Out of the Cradle

[murphydyne]

Howdy all! This thread is dedicated to reviews of Moon Movies, and associated stuff like anime. To get things started we have:

"Le Voyage dans la Lune" (A Trip to the Moon) by Georges Méliès. A Star Film produced in 1902.

The version reviewed is from the DVD "Landmarks of Early Film", issued in 1997 by Image Entertainment. With piano music and narration of the story in English (presumably to replace the French-language story cards so the Yanks wouldn't have to strain their brains), it weighs in at 0:11:03.

The astronomers gather in an august hall filled with the scientific instruments of their trade. The President of the Astronomical Society, Barbenfouille, proposes a trip to the Moon, which is met with both accolades and fervent disagreement on the part of one astronomer (who would probably prefer that the monies be spent on an orbital telescope instead). After he's dealt with, the Society approves the trip, and the President selects five colleagues to accompany him on the voyage: Nostradamus, Acofribas (sp?), Omega, Micromegas, and Parafaragaramus.

The intrepid astronomers visit a workshop, where they see the capsule being built, based on the 'proven' bullet design from Jules Verne's 1865 book "De la terre á la lune". Urged to the roof of the factory, they arrive just in time to see the pour for the giant cannon. Once assembled above the rooftops of the town, everyone assembles for the send-off celebrations. The scientists bow to the acclamations of the crowd before climbing into the capsule for their journey. A bevy of buxom and beautiful marine gunners push the capsule into the cannon, then assemble alongside in their short shorts for the launch. Boom! The journey begins!

The shell rapidly approaches the Moon, which grows to gigantic proportions, allowing for a close-up of the Man in the Moon before the landing in the right eye of the Man in the Moon (mare Imbrium). The astronomers climb out to see sights as yet unbeheld by human eyes. Sharp peaks and jagged craters loom everywhere. The scientists are delighted! They see a slow Earthrise [Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!] which bathes the countryside in beautiful blue light [Correct!]. Craters are everywhere, and when attempting to investigate one, it suddenly one explodes and throws them about. Fatigued by their journey, they decide to call it a night and camp out on the Lunar plain. A comet traverses the dome of night, and the seven stars of Big Dipper rise into the sky, beautiful maidens peering down in annoyance at the interlopers. (Anyone who knows about the movie 'Stardust' knows that stars are always beautiful women) These are replaced by Phoebus riding a crescent (Ceres, maybe, since it can't be the Moon) and Saturn with his handsome rings, as well as two lovely pucelles bearing a large lone star aloft (perhaps a nod to Star Films?). Phoebus is not happy, and the temperature drops to the iciness of her feelings, precipitating snow from the sky and sending the half-frozen scientists to seek cover in a crater.

Since the general consensus at the time was that the craters of the Moon were all formed by volcanoes, the scientists would find shelter in a lava tube cave. It is filled with gigantic Lunar fungi of all types, even morels. One astronomer opens his umbrella for comparison when lo! It takes root and quickly grows into still another mushroom. What a curious place indeed!

Nowhere near as curious as the strange creatures emerging from the fungi, vaguely insectoid and capable of singular contortions - the Selenites. Anyone who's read H.G. Wells' 'The First Men in the Moon' knows, the Selenites are the underground denizens of the Moon. Weak by virtue of the pathetic 1/6th Lunar gravity, they nevertheless exist in vast numbers in extensive warrens underlying the Lunar surface. One approaches an astronomer menacingly, but with a stroke of his umbrella the Selenite bursts into a cloud of dust. A second is dealt with likewise, and the others take heart to advance further into the depths, but quail and take flight before a horde of the creatures. Eventually, they are caught and overwhelmed by the creatures, and taken bound before their King, who is seated on a throne of living stars (i.e. more lovely women). President Barbenfouille breaks free of his bonds, dashes to the throne, and lifts the King over his head like a feather before dashing him to the ground to burst into a million pieces. This really pisses off the pissed off Selenites, and the chase is on!

A growing horde is after the astronomers despite the ease with which they are despatched, but the scientists spot the shell on the edge of the waning Moon and quickly clamber in. Except for Barbenfouille, who grabs a rope at the nose of the craft and jumps off the edge, pulling the capsule off the edge with a Selenite clinging to the back end.

It falls and falls with greater speed, before crashing into the ocean, plunging deeper and deeper (to the consternation of the fish swimming about) before finally floating back to the surface. A steamer tows the capsule back to port for the triumphant return!

Trying to put myself back into the period of 1902, I see this film as a masterwork of early science fiction that pandered to the general knowledge of the public of the works of both Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. It's more fantasy than science, really, but a fun story and quite groundbreaking for its time. It incorporated a lot of technology from stagecraft for moving the bits of scenery around, and the special effects, such as the bursting of the Selenites, was no doubt very high tech for the time.

History has rendered much of the story and presentation as foolishness, but I think that even at the time the film was meant more as a fun cinematic escapade than as a model for a real trip to the Moon, even if they did get the water landing part right. And it is fun to watch, even if thoroughly dated. Lots of women showing off their legs helps as well (and no doubt encouraged repeat viewings of the film).

The DVD itself is an interesting collection of stuff from 1877 to 1913. The earliest stuff is serial photography (of nekkid chiks) pointing to the early development of the idea of not just pictures, but moving pictures. By the 1890s the Edison Kinetoscope folks are turning out slice of life films like boxing, a cockfight, the barbershop, and seminary girls having a pillow fight. Lumiere Films was doing French slice of life films. After the Moon film, there are more American slice of life films (like 'Pack Train on Chilikoot Pass'), and then a series of increasingly sopisticated films, showing the evolution in the art of filmmaking.

'A Trip to the Moon' is certainly a classic, and the first of the movies about our Moon, making it historical to boot, and thereby making it a Full Moon.

Back to the Lunar Library

Next Up: Fritz Lang's 1929 masterpiece "Woman in the Moon", with rocket scientist consulting by Hermann Oberth.

[murphydyne]

Howdy all! Our Sunday afternoon feature this time around is going to start out with a cartoon before we get to the main feature. Our cartoon is found on the DVD "Cartoon Crazys Sci-Fi" (and many other old cartoon DVDs) and is "Dancing on the Moon" by Dave & Max Fleischer, originally released on May 15, 1936.

We open with a rocketship on a ramp, the Honeymoon Express to the Moon. Tonight, Dancing on the Moon, only one dollar per couple.

[Lion Rocketship Captain]
Dancing on the Moon
Your girl in your arms
far away from all the crowds
up above the silvery clouds

[Everyone]
Dancing on the Moon
With You in my arms
Flying through the little stars
Venus Jupiter and Mars

[Cows]
We'll soon be on the Milky Way
Please don't hes-i-tate
Close your eyes and sway
We're going to the pearly gates

[Penguins]
Dancing on the Moon
With You in my arms
Without a hassle soon
When we're dancing on the Moon

Alley Cat and his missus are late, and Alley Cat leaps into the hatch as it's closing, but is unable to bring his best girl with him. Other couples are getting comfortable and affectionate, whilst Alley Cat plays solitaire

[Everyone]
Dancing on the Moon
Your girl in your arms
far away from all the crowds
up above the silvery clouds

Dancing on the Moon
With You in my arms
Flying through the little stars
Venus Jupiter and Mars

And now we're on the Milky Way
Please don't hes-i-tate
Close your eyes and sway
We're going to the pearly gates

The rocket approaches the Moon and the Man in the Moon says hello. The rocket touches down, and the crowd of couples spills out to stroll down Honeymoon Lane. Poor lonely Alley Cat is last out. The penguins get aggressively affectionate. Mr. Giraffe notes that the Moon is a great place for necking. Mrs. Cow rings a bell to tell her man when it's okay to kiss her, and again for him to stop. Sad and lonely Alley Cat is left to play a cat's cradle.

[Bears]
Sway to the rhythm of my heart beat
There is nothing quite so heavenly
And the stars above to heaven[?] so we love
Honey I just seem to be

[Everyone]
Dancing on the Moon
With You in my arms
far away from all the crowds
up above the silvery clouds

Dancing on the Moon
With You in my arms
Flying through the little stars
Venus Jupiter and Mars

Waltzing across the Moon back to the spaceship, all alone Alley Cat can merely turn in sad circles, dancing with himself. Arriving back on Earth, a crowd of storks brings the returning homneymooners their new gift. Except for Alley Cat, who is throroughly thrashed by his quite unhappy wife.

And now our main feature, from Kino Video, the DVD of Fritz Lang's second sci-fi masterpiece, "Woman in the Moon", released in Germany in 1929 it weighs in at 02:49:00. Hermann Oberth was a consultant on the project. Based on the novel "Woman in the Moon" by Thea von Harbou.

A group of engineers are putting together a rocket to travel to the Moon. Prof. Georg Manfeldt is the starving old academic whose genius conceived of the venture. Wolf Helius is the handsome young businessman who is intent on going to the Moon. Engineer Hans Windegger supplies the technical expertise.

Helius has come to visit the professor to have dinner and discuss the project, to discover the prof in the process of throwing a man down the stairs. One Walter Turner, who was interested in the Professor's manuscript as a curiosity. While Helius is prosperous, the Professor most certainly is not, During the dinner scene at the opening of the movie, we get an early example of product placement, as the Prof. enjoys a big glass of Odol, the label on the glass prominently held before the camera. Helius' eye drifts around the room and falls upon an old newspaper clipping on the wall. Flashback to 1896, when Prof. Manfeldt is addressing a skeptical scientific society. He's convinced that the Moon contains more gold than the mountains of Earth, and proclaims that someday spacecraft will travel to the Moon to return its gold to Earth. A postulation met with peals of laughter and derision by his 'peers'. As the assembly dissolves into shouts and jeers and chaos, the Professor proclaims that "Progress on Earth will not fail because of learned ignoramuses who totally lack in fantasy and whose brains operate in inverse proportion to their calcification".

Back to the present, Helius' gaze continues to wander as the Prof chows down, falling now on a globe of the Moon, with its craters in relief. An intense gaze in his eyes (that I recognize well), he decides to commit to going to the Moon.

The Professor, vindicated after all the decades of scorn, is ecstatic, and insists that he get to go as well before the upwelling of emotion overwhelms him. Will Windegger, your best friend and compatriot come along? No, decides Helius, and he shows the Professor what has broken his heart and made the decision to go to the Moon easy - an invite to the engagement of Hans Windegger, Chef Ingenieur of Helius Flight Hangers to the beautiful astronomy student Friede Velten, who also happens to be the love that Helius secretly pines for.

Cut to Friede's apartment, where Windegger is wooing her something fierce, offering a big old ring as enticement. Their tender scene is interrupted by the doorbell, and finally Windegger goes to answer. It's flowers for the couple and a note from Helius conveying his regrets at not being able to attend their party. Friede is crushed, and Windegger insists on offering solace. Clearly Friede has a soft spot in her heart for Helius, but like two proud spirits, neither can express their feelings to the other.

Back to the Professor's apartment. The prof is reflecting on Helius' decision, as well as the other recent events, and informs Helius that others know of his plans. Not three nights previously, someone attempted to steal the Professor's manuscript, and just today he threw out someone trying to buy it. Someone else clearly has an idea that something is going on. The Professor insists that Helius take the manuscript home with him and lock it in his safe.

Which may or may not be the safest place. Whilst Helius is on his way home, his car is stopped in traffic, and he foolishly accepts a bundle of violets from a pretty girl, and giving the bad guys ample time to talk their way into Helius' apartment and empty the safe whilst the housekeeper is preparing supper. When the car pulls up in front of the building, the driver is horrified to find Helius unconscious on the floor in the back. When he recovers, Helius is horrified to discover that the manuscript is gone. When he gets back to his apartment he's even more horrified to find that all of his work has been pilferred from his safe.

Back at the engagement party, folks are toasting the happy couple (or at least, Windegger's happy), and can't be bothered with the frantic phoning of Helius to find out more about the man that Windegger had sent over. Finally, someone answers, and Windegger informs Helius that no, he hadn't sent anyone over with a letter of recommendation. He's been had! The Brain Trust has been up to its dirty deeds.

Whilst "Walter Turner" gives Helius the lowdown on what is going to happen now that they have the upper hand, the Brain Trust eagerly pores over the documents and models the Helius has prepared for the Moon rocket. Helius previously launched the H23 magnesium-flare rocket to the Moon, with the results captured by the Mt. Wilson Observatory. A short video shows the flight of the H23, scientifically documenting everything, even the transit through the L-1 point and a free-return trajectory. Also included is the first views of the farside of the Moon! It's a not terribly unrealistic view, if a bit biased towards volcanic features, as then thinking went at the time. One of the Brain Trust is emphatic: "Why lose time? The Moon's riches of gold, should they exist, ought to be placed in the hands of businessmen and not into those of visionaries and idealists". [Another fine hour for dirty-deeds capitalism!]

Mr. Helius is given the ultimatum - you go to the Moon on our terms, with Mr. Turner as the agent of the Brain Trust accompanying the voyagers, or the hangar and nearly-complete rocket will be destroyed. Helius asks for 24 hours to think it over. Increasingly enraged, Helius decides to chase down the agent and tell him where to go. When he flings open the door to his office, the sight of the beautiful Friede stops him short -his heart soaring and his brain locking down at the sight of her. He quickly explains to Friede and Windegger what has happened. He must have those plans if they aren't to risk the fate of the previous crew to attempt the trip. Helius just can't expose Friede and Wendigger to that kind of risk. But he and Windegger will go, and Windegger asks Friede to accompany him, to which she can only reply yes, yes, oh yes!

24 hours later, Mr. Turner and the crew are gathered at Helius' office. To accentuate the Brain Trust's offer, Helius receives a call that one of his construction shacks has been blown up. He's informed by Turner that the next explosion will take human lives, and the third the spacecraft. If he agree to having Turner along, all of his materials will be returned in perfect condition.

We cut to a flyover of the vast Helius Flights Hangars, where the enormous rocketship Friede (peace) has been under construction. The start is set for 21:30, and workers are busy with the last of the preparations. At Moonrise, the spacecraft will rise into space. Helius addresses microphones to inform everyone that 36 hours later they will land on the far side. Friede and Wendigger are shaking hands with the ground crew and receiving their godspeeds before climbing the rope ladder to the crew compartment at the top of the craft. Cameramen swarm the departure site. The emcee informs the gathered crowds that at the moment of liftoff, all of the bells and horns of all of the churches and factories and ships around the world will sound to fare the pioneers of space navigation well on their way.

Slowly the enormous rocket is slowly carried in its vast harness out to the launch area. The audience erupts. The vehicle is too light to stand up under its own weight, and has to be lowered from its cradle into a pool of water for the launch. The crowds are jubilant, waving hats and scarves in the air. Technicians and cameramen follow the progress of the vehicle to the pool. Inside, Helius again begs the passengers to consider the extreme risk and save themselves while there's still time. Everyone's committed to the project and prepare themselves for the trip. Fifty minutes to go...

Slowly the enormous rocket is lowered into the pool. The tension builds. The crew is informed of the g-risk of the acceleration. Their cot frames are suspended by springs to help mitigate the effects, but the weight will seem terrible. Helius and Windegger man the control panel. Theirs is the most critical task - stopping the engines when the necessary speed of 11,200 mps is achieved, while keeping the acceleration under 40 mps per second, above which the acceleration is fatal for people. Windegger is wigging out, terrified at the thought of not stopping at 11,200 mps, and wandering forever lost in the depths of space like the last crew.

The gantry retreats from the launch site and the Moon starts peaking over the horizon. Sixty seconds to go. Twenty seconds, everyone take a deep breath! Ten seconds...6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Now! The rocket is off like a bullet, which it very much resembles. Start rockets exhausted, start the middle rockets! Acceleration is approaching forty mps per second, in the passenger compartment Friede is panting under the strain (because she's a smart woman and breathing how you're supposed to do breathe under extreme acceleration). The frail professor is tormented by the pressure, and having a cage with his pet mouse Josephine on his chest (along for scientific purposes, of course) isn't helping. The springs stretch ominously as the cots are forced lower and lower towards the floor. Windegger - dump the middle rocket! Windegger tries, but blacks out, Helius manages to separate the stage, but is having a hard time fighting the acceleration as the rocket approaches 11,200 mps. Friede sees Windegger half off his cot as she blacks out. Springs stretch ominously even further. Will Helius be able to turn off the rocket in time?

When everyone awakes, the ship is under only marginal acceleration, speed and course are set, and everyone is still alive. They are surprised to find a young rapscallion has stown away in the cargo hold. He pleads: "But Mr. Helius, I've devoted my entire life to Moon research!" He even shows Helius his "research" - the pulp sci-fi adventures of Nick Carter der Luft in his backpack (which Mr. Turner was trying to take a poke through): Moon Vampire, Das Geheimnis der totenden Mondstrahlen (Mond is Moon in German), Im Kampf mit Mondkalbern (Struggle with the Moon Cows?), Mingos Heimkehr zur Erde, and so on. Friede wonders about our Earth, and Helius shows them a window that allows them to see the Earth, just at the moment of sunrise.

Captain's Log: The spacecraft has reached 227,000 from Earth and has stopped the rockets, leaving everyone in a weightless condition for a brief time. Josephine the mouse is floating in the middle of her cage, upside down. Generous amounts of foot straps and hanging straps that any subway rider would be well familiar with. Friede tries to pour some water from a bottle and can't, so Windegger gives it a quick flick to fling some spheres loose, which he quickly gathers in his hands to drink. Only 9,000 km to the Moon, now, and we're well within her gravitational field. The Professor floats before the window, mesmerized by the approaching Moon. The ship has been turned around as we prepare for landing. Approaching the far side, the crew gathers to watch the Earth set behind a rolling landscape.

Windegger wigs out again, and is terrified of attempting the landing. The Prof calls him a coward and a fight nearly ensues before Helius leaves his post to settle things, and point out that they're rapidly approaching the landing and need to get to our stations. Outside, the Moon looms ominously closer and faster. Close the window hatches! The gyros work wildly to keep the craft oriented properly for deceleration. The crew struggles to their couches in the swinging craft. They're coming in too fast - hold on!

The craft smashes into the dust, sending a cloud roiling into the air. Everyone has survived, although the craft has sustained some damage that Windegger must repair. But wait, cries the Professor, the Moon awaits! First we must test the air to see if it is breathable. Windegger is adamant; as soon as the ship is repaired he intends to fly immediately back to Earth, by force if necessary. He's convinced that the only thing they will find on the Moon is...Death!

Meanwhile, the professor has snuck off into the airlock and is donning a diving/space suit to go outside. When the rest of the crew realizes this they race to open the hatch until Windegger freaks out and warns them that if the Professor has opened the outer hatch they could all die!

Outside, the Professor has stepped into a magnificently desolate Moonscape, evocative of the works of Nasmyth in that the mountains look like Earth mountains. He lights a match. It burns! He lights another...it also burns! And yet a third...the air's okay! He takes off his helmet and sets off in search of gold, divining rod in hand.

Windegger gets the hatch open, and the rest of the crew spills out onto the surface. Windegger notes that looking for water should be the first priority, while he digs out underneath the rocket to effect repairs. Turner offer to look for the Professor, and Helius returns to the ship with young Gustav to make an entry in the Captain's Log. Friede makes some motion pictures of the Moon and then returns to the ship. Seeing that Helius has injured his hands, she goes into nurse mode, which offers young Gustav a chance to slip away. Helius is stunned to see tears drip onto his hands from Friede's eyes. Looking up, he must face the fact that perhaps this woman loves him as much as he loves her. Oh golly, brain lock again! Luckily, duty gives him a convenient escape.

The Professor's diving rod has led him to bubbling pools of mud. Following it further in, he wanders into a cave to discover...GOLD! Huge, enormous nuggets of GOLD! Gold, gold, gold, gold he exclaims in delight. Turner hears him, and homes in on the echoes. Frightened, the professor grabs an enormous nugget and backs away, falling into a crevasse. Helius and Gustav are on the trail while Turner sneaks away with a load of treasure. They find the crevasse and try to figure out how to rescue the Professor, though it looks like he's gone forever.

Back at the ship, Turner is determined to fly immediately to Earth with his gold. He beans Windegger and binds him. Friede is drawn out of the ship, but Windegger shouts a warning and she scrambles back up the rope ladder and into the airlock, desperately holding the hatch shut so that Turner cannot escape and maroon them on the Moon. Helius has come back, and manages to overpower Turner and they both tumble to the surface, locked in a death-struggle. Turner pulls out a gun and gets off a shot before Windegger can shoot Turner. Even in death, Turner manages to work his evil, and Windegger is horrified to discover that Turner's errant shot has ruptured one of the oxygen tanks. There won't be enough oxygen for everyone to return to Earth. Someone must stay behind - either Windegger or Helius, for the rest to return safely. Who will draw the short stick?

This film is a masterwork. The cinematography, the editing, the special effects, all phenomenal for 1929. Fritz Lang made good use of his technical consultants like Hermann Oberth, and the science fact, to the best of what we knew at the time, is well represented, something that the modern media industry might want to revisit. This is an absolutely pioneering work that was more than 20 years ahead of Hollywood's first serious attempt, the reknowned "Destination Moon" that Robert Heinlein had a hand in.

I can't praise this film highly enough. Sure, the director uses long pensive shots to develop the story, making it a film much longer than the typical American is used to, making it really more of a curiosity than anything else these days. Still, for the time it was groundbreaking, and Fritz Lang got pretty much everything spot on. It is a 180 degree reversal from the fantasy of "Un Voyage a la Lune" twenty seven years earlier, and really shows how quickly the state of the art was advancing under the guidance of rocketeers around the globe. It also displays a technical fidelity that few Moon films to date have achieved.

Absolutely a Full Moon at perigee.

Back to the Lunar Library

[murphydyne]

[Update: Since I don't have enough Moon 'toons, I'm going to do a serial from 1951 to start off the movie reviews. Without further ado:]

"Radar Men from the Moon" Chapter 1: Moon Rocket

An Oil field erupts in flames! Transmission lines are destroyed. An office building explodes. Commando Cody's team are gathered around the day's newspaper, trying to puzzle out what might be behind it all. They're expecting the arrival of a Mr. Henderson from Washington, a mysterious man who works at high levels in the government. He's come to check on the progress on the Moon rocket, and they want to accelerate its deployment as the government believes that the sabotage is from radiation beams, no one on Earth has that technology, and they must be stopped!

Commando Cody gets a call - an Army supply train has just been blasted. He grabs his jetpack and flies to investigate. Flying over the valley, he spots a truck with a gun mounted in the back. He fires his pistol just as they're about to fire at a troop train, and chases them off. When the criminals return to the cave where the Moon man is hiding he tells them they must recapture the weapon from Commando Cody's lab. A fight ensues, and the bad guys make off with the gun, having also learned that the Commander will blast off for the Moon in five days. Krog promptly reports this to his handlers on the Moon.

The crew heads out to the desert to the Moon rocket and prepares for blast off. Fire main jets! The rocket takes off and heads for the Moon. Approaching the Moon, they see a city and set down nearby. Commando Cody dons his rocket suit and takes off to examine the city. Setting down, a voice invites him to enter an airlock, and after pressurizing the lock he is invited into a chamber where the diabolical leaders of the Moon's invasion of Earth unveil their plans for the domination of the Earth. Cody struggles to get free so he can report these plans to Earth. The leader, Retik, points his atomic pistol at the instrument Cody is hiding behind. Boom! The instrument disappears! But where is Commando Cody?

Our next movie is "Destination Moon" from 1950, adapted for the big screen in part by Robert Heinlein, from "a novel" by Robert Heinlein, who was also Technical Advisor, with Chesley Bonestell as "Technical Advisor of Astronomical Art". DVD released by Image Entertainment in 2000, it weighs in at 01:31:07.

We open with a shot of a waning third-quarter Moon before the credits scroll up over a starscape. We're now in the age of Technicolor. A Warning sign sits beside a roadblock. Orange smoke indicates a launch is near. A countdown begins: 15, 14, 13...2, 1, Fire! Pumps whine up to speed and the V-2 launches into the sky! The tracking radar dish follows the rocket, but something's wrong! The smoke trail is erratic, the rocket's off course! Kablooey! Jim Barnes is completely dejected. What could have gone wrong? Something in the motor, most likely, but what? Probably sabotage. Well, they'll get it solved. No you won't says the General, funds are likely going to be cut off after this failure. This allows Barnes to get reacquainted with his wife and children, mow a few lawns, and get back to some more soluble engineering solutions back at Barnes Aircraft Corp.

A few years later General Thayer pays Mr. Barnes a visit. He makes himself at home in Jim's well-appointed office. Jim remains convinced that a rocket is a necessity for the United States, because if someone else gets up there first we'll be a disunited world. General Thayer isn't just pitching a satellite rocket, he's talking the Moon. The Moon! Impossible! Everyone knows it can't be done! Oh? Even with an atomic energy motor; exhaust velocity of 30,000 feet per second? Whoa, hold up, wait a minute, now you're talking. Let's do lunch.

Next we see the presentation to the skeptical investors. In a clubby room men in expensive suits gather to smoke tobacco and discuss Mr. Barnes' proposal. Scale model mock-ups convey the sense of the rocket, while a cross-section allows an explanation of some of the engineering features. But what's the payoff? Dollars and cents, I don't know. We'll know when we get there and we'll tell you when we get back. To help illustrate the concept, one of Hollywood's best known actors will explain the mission - Woody Woodpecker! Interestingly, the club room features a large illustration behind the projection screen of what appears to be Gutenberg and his press, another example of a technology that changed the world.

Barnes presses the point - if American industry is to remain free to do business, it must meet the challenge that the government cannot in peace time. It's up to industry to put America onto the high ground of the Moon, and America must get to work right now to meet that challenge. General Thayer steps in to note that the nation that can first emplace missiles on the Moon will control the Earth, as nothing can stop an attack from the Moon. That is the most important military fact of this century.

Engineers get to work, and slowly the rocket takes shape. Doc Cargraves is the genius behind the atomic engine, while Brown provides the radio and radar, at least until his appendix gives out. Behind the scenes forces conspire to thwart the launch, and they find they have to advance the schedule before they can be stymied in their effort. With a court order rushing to the launchpad, they race to the top of the rocket.

The slow journey to the Moon gives ample opportunity to learn about the joys and pitfalls of microgravity, with Joe Sweeney as substitute radio man and average joe from Brooklyn who's ventured way out of his league and knows it. The landing on the Moon turns out to be a bad one, and they've burned too much reaction mass. Still, they're on the Moon, and they're alive! Jim and Doc suit up to go outside, a vast vista created by Chesley Bonestell. Sure he got a lot of things wrong, but it's still for many people the classic visualization of what the Moon looks like. Climbing down the long ladder on the hull, they step onto the Moon, and Doc gets to make the claim: "By the grace of God, and in the name of the United States of America, I take possession of this planet on behalf of and for the benefit of all Mankind." The media on Earth is ecstatic, and everyone wants to know where to point their telescopes - Harpalus crater (52.6N, 43.4W), way up in western Mare Frigoris.

They get to work setting up scientific equipment and collecting data. Joe gets a souvenir photo you can only get on the Moon. Soon they get a bad message from Earth. They've recalculated, and the crew needs to unload a LOT of weight to get back home. They dump everything they can, and still they need more. Only 110 pounds! Someone will have to stay behind, but who?

This was the movie that brought sci fi into the modern age for Americans. No Bug-Eyed Monsters, no alien artifacts, it's just a human drama that can only happen on the unique environment of the Moon. It takes great pains to be scientifically accurate, but at the same time conveys tension and suspense. Joe Sweeney is the Everyman thrust into an unknown environment who has a few freakout moments, much like Windegger in 'Frau im Mond'. While Fritz Lang was focused on crafting a great film, George Pal was more interested in moving studio product. This meant bite-size doses of tension and drama, and a gentle touch in conveying the rocket science underlying the story. This makes 'Destination Moon' feel quite a bit more rushed than 'Frau im Mond', but not necessarily in a detrimental way. The special effects had advanced somewhat since the 1920s, but it was a bit distressing seeing the wire holding the model of the rocket as it changed attitude above the Moon. Quite a bit of stop-motion work is incorporated into the exterior scenes of the rocket, especially on its trip to the Moon but also thereon. There are also some trompe l'oeil camera angles to try to capture the essence of microgravity, and I could swear that the launch scenes were filmed in a real centrifuge.

It's good, but not great. I'll give it a waning Full Moon.

[murphydyne]

"Radar Men from the Moon" Chapter 2: Molten Terror

Cody struggles to get free so he can report these plans to Earth. The leader, Retik, points his atomic pistol at the instrument Cody is hiding behind. Boom! The instrument disappears! But where is Commando Cody?

He's dived behind a nearby couch, and he uses the pause while Retik reloads to grab his helmet and rush back into the airlock and escape. Returning to the ship, he briefs his team on what he has found out. They come up with a plan to gas Retik's lab and steal one of the ray guns which Commando Cody promptly puts into action. Retik realizes something is wrong and grabs an oxygen mask. While Cody is working to dismount the gun, Retik revives his associate and they fight to subdue Cody. The Earthman overpowers them in their weakened state, and makes off with the weapon. The Moon men, recycling old Moon suits from prior movies, set off in their Moon car after them.

Commando Cody and his crewman take refuge in a cave. The Moonmen use the ray on their Moon car to melt the rocks at the entrance to the cave, sending cascading flows of molten terror after Cody and his teammate. They run deeper into the cave, and so find themselves at a dead end. Meanwhile, the waves of molten rock mount higher and higher. How can they possibly escape?

Our next feature is from Image Entertainment, the DVD of the movie "Project Moonbase" from 1953. Robert Heinlein was again a technical consultant on the film.

In 1948, the Secretary of Defense of the U.S. proposes a space station as a military guardian of the sky. By 1954 the urgency was increased by atom bombs and inter-continental rockets. After the first orbital flight in 1966, the U.S. got to work, and by 1970 had a military station in orbit to keep watch over the world, and free men were beginning to look to the Moon. So too were the enemies of freedom.

Dark forces have assembled in the U.S., and are tracking all of the major scientists involved with the program, and have doubles standing by. They get confirmation that Dr. Wernher will be on the trip, to photograph the far side of the Moon. In a daring ploy, the bad guys swap out their agent for the scientist, and their plan is set in motion. At the base for U.S. Space Command (SPACOM), the pilot for the trans-Lunar flight is switched by the White House to Col. Briteis, who also happened to have piloted the first orbital flight. She arrives for the briefing in the company of Polly Prattle, a gossip journalist by trade who is a favorite of the President and expects an exclusive. Maj. Bill Moore, the original pilot, is miffed, and the General has a squabble on his hands. When Briteis acts up at finding out that the big lug is going to be her co-pilot, General Greene threatens to take her over his knee and spank her.

The General briefs the group on how having a space station allows them to stage a mission around the Moon to provide a first glimpse of the far side. Polly finds it all fascinating, but wants to know why we would want to do such a thing. Her editor says that it is a boondoggle. The General replies that the purpose of this mission is a survey flight, in preparation for an eventual base. While Statesmen (are there even any of those left?) might someday make military armies and bases obsolete, there will be a Moon base, and the General intends that it be one established under the principles of freedom. The General is 100% committed to the defense of the freedom of the U.S., and is not apologetic for his attitude. (and nor should he be - Liberty and Justice are powerful tools in improving the lot of all human beings, because evil, bad deeds and corruption can't long prosper in the harsh glare of open information)

The General stumbles through his technical lines, and everyone departs for the rockets. In the controlled environment of the rockets no more than shorts and a shirt are required, making Col. Briteis one of the yummiest rocket pilots around. At the station they disembark for further briefings and to prepare for departure to the Moon. Signs warn the visitors not to walk on the walls in their magnetic shoes, just the floors and ceiling.

The Lunar probe departs for the Moon,and the crew have a few days to get to know each other. Dr. Wernher sure doesn't seem to know much about his instruments, but he sure is curious about how to fly the rocket. Maj. Moore relays his suspicions to Col. Briteis, and the Dr. overhears. His mission in jeopardy, he lunges for the control board and starts the atomic motors. Whilst the Dr. and Bill struggle in the crushing gees, Briteis is trapped in her acceleration couch, her lungs heaving against the crushing weight. They get the motors stopped and Wernher subdued, but they have to make an emergency landing on the Moon with the last of their fuel. Out of control, they barely manage to land, 125 miles back of Grimaldi, 10 miles past line-of-sight communication with Earth. They need to establish a relay beacon on the crater rim, a dangerous journey. Bill gets the beacon up, but the Dr. slips on some loose regolith and takes a clumsy fall in microgravity, cracking his face plate and sparing himself the hand of Justice in the cold embrace of death.

Col. Moore struggles alone back to the rocket, and communications are established with the station. The fact that they've landed on the Moon changes everything! Stay where you are, you're now Moon Base 1, and the race is on to get an emergency relief supply rocket to their location.

This one clearly didn't have the budget of Destination Moon, and there are even recycled bits and pieces, like the control panel belts the astronauts wear. The shortcomings in the special effects are a bit glaring at this late date, such as the evident balsa wood pieces in the Moon rocket, the cardboard supply boxes in the supply rocket,and even the shadow of the arm that lowers the supply rocket to the Lunar surface. It's cheesy and heartfelt and a bit of a foretaste of some of Heinlein's later writings. It is a bit uncomfortable to listen to Hayden Rorke (beloved by many from his role in 'I Dream of Jeanie') stumble through the technical parts of his briefing, which probably could have used a few extra takes. I think Hollywood learned their lesson after the prior Moon film, and made this one much more of a date film. Donna Martell isn't entirely convincing as the spunky Col. Briteis, but golly she sure does fill out that uniform well.

So putting all of the above together, it's another good Moon movie, but not a great one. I'll go with a three-quarter Moon.

[murphydyne]

Radar Men from the Moon: Chapter 3: Bridge of Death

Cody and Ted run deeper into the cave, and so find themselves at a dead end. Meanwhile, the waves of molten rock mount higher and higher. How can they possibly escape?

Maybe we can get out along that side? What about the tank? Give me a hand grenade. The tank retreats, and Commando Cody and Ted head back to the ship, but without the ray gun. Should they take what they know back to Earth or try to get another ray gun? They start prepping the ship, and Commando Cody goes out to scout around.

A Moon patrol spots the Earthman's rocket and reports the location to their HQ, which promptly sends out another car. Cody spots the scout and swoops in to attack him. The scout hears him at the last second in the vacuum of the Moon and defends himself. It's a desperate struggle!

Commando Cody returns to the ship, but another car is on the way. If its ray gun hits them it'll pop the rocket like a balloon! Emergency liftoff! The tank shoots at them and they take damage, but manage to slip away and head back to Earth. The Moon men call Krag on Earth and command him to destroy the rocket when it returns to Earth, who in turn orders his human turncoat thugs to blow up the rocket with a bomb. The thugs try to take out the local constabulary who are awaiting the rocket, but it takes too long and Cody and Ted are able to join the cops in chasing them off. Cody, his Boston accent evident in the stress, takes off in the cop car after them. At a bridge, the bad guys have enough of a lead to stop and drop off the bomb they were going to use. Cody is in hot pursuit and doesn't notice until it explodes and sends his burning car off the side of the bridge. How can he have survived?


Mrow! Our next Moon movie is the classic "Cat Women of the Moon: Love starved Moon maidens on the prowl!" from 1953, issued on DVD by Image Entertainment and clocking in at 01:03:39

We open with a shot of a rocket climbing through the atmosphere on nuclear fire. "White Sands calling Moon Rocket 4 Code 63, are you receiving?" We enter the cabin, a familiar one at that. Kip is the first out of his acceleration sling, and Helen the navigator is next. She immediately grabs a mirror from her desk drawer and starts primping. The others rouse themselves, and the Captain insists on reports from everyone before he'll answer Earth. Helen notes "You know Laird, I have the strangest feeling as though all this has happened before". [and thus do we establish the B-movie nature of the movie] An anxious Earth wants statements from everyone. Helen conveys a strange "Hello Alpha, we're on our way", Doug Smith, radio operator promises to bring back a piece of the green cheese. Walt Wallace, engineer, tries to earn an extra paycheck with a pitch for their great machine lubrication provided by Delphi Oil Co. Washington sends an inspiring message, distrcting the crew from the incoming meteor, which is lodged in the rear section. Perhaps centrifugal force will dislodge it, everyone buckle into your wheeled government surplus desk chairs! We see a close up of the rocket (a different one) pitching over. [recycled footage of the Lunar approach pitchover in Project Moon Base] It's dislodged, but one of the nitric acid chambers is ruptured. If it reaches the fuel chamber they'll explode! Neutralize it with water! Kip grabs his suit and dashes into the lower chamber to unblock the pipe. The acid's eating away at his suit. Can he make it?

They approach the Moon and land in a small valley on the dark side of the Moon. Laird insists on a serious outing, forcing Doug to leave his L.A. City Limits sign, and Walt his letters and postal stamp. Out on the surface, we're treated to Bonestellian vistas of cracked plains and precipitous mountains. Helen noted a cave on the way down, let's head that way. Stay on the dark side! Kip's suspicious, but Laird reassures him. Inside the cave, Helen quickly wanders ahead. Where is she? Over here, her voice resonates in the vacuum of the cavern. They notice stalactites and stalagmites, and is that water? The boots are heavy, complains Helen (again). Wait, exclaims Kip, perhaps there's atmosphere and that's why the boots are heavy, because there has to be gravity to hold the atmosphere. Kip lights a match...it burns!

Doffing their helms, they're excited about their discovery, but what is that feminine silhouette on the cavern wall? The explorers press on, and Kip checks his gun. Good thing too as theirs a space spider with a horn and furry legs and mean mandibles crouching in the darkness. One drops down in front of Helen. The men are on it and she escapes, only to have another one fall on her. Kip dispatches the second and they're safe again. While Helen recovers, Kip and Walt head off in one direction, Laird and Doug in another. While they're off, we get our first glimpse of a slinky Cat-woman, who marks Helen's palm. She awakes with a scream, and Laird and Doug hustle back to save her. Kip and Walt report that the suits are gone. They can only go on.

Deeper in the cave, they come across a massive valley or cavern with an ancient city in the middle. The sense of age is obvious, the lanterns cold. But who stole the spacesuits? Doug and Helen go to explore, and someone jumps Doug! He fights her off, and the other men come to help. Suddenly Cat-women are everywhere. Kip gets a shot off and they disappear. What are they going to do, and where's Helen?

She's off being indoctrinated by Alpha and her team of alpha (Cat-) women, who tell her that she has been chosen to take several of them back to Earth. The men? Bah, they don't need them, there're plenty back on Earth. To learn what they need to know from the men, Helen must tell them their weaknesses. Greed, shyness, what have you. Let the seduction begin...

Many misadventures later, the skeptical Kip has uncovered the plot, and is working to turn the tables on their captors. Lambda has fallen for Doug, and works to help the crew. The survivors make it back to the ship, and White Sands wants to know what happened.

That, says Doug, is a long story.

B-Movie, without question. The absence of a good technical and scientific advisor shows in the 'scientific' gobbledygook they spout. It seems that approximately half of the scenery from Project Moon Base was recycled for this one, but the budget shows in the corrugated metal that forms the cabin walls in the rocket. Thing is, Zimbalist and Rabin, the producers, knew what sells, and that's curvaceous women in slinky body suits and with a graceful, almost feline poise. Kissing and romance and sunsets and cat-fights and strong men and vulnerable women and all that Hollywood stuff that sells so well.

If one wanted to analyze it too deeply one could consider that it might be taken as an early warning of the perils of the growing feminism that was taking root in the early 1950s and which has considerably changed the face of our nation. In this case the psychic powers of the women are representative of the pheromonal hold that women have over men, and that alpha women have over the betas and gammas. ('Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley, for the kids who don't read anymore and likely won't get the reference) How are you going to keep Rosie in the kitchen when she riveted war planes?

Luckily, I like curvaceous women in skintight bodysuits, so I'm going to bump this one up to a Half Moon.

[murphydyne]

Radar Men from the Moon: Chapter 4: Flight to Destruction

At a bridge, the bad guys have enough of a lead to stop and drop off the bomb they were going to use. Cody is in hot pursuit and doesn't notice until it explodes and sends his burning car off the side of the bridge. How can he have survived?

Spotting the bomb, our hero leaps from the car to safety. Checking in, they decide to focus on catching the local thugs to delay the Moon men. The thugs need another truck to mount the almost repaired ray gun. Why don;t they rob a bank to get the funds? No, that doesn't work. How about they kidnap Commando Cody and ransom him? He's not at the lab, but after a vicious fight they kidnap his lovely lab assistant Joan as bait. Commando Cody arrives just too late. He calls out the authorities, who begin a massive sweep, only to discover that the thug has left in a chartered plane. Time to don the jet pack! Pistols at 5,000 feet! The thug puts the plane in a dive and abandons ship. Cody rushes to the rescue, but the thug wrecked the controls. They're going to crash!


"Missile to the Moon" from 1959 is next up in our manifest of Moon movies,weighing in at 01:17:09

It's the middle of nowhere. The Sheriff is out looking for a couple of escaped convicts, and is heading to the Dayton compound. At the compound, Colonel Wickers is in the process of telling our protagonists, Dirk and Steve, that while their completed rocket is fascinating, launching missiles is government business, and only government business, so the military will be taking over the project tomorrow.

Dirk Green, the brilliant designer and builder of the rocket is at wits end. When the sheriff stops by the compound, he offers to help him look for the convicts. Going out to the rocket, Dirk finds that the power has been cut to the electric fence. Perhaps the convicts are hiding out in his rocket? A plan starts to form...

Back in the house, Steve Dayton and his fiancee June Saxton are relaxing with a cocktail in anticipation of the new order. Dirk comes in, grabs a gun, and heads right back out. In the ship, he corners the criminals and forces them to serve as his crew. After a brief product placement opportunity for 7-Up, they get to work on the launch. Back in the house, Steve and June notice the computator springing into action and decide to go out and investigate. They get inside just as the door starts to close automatically. The coundown begins.

Cut to stock footage of a V-2 rocket lifting off (used interchangeably throughout the movie with the completely different looking model of the rocket). They've made it! Wait, the counterbalance indicator! Something's out of place in the lower chamber - it's people and they're dead! Fade to black.

Steve starts coming to. A new dynamic starts to exert itself. Gary the criminal starts to eye June, and in his animal mindset decides that he's going to have what he wants. While Steve and Lon are topside, and Dirk is down below, he tries to force himself on June. Dirk catches him in the act and a fight ensues! Meanwhile, while no one was looking they've ventured into the middle of a meteorite field and the ship is being bombarded! Some equipment is loose, it could cause havoc! Dirk springs to action, but it falls on his head! After they clear the field of meteoroids the crew rushes to aid him. As he lays dieing, he hands over a medallion to Steve, and insists that the rocket must land at the pre-programmed spot. His last words - "Leido, my Leido, forgive me, forgiv..."

What's going on? What's the medallion? Who's Leido? Why the preprogrammed spot? How much is that diamond in the medallion worth? Instruments are flashing...it's time for final approach!

Cut to reverse shot of V-2 lifting off/touching down against a Southern California desert backdrop. The crew disembarks in surplus military pressure-suits and heads out across the desert, I mean Moonscape. Soon, rock creatures are in glacial pursuit and the Earthmen can barely outrun them! There's a cave! Let's go! Turns out there's oxygen in the cave! Let's get out of our suits and investigate!

Gary decides he doesn't like the whole situation and takes off. The rest of the crew hear his screams. The crew find they can't breathe, some kind of gas... They awake in a strange chamber, and a woman in strange garb bids them welcome to Orlanda [there's a name I haven't heard in a while. I used to have a huge crush on a young woman named Orlanda. Okay, maybe the movie isn't so bad after all...]. She is Leido, high ruler of their humble domain. Now, please rest while our many beautiful women share our hospitality with you. One of the serving ladies recognizes the medallion around Steve's neck and informs the leader. It must be Dirk, returned at last! She must get a debriefing. Steve plays along.

Gary decides to get a private tour from one of the Lunar lovelies. He finds she's covered in diamonds - real diamonds that she found just laying around. His criminal greed is awakened, where did you find these rocks exactly?

Leido finishes the debriefing of Dirk/Steve. Orlanda is losing its oxygen, and they need to escape. An enslaved Earth can help them fulfill their plans. Dirk will marry his betrothed, Alpha, before returning to Earth. June's not too happy about that.

Lon falls in love. June gets in a cat fight. It's about time for the crew to leave! The Orlandans are on to the ruse, but they're wracked by an internal power struggle.

Ugh, what a mess of a movie. A good amount is recycled from 'Cat-Women of the Moon', including the control room of the rocket ship. The sets are cobbled together from various props like a pseudo-Aztec calendar behind the throne. The Moon maidens were the winners of the "International Beauty Contest", and I almost get the feeling that this movie was thrown together to fulfil someone's contract obligations. There's such great dialogue as "Don't think, just be beautiful." The special effects are anything but, from a V-2 superimposed on an astronomy image of a galaxy to the bad puppet cave spiders. Still, the costumes and lovely ladies are oddly beguiling...can't..stop..watching..bellydance.

This one gets a waning quarter Moon.

Back to the Lunar Library

[murphydyne]

"Radar Men from the Moon" Chapter 5: Murder Car

The thug puts the plane in a dive and abandons ship. Cody rushes to the rescue, but the thug wrecked the controls. They're going to crash!

Joan, grab that parachute back there! Out you go! Cody activates his rocket pack and gets out just in time! After ensuring that Joan is safe, Cody sets out to search for the thug Graber, who has managed to hitch a ride into town. After a dramatic surface-to-air shooting match, a bullet ricochets off Cody's helmet and knocks him out. Back at the Bad Guy cave, Krog gets chewed out by his boss on the Moon, who suggests a bank heist to pay for the new truck in which to mount the ray gun. The heist goes awry, and the cops are in pursuit. They catch Graber, but while transporting him to the sanitarium for questioning the thugs intercept the ambulance and free him. Graber heads back into town while the ambulance covers the escape. Cody is on his way to the sanitarium to question the thug, and headed right towards the ambulance. On a winding canyon road the thug sees Cody's car, and after aiming the ambulance right at it jumps to safety. Oh no, they're going to hit!


"Nude on the Moon" from 1960. Released in 2000 by Something Weird Video, it weighs in at 01:10:00.

Our hero Jeff is a brilliant and focused engineer. With the aid of the Professor and a chance inheritance, he builds a rocket and they set out for the Moon. The trip is so exciting they fall asleep at the end, and don't know where they've ended up. What's that? Trees! And grass and water. The astronomers on Earth never expected this!

Wandering about they find gold! That'll help finance the next expedition. There's a wall, and a ladder. Climbing up, what's that they see? A strange village of what seem to be humans except for the strange antennae, none clad in anything more than tight shorts - other than the Queen, who wears a cape. Two scouts capture the professor while Jeff is entranced by the topless queen and her regal bearing. Overcome by some strange power, the Professor collapses. Jeff is also captured and subjected to the same wave of the magic wand, rendering him helpless in the hands of a charming blonde in low-cut blue shorts. They're trapped!

The Moon creatures are summoned to assembly. The Queen will convene the Great Council to determine if these two strangers are friend or foe. The Queen feels that the strangers have come in the peaceful spirit of exploration, and orders them to be freed. Blue shorts directs them out of the pit. Jeff finds the Queen, and she proves quite friendly. The Professor goes exploring and soon finds himself in the company of several delectable and curious Moon maidens. The Professor, focused on scientific study, interrupts Jeff and gets them back to work collecting photos and notes of the Moon creatures (predominantly female) in their native habitat - playing games, dipping their toes in the pond, doing erotic stuff with flowers, lazing about in a doze a la 'Dolce far Niente", playing tricks on one another. Wonderful data! But wait! There're more scenes of nubile young Moon maidens frolicking topless in a faux-natural setting. There's so much to study and document!

The Professor reminds Jeff of the limited oxygen...they must return to the ship. Jeff is torn...he thinks he's in love with the Queen. He seems determined to get some xeno-nookie...


I'm mooning over you my little Moon doll
With a sad and broken heart
I'm mooning over you my little Moon doll
for soon the time will come to part

I'm crying over you my little angel
who lives up high in the sky
I'm crying over you my little angel
For back to Earth I soon must fly

I lost my love to a Moon doll
Who dances upon a star
I lost my love to a Moon doll
And my heart still bears a burning scar

I long for you my little Moon doll
A nymph in the pale moonlight
I pine for you my little Moon doll
For it's you who makes the Moon so bright
For it's you who makes the Moon so bright
[lyrics by Judith J. Kushner]

I don't know what to say. We've seen Moon movies pass from fine art to soft-core erotica over some sixty years. The special effects have gone from skillful to abysmal. The acting...well, none of them to date have had great acting, but I'd have to rate this one a high grade C level of acting. The producer and director of this one was a woman, and it shows in the style of the very feminine eroticism employed, which never rises up the level of, shall we say, titilation. It's billed as a nudie-cutie, and there is a surfeit of sexy young Moon maidens of all types. The shots and posing are designed to show them to advantage no matter the context. Given some of the more modern space pornography available (oh man, if y'all only knew...), it's almost wholesome. For the right folks this might almost make for a really hot date movie.

Despite my hormonal bias, I'm only going to give this one a waning quarter Moon.

Back to the Lunar Library

[murphydyne]

We're going to pause and take a step backward here. All of these movies with scantily-clad women can only lead to one thing - being in a family way. When it came to families in the 1950s, there was only one name that mattered...

Walt Disney Presents: "Tomorrowland - Man and the Moon", broadcast on December 28th, 1955 it weighs in at 00:54:45.

Mr. Disney opens the show, giving an overview of the Tomorrowland exhibit at Disneyland and telling how scientists are going to tell everyone how they propose to get to the Moon. Before that, though, Director Ward Kimbal gives us an overview of how the Moon has pervaded Earth's history. From primeval to primitive to prehistoric we learn many of the common folk tales from around the world that sought to explain what was happening up there in the sky. Why did it change shape? We hear of early Moon adventures such as Lucian's 'True History', Kepler's 'Somnium', Bishop Godwin's 'The Man in the Moone', Bergerac's 'Journey to the Moon', Verne's 'Trip to the Moon', and many literary references. Various folk wisdom, nursery rhymes, and even a song:

"Ah, see the Moon
Shining down on lovers
Spooning in the gloom

Ah, see the Moon
On a sandy dune
By a blue lagoon

All the hollyhocks in bloom
Fill the air with sweet perfume

Soon, pretty soon
Love will bloom and you will croon

Ah, see the Moon
Moon that shines in June
Like a macaroon

Ah, see the Moon
We will sing it soon
Rhyme it all with Moon

Soon, Spoon, June and Moon
There'll always be a honeymoon

Honey, honey,
Honeymoon, Moon, Moon

Ah, see the Moon
Moon that shines in June
Like a macaroon

Ah, see the Moon
We will sing it soon
Rhyme it all with Moon

Soon, Spoon, June and Moon
There'll always be a honeymoon
There'll always be a honeymoon

Honey, honey, honey
Moon

But then you'll croon
There'll always be a honeymoooooon"

It's quite a bouncy tune and a lot of fun. Mr. Kimbal gives some science background of how the Moon might have come to be, and why it behaves the way it does. He then introduces their scientific guest: Dr. Wernher Von Braun.

Dr. Von Braun walks us through the creation of a space station in the shape of a wheel 200 feet across, large enough for 50 men. With excellent props he explains the different functions of the station in addition to being the launch point for a trip around the Moon. After assembly and testing on Earth, it will be disassembled and shipped to orbit on a large number of cargo rockets. A command post provides a focus for the operations, and the Dr. walks us through a launch sequence and how the assembly will commence, using a unique pod design with seven waldos around the circumference that allow the user to perform a variety of functions.

The station slowly starts to take shape. More and more launches bring it to the point where it can support a Moon launch that will pass within 60 miles of the far side of the Moon. Dr. Von Braun explains the orbital mechanics of how this will work, and what kind of ship might be sent given the current state of technology (not to be confused with actual funding for the technology). We then get to the best part of the show, the last twenty minutes and the imagined first expedition around the Moon.

The crew is aboard. THe systems are checked. The countdown begins, and then the rocket is off to the Moon, powering lustily past the slowly spinning space station. Crew reports systems are right on the button. The rockets expend their thrust, and the Captain orders an immediate manual verification of the computer's fix on their location. Everything is right on the money, and the trip is well under way.

Fifty-two hours in is the first emergency. A bang and the sudden flash of lights and klaxons. Everyone springs to their stations to pinpoint the trouble. A meteor hit on a fuel tank - someone's going to have to do an emergency EVA! They'll use the bottlesuit, but they can't use the thrusters near the leaking fuel! Can they pull it off?

Approaching the Moon, 22,000 miles away, they run their star fix. Uh oh, the meteor must have affected the ship's trajectory. They have to run an correction tape or they'll crash!

Approaching to within 63 miles of the surface they get a wonderful oblique view of the Moonscape up close as the Earth sets and they swing around to the unknown side of the Moon, beyond radio contact!

There's an enormous crater - it's depth is off the scale! Approaching the day/night terminator they ready the flares and get the low-light cameras ready. Flares reveal a Moonscape not dissimilar from the near side [too much mare material]. Wait, there's a radiation reading on my sensor! Let's get some flares in that area...

When I compare this video with the kind of stuff Disney cranks out these days, I just have to wonder. What family didn't gather around the television to see the latest wonders from Disney about America's past, and its future. 'Man and the Moon' was part of a series that started with Man in Space and went to Mars and Beyond. It's entertaining but also richly informative, and in a way set the framework for later documentaries, with a cultural overview, basic information, and then scientific content.

It's quite visionary for its time. The sets and props are all excellent. There's really not much that would need to be updated as far as the educational content goes. Having Dr. Von Braun as the scientific advisor certainly helped in that regard. If Disney produced this kind of content today I might even be tempted to buy their product.

Definitely a Full Moon for the whole family.

Back to the Lunar Library

[murphydyne]

Back to the regularly scheduled programming. First though, the next episode of the serial "Radar Men from the Moon" Chapter 6: Hills of Death

Cody is on his way to the sanitarium with Ted to question the thug, and headed right towards the ambulance. On a winding canyon road the thug sees Cody's car, and after aiming the ambulance right at it jumps to safety. Oh no, they're going to hit! Bail out! The thugs return to the Radar Men's secret lair with the stolen payroll. Krog gets new instructions from the Moon - drop a nuke into a volcano to trigger massive storms and floods that disrupt transportation and rescue efforts. Eventually, Cody gets a lead - a matchbook left at the airport where they rented the plane. They visit the cafe and find out that the thugs are there quite often. In fact, they're walking in the door! A fight ensues - Cody is knocked unconscious, and the thugs make off with Ted. While the thugs are headed up to Clark Mountain, Ted escapes, and the ruffians decide to call for a new car now that their current one is hot once Ted gets to a phone. Ted does get to a payphone, and gives Cody the scoop. Cody dons his rocket suit and heads out to collar the criminals. He swoops down near their car, and a gunfight ensues. Cody presses the attack and the thugs retreat, all the way to a cliff. One hides while the other surrenders. A well-thrown rock knocks Cody over the cliff - he'll fall to his death!


Our next feature is "Moon Pilot" by Disney Films. Released in 1961 it weighs in at 01:38:00.

A rocket lifts off. A capsule travels around the far side of the Moon, its pilot superbly executing his task. Returning to Earth the capsule is secured by a skyhook. Reeling it in the Air Force crew quickly liberates the pilot, revealing him to be a monkey! Charlie has safely returned from his voyage around the Moon. Later, in a briefing by the General, a volunteer is called for to undertake the manned trip around the Moon. What fine young Air Force officer is willing to undertake this monumentous undertaking? Charlie decides to get revenge on his handler, the rather earnest Captain Richard Talbot. Once involuntarily volunteered, he of course accepts his military duty, but could he please go home to see his Mom? What? exclaims the General, you've got a launch coming up! But I'd like to see my Mom before I go, replies the Captain.

With only three days of R & R, he decides to fly, even though he hates flying. Seeming to read his mind, the beautiful young lady with the strange accent sitting across the aisle from him offers him something for his stomach. What if she's a spy? She does have a strange accent. He decides to take a pill, and does immediately feel better. She excuses herself to take a powder, and Talbot peeks at the book she's reading - English for [alien characters in unknown alphabet]. She even knows his name! That's it, she must be a Russian spy! He asks the stewardess her name and it's Lyrae. Just Lyrae (pronounced Lee-ray). At the airport he escapes with his brother as she tries to chase him down. She has important information!

Going home, Talbot realizes that he can't go home again when his little bro' takes off on a date with his girl, and his Mom's bridge club comes over for their weekly game. Talbot decides to go for a walk in his old neighbourhood. A black cat crosses his path and darts into the bushes. He decides on a different trajectory before he gets to the black cat's path. Out of the bushes comes leaping Lyrae, desperate to warn the Captain of the danger he faces in that cute little breathless accent of hers. Talbot runs and manages to escape, returning to his home to call the General, who orders him on the next bus to San Francisco. Federal Security meets him en route, though he's been ordered not to say a word to anyone.

The Feds put Talbot up in a hotel and a tight cordon of security around him. Still, Lyrae manages to sneak in a note with room service. The Feds are on the chase, leaving Talbot alone. Who should appear but Lyrae? She convinces him that she's not a spy, as she's trying to give information, not steal it. She must meet him in the park across from the hotel as soon as he can. He does manage to get away, and she fills him in - the protection against proton rays is inadequate on the capsule, and that's why Charlie the monkey has been difficult since his return - his brain has been damaged. She offers a metallurgical formula that will do the trick, and that's when he finds out where she from. She insists that he stand up to the General for his own self-interest, to be the man that she sees in him.

Not yet available on DVD, when Disney does release this one, you'll know that they're deep in their archives looking for material. A passable comedy, Disney was apparently still trying to work out their formulaic delivery. The General's character is the most annoying as most of his dialogue is delivered at the shouting level. The Captain is remarkably milquetoast for having risen to that rank. Lyrae is adorable, and that breathless French accent sends shivers down my spine. For the ADHD kids of today it would probably be considered lame.

I'll give it a quarter Moon.

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[murphydyne]

"Radar Men from the Moon" Chapter 7: Camouflaged Destruction

Commando Cody swoops down near their car, and a gunfight ensues. Cody presses the attack and the thugs retreat, all the way to a cliff. One hides while the other surrenders. A well-thrown rock knocks Cody over the cliff - he'll fall to his death! He manages to turn on the rocketpack just in time and flies to safety. He heads back to the lab and follows up at the cafe. Krog calls Reddick to inform him that troop movements have increased now that Earth knows there's an imminent invasion by the Radar Men from the Moon. Cody goes to investigate a truck repair shop and finds a suspicious truck just as the bad guys come walking in! A fight ensues. Cody and Graber exchange innumerable punches before Graber takes Cody out with a knockout punch. The thugs grab the truck and take off. Cody returns to the lab to get his rocket suit. Joan informs him that the ray gun just took out a troop train in Carson Valley. Cody's after them! He spots the truck and begins pursuit. A few rifle shots chases Cody off, and he does a mid-air rendezvous with Ted in the prop plane. The thugs stop the truck and prep the ray gun. Ted swoops in! The thugs prep for another shot. Bullseye! THe plane explodes!


Our next feature was released in 1962: "The Mouse on the Moon", a sequel to the political parody "The mouse that roared" and taken from the book of the same name. It weighs in at 01:25:04.

Per Harmoniam Ad Lunum

The Duchy of Grand Fenwick is nestled in the Alps between Switzerland and France, founded centuries before by an expatriate Englishman, it clings to its British traditions, without even indoor plumbing in the castle. We're introduced to the primary actors in our tale - the clueless Duchess Glorianna , the conniving Prime Minister Count Rupert of Mountjoy, the loyal opposition in Parliament David Benton, Professor Kokintz, the Prime Minister's son Vincent, fresh back from school in England, and the young beatnik who despises him because she loves him Cynthia Benton. We're also introduced to the unique export of Grand Fenwick - their wines. The current year's product seems to have developed a certain explosive kick, so the PM puts the Professor on it.

In the meantime, the PM decides to write to the Americans for a loan for space research (actually, a hot water system for the castle). The Americans decide to double it and make it a grant in the name of international good will. The Russians decide to match it and send a Vostok capsule plus rocket. The Professor, meanwhile, has figured out that this particular vintage of wine contains the new element Pinotium-64, which causes a controlled nuclear reaction. It could even power a rocket to the Moon!

The Brits are convinced that there's a double-double-bluff on the part of the Americans, and so send a spy to figure out what's really going on. He can safely report that there's no way Fenwick can launch a rocket to the Moon. The Prime Minister proposes that they blow it up at a public display to complete the bluff. At the end of the month, the distinguished delegates of the U.S.A., U.S.S.R., and U.K. gather in Grand Fenwick for Lunar Day. The Professor gives them a view of the capsule, which is more akin to Jules Verne than Apollo. A crowd has gathered in the courtyard of the castle for the spectacle. Slowly, the Vostok starts to peek from the top of the tower, then descends a bit. A stuck valve, easily banged open. THe rocket continues its climb, slowly ascending. Max. speed - 450 mph. It's going to take them a while to get there, but it looks like they will get to the Moon. The Russians and Americans bolt for the exit.

Less a Moon story than a gentle political comedy, the farcical elements start early and often. Misunderstandings drive the story, and everyone behaves the way they're stereotypically supposed to behave, which for the Russian and Americans often means identically. In a nod to the scientific debate raging at the time of the film, the craters are deep and filled with quickdust into which the unwary can sink, which has proven to be nonsense. The special effects are nothing special, and the suits of the Fenwick astronauts look awfully recycled.

In a way this movie is sort of an ode to the older, fantastickal stories that were becoming increasingly obsolete, crowded out by the technical achievements of the race to the Moon.

I'll give this one a half Moon.

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The Out of the Cradle review of the book can be found here.

[murphydyne]

We start out this time around with another cartoon, from 1954, Casper the Friendly Ghost in 'Boo Moon'. 00:06:49

Terrified citizens are fleeing the subway. Why? Because there's a ghost! Casper the friendly ghost, who really wishes that people would be friendlier. A gentleman has set up a telescope near Central Park and is offering views of the Moon for 10¢. He flees upon catching sight of Casper, leaving the friendly little guy to look through the telescope all alone. Casper decides to pay a visit to the Man in the Moon, but finds only rocks and holes. He lays down for a nap.

Upon awaking, he finds himself prisoner of the Moon Men, and is taken to meet the ruler of the Moon, King Lunar. Suddenly, the Tree Men attack! The Moon Men fight desperately against them, but King Lunar soon finds himself in their nefarious clutches. Maybe Casper can help!

And now, from 1964, our main feature: "First Men in the Moon", based on the story by H.G. Wells. 01:42:58

A lander detaches from a mother ship in Lunar orbit and whooshes through space down to the Lunar Surface. The U.N. 1 makes a safe landing on the Moon! An international survey team debarks to study the landing site. Around the world people celebrate the triumphant achievement. Back on the Moon, the survey team explores an arid Bonestellian Moonscape. Suddenly, one of the crew discovers a small flag. A British flag! There's also a note, claiming the Moon for Her Majesty Queen Victoria in the year 1899! How is this possible? No one will believe it! The note is written on the back of a notice. A clue! The search is on!

They find an old man in a nursing home. He tells them a tale, a tale of many years ago. It starts in a little cottage outside Dymchurch. A young Mr. Bedford has rented the cottage with the intention of writing a screenplay to solve his monetary woes. His fiancée Kate is visiting from Boston, but she finds he has been hitting the bottle more than the typewriter. A scatterbrained professor is distressed to find them in the cottage, thinking himself well-isolated. He offers to purchase the cottage, and the young lady thinks it is a wise transaction. While discussing it with the Professor, young Mr. Bedford learns of cavorite, a strange substance that blocks the effects of gravity in the same way that a shade blocks the light. Applied as a paste, and taking effect when hardened, it may revolutionize the world.

The Professor has in mind a little test involving a trip to the Moon to prove out the technology. This is a bit difficult to explain to his fiancée, who thinks it a lunatic venture. She threatens to leave, but of course doesn't, and insists instead on interfering with the preparations out of concern for her fiancé. It's a good thing she thought of the gun. The frenetic Professor rushes to finish the preparations. Bedford goes to confront Kate, and she lays it on the line. Cavor or her. She'll be waiting at the cottage. Where she receives a summons regarding an attempted fraudulent transfer of title. She rushes to the confront Bedford. Oh no, there's no time, grab her! Whooosh!

Off they go to the Moon, fast as a bullet. Are they really in space? Kate retracts a blind to look out, and throws all of the careful calculations out of kilter. They're falling into the Sun! Cavor races to recalibrate the blinds and get them back on course. Soon they find themselves racing to a landing on the Moon. They've made it!

Cavor and Bedford are soon out exploring, and stumble upon (and into) some kind of crystal. Falling through it they manage to get to a ledge, and soon find themselves in an environment of air. Prisms direct the light into tunnels, energizing the underworld as they search for Bedford's lost helmet. That's when they see it - a Selenite! Then more, and more! They're agitated chirping and brandished spears push the adventurers to a bridge leading further into the Lunar underworld. Bedford decides to strike back, sending the Selenites into a frenzy. The Earthmen are too strong, and the insectoid Moon creatures are soon scurrying for safety. The adventurers return to the landing site to discover that the sphere has disappeared, dragged into the Selenite lair. There's only one thing to do - find that sphere!

This was a pretty decent adaptation of the story. The special effects were okay, but you could see the wires for the 1/6th gee sequences. It sort of has the feel of a Classics Illustrated comic book on film.

I'll give this one a waxing half Moon.

Back to the Lunar Library

[murphydyne]

"Radar Men from the Moon" Chapter 8: The Enemy Planet

Cody's after them! He spots the truck and begins pursuit. A few rifle shots chases Cody off, and he does a mid-air rendezvous with Ted in the prop plane. The thugs Graber and Daly stop the truck and prep the ray gun. Ted swoops in! The thugs prep for another shot. Bullseye! The plane explodes!
Luckily, Cody spots them lining up for the shot, and orders a bailout. The thugs hit the road again. Cody returns to his HQ, and talks over the situation with the G-man. The only way to overcome the ray guns is to build our own ray guns, but without a supply of Lunarium it's impossible. Cody returns to the Moon to secure a supply of the valuable ore. Cody finds a guard and overpowers him. Returning to the ship, he takes the guards' spacesuit and Cody and his assistant return to the city of the Radar Men to secure some Lunarium. Cody sneaks in and quickly finds some, but it sure is heavy. How are he and the assistant going to lug it all the way back to their ship? Quick, hide, there's a tank car coming. The occupant gets out to make a report, and Cody decides to use the tank car to carry his cargo. The driver quickly finds his vehicle stolen, and orders up another one - the pursuit is on! The Radar Men blast away at Cody's vehicle, and damage the pressure feed for the fuel. Cody can fix it if he has the time, so he orders his assistant to use the rocket suit to fend them off in the mean time. Another blast knocks Cody's oxygen line loose. He's losing pressure...

And now, our main feature: "Hercules Against the Moon Men", one of many in the Italian series of Maciste films, this one from 1964.

A long time ago, in a land far away, a strange light descends on the Mountain of Samar amidst much thunder and light. Inside, evil forces from the Moon prepare for their invasion of Earth. To the locals, this becomes the Mountain of Death, and every third new Moon they must offer up their sons and daughters for sacrifice to the Moon monsters.

Queen Samara inherits the reign of horror imposed on her country by the evil Moon Men. Rather than abhor the horror, she embraces it in return for promises of ultimate power when the Moon Men conquer the Earth. With the seemingly supernatural powers that association with the Moon Men provides she is able to suppress dissent and compel her subjects into compliance.

Claudius, adviser to the old king, summons Hercules to help, but the Queen sends a team of 'bandits' to stop him. The Moon Men are aware of the threat that Hercules poses to their plans for domination, and demand that Queen Samara kill him by any means possible. Hercules, of course, overpowers the entire troop of thugs and continues on his way to the capitol, where he meets up with Claudius and his lovely daughter Agar. Claudius explains the situation, and Hercules agrees to help. The Queen sends soldiers to arrest them, and the must escape by the tunnels under the palace. Tunnels that are full of traps. Claudius gets taken out by a wall of swords, and Hercules falls into a pit that begins filling up with water! He escapes, only to be attacked by a savage cave ape! It's a dead end, as he finds an iron grate barring his path. This is Hercules, though, and he prys the iron bars apart with his bare hands to escape. Agar finally catches up with him, and despite her despair at the death of her father, she tells him to meet up with the top villagers.

Hercules tries to rally the villagers to rise up against the tyrants, while the new Moon approaches, and soldiers are starting to round up victims for the next sacrifice. These are brought to the Mountain, where the Moon Men explain their plan to the Queen. Their Queen looks identical to Samara's sister Billis, who is the final sacrifice to restore the Queen of the Moon to life that she may rule over the world. Tomorrow night is the sacrifice, "when the planet Saturn comes into conjunction with Mars, and under the evil influence of Uranus, then will occur unimaginable disasters."

Wait, how am I going to survive as the Moon draws nearer and the oceans rise up and mountains crumble? Oh,you'll be okay, notes the Moon Man, so long as you kill Hercules. Luckily, Samara has captured Hercules and she has a diabolical scheme to finally kill him, crushed between two walls of spikes forced inexorably closed by teams of slaves. For long minutes, Hercules keeps the walls apart by force of strength, but the slaves are whipped inexorably on, increasing the torque, tightening the ropes, whilst sinews bulge in a Herculean contest. Finally, the machine itself yields, and the Queen orders Hercules sent to her chambers, where she will attempt to work some of her special magic upon him. His will seems to yield, and the Queen exults in having him on her side - there's no way the villagers can win. She will have unimaginable power!

The Moon moves inexorably closer to the Earth, inciting all kinds of inclement weather as the atmosphere adjusts to the new equilibrium. Slowly, the blood of Billis restores the Moon Queen. For long minutes the characters try to get to the mountain to stop the Moon Men whilst the atmosphere rages around them. Eventually Hercules gets to the inner chamber to rescue Billis...is it too late?

More of a swords & sandals as opposed to a sci-fi film, this film nevertheless incorporates science fictional elements in carrying the story forward.

I'll give it a quarter Moon.

Back to the Lunar Library

[murphydyne]

For our special movie review this time around, we're going to have another cartoon. This time round it's Bugs Bunny in "Haredevil Hare" from 1947, and weighing in at 00:07:40.

Newspaper headlines proclaim "Scientists to Launch First Rocket to the Moon" and "Heroic Rabbit Volunteers as First Passenger". Meanwhile, at the spaceport, scientists can be seen dragging a very reluctant bugs to the enormous cigar-shaped rocket. Reluctant, that is, until he sees the helicopter-load of carrots being dumped into it. All of a sudden his baser instincts kick in and he's more than happy to be locked up in a rocket full of carrots. Until the launch, from which he has to peel himself up from the floor. This sets him into panic mode, and he dashes for the portal marked 'Escape Hatch'. He opens it just in time to see the Earth shrink into the distance. Well, only a coward would abandon his ship. Through the long journey to our Moon they have to dodge various objects, and all of a sudden the Moon is rushing towards the rocket at a screamingly fast pace. Bugs prepares for his doom.

Luckily the rocket slides down one side of a crater and shoots up the other, beginning a 'land shark' ride not unlike the one in 'Astronaut Farmer'. Finally, the rocket crashes into the glacis of a crater. Bugs is on the Moon! He promptly goes into spastic freak-out mode, slowly returning to normal as he wanders the Moon's surface. Duck! It's the Mars-to-Moon Mission, which lands nearby. A large cargo hatch slides back, and a smaller rocket is lifted in a cradle to point at the Full Earth. An elevator platform rises to the rear of the rocket, and who should appear but 'Marvin the Martian' to insert the Uranium Pew-36 Space Modulator into the back end. "Eh, what's up Doc?" "I'm going to blow up the Earth" replies Marvin. "Oh, okay." Waitaminit!

Bugs grabs the Uranium Pew-36 Space Modulator. "You can't blow up the Earth, all of my friends are on the Earth!" Off he goes with the explosive. Marvin calls in reinforcements to chase Bugs down. Who will outwit who as the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance?

And now, for our main feature. This time around it's Act II of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece "2001: A Space Odyssey" from 1968, and weighing in at

As Act II opens, we're in low-Earth orbit (LEO). A large cargo freighter drifts by, indicating that we are in the space age. Carefully time to the changes in the "Blue Danube' waltz by Strauss the view changes and we see a large ring station currently under construction and then it changes again to a Pan Am passenger liner. Going inside we see a single passenger asleep in his chair, a pen having floated loose from his grip. Back outside, we see the passenger liner approaching the station, the Pan Am logo prominently displayed. In the pilot area the approach is displayed on a sleek technology control panel. Inside the station technicians monitor the approach, and as the camera pulls back into the docking bay we see other control areas in the walls and ceiling, each with their 'up' oriented into the cargo bay. The liner can be seen lining up for the final approach.

An elevator disgorges the only passenger into the control area. He uses Voice Print Identification to check in as Heywood R. Floyd, and then proceeds with the security chief along the long curved corridor of the ring to the Howard Johnson's restaurant for breakfast.. The Hilton receptionist looks bored, his office a glass cube in a lounge area full of '60s futuristic furniture. He stops to make an AT&T video phone call to his daughter to wish her a happy birthday tomorrow. $1.70 for a phone call - outrageous! Afterwards, he runs into a Russian astronomer he knows, on her way home with colleagues after calibrating the antenna at Chelenka. Dr. Floyd admits he's on the way up, to Clavius. Really? inquires Dr. Smiszlov. Perhaps you can give us some idea of what's been going on. o one has been able to contact the base for 10 days, the phone lines are down, and there are rumors of a plague... Probably just equipment problems, replies Heywood. What's really odd, though, is that a rocket was denied emergency landing against all regulations. Well, I'm not at liberty to discuss it replies Dr. Floyd. He excuses himself to attend to breakfast, and the conversation quickly reverts into Russian.

Returning to the Blue Danube waltz, we then see the Moon ferry, a bulbous ship again only carrying one passenger. Dinner is a tray with straws. A stewardess in velcroed shoes fetches supper for the pilots and gets to watch the approaching Moon. We see Dr. Floyd carefully reading the 10 instructions for use of the zero-gravity toilet. The Moon ferry loops toward the Moon, slowly backing towards the surface. Descending into a crater, we see the vehicle approaching a base remarkably similar to Moonbase Aplha in "Space: 1999". Up on the nearby crater rim, three spacesuited workers can see the approach. A large dome slowly opens to reveal the landing pad, which is actually an elevator that lowers the vehicle into a huge underground area overlooked by numerous offices and meeting rooms.

In a conference room, a number of VIPs are chatting, waiting for the briefing to start. Dr. Floyd is introduced as being from the National Council of Astronautics. After the obligatory congratulations on their discovery, which may prove to be the most important in the history of science. He acknowledges the unease that the participants have towards the cover story of an epidemic, but he reasserts that absolute secrecy must be maintained. Without proper condition, human society is not yet ready to handle the knowledge of a discovery so shocking. He's there to prepare a report for the Council, and will take all of their input. Oh, and formal security oaths are required of anyone with knowledge of the discovery. Then begins the formal briefing.

We cut to a shot of the Moonbus gliding over the Moon's desolate landscape to the sound of unearthly music . Inside, the passengers lunch while discussing the find, equipment stacked all around them. Whatever it is that they found, it was deliberately buried four million years ago. The Moonbus approaches the excavation site, the pilot carefully adjusting the approach until they're locked on and the Moonbus lands light as a feather. Tonal voices join the unearthly fugue, the tension building as a half dozen figures descend into a work pit. In the center is some kind of black object. The figures approach as the chorus rises. What is this strange black monolith that was buried on the Moon? A photographer chronicles the event as Dr. Floyd approaches the object and touches it. He stands back, contemplating it. The photographer asks everyone to gather up for a group shot, when a piercing signal fills their helmets. Is it a warning? Or a signpost? That's for others to find out.

Without question, this is the most beautifully rendered Moon movie (okay, part of a movie) to date. The level of scientific and technical fidelity is superior for the time, illustrating the skill with which this movie was made. Act II is just the set-up for the real story of the movie, the Jupiter Mission, and so the character development is more in line with George Lucas than say a Steven Spielberg. Too bad the real future won't be anywhere near this pretty.

Full Moon at perigee, without a doubt.

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