed in the United States and the United Kingdom by Eagle-Lion Classics. Destination Moon was the first major U.S. science fiction film to deal with the practical scientific and engineering challenges of space travel and to speculate on what a crewed expedition to the Moon would look like. Noted science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein contributed to the screenplay. The film's premise is that private industry will mobilize, finance, and manufacture the first spacecraft to the Moon, and that the U.S. government will be forced to purchase or lease the technology to remain the dominant power in space. Different industrialists cooperate to support the private venture. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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• Apollo 13 (1995)
• Riders to the Stars (1954)
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• Moon Rockets (1947)
• Cape Kidnaveral (1961)
• Conquest of Space (1955)