"12 to the Moon" is certainly not a very good sci-fi film, though with so many terrible sci-fi films made during this same era, at least it cannot be counted among them. Heck, at times the film almost is good...almost. The film is about an international space flight to the moon with 12 astronauts from 9 different nations. Despite this, all of them sound pretty much like Americans...except for some of the astronauts from enemy nations--they are a bit like cartoon characters. It's especially annoying when the Russian astronaut argues with the three Americans and talks about the joys of communism. It's all a lot of Cold War hooey. Fortunately, this crappy dialog ends when they land on the moon. Unfortunately, the moon is inhabited by super- intelligent creatures that communicate to the crew telepathically and they warn them to get lost...which they promptly do. However, these nasty moon folk aren't very nice and do all sorts of nasty things to prevent them from getting back and telling the rest of the human race about them. Ultimately, a really stupid plan is executed and the day is saved...or is it?The biggest problem with the movie aren't the silly sets but the dumb dialog...and the film too often sounds as if the film were rushed to completion. According to IMDb, that's exactly what happened and the film was made in a paltry 8 days! Occasionally interesting...but not very.

Very minor B grade sci-fi from Columbia Pictures tells the story of 12 men and women from around the globe, selected to be astronauts on a mission to the moon based on their area of expertise. After a fair bit of exploring (and some really stupid behaviour), they discover that an alien intelligence exists on the moon. The aliens, naturally, order the meddling humans to get the hell out, but the problems for planet Earth don't end after our heroes leave."12 to the Moon" may well be yet another example of the budget size limiting any ambitions on the filmmakers' part. As it is, it's a talky, dull, mostly uneventful picture. David Bradley's direction is flat and he fails to achieve any real dramatic tension. The script doesn't appear to have been that well thought out, which is surprising considering that the writer is DeWitt Bodeen of "Cat People" fame. The scenario fails to offer much surprise, or even much entertainment, although the movie is not without atmosphere. The one moment that comes closest to working is when one of the astronauts is sucked beneath the surface of the moon.The characters are predictable (the Russian team member is an arrogant prick), and the performances are, to put it charitably, pretty underwhelming right across the board. Ken Clark ("Attack of the Giant Leeches") is our jut jawed hero, Captain John Anderson. Tom Conway, co-star of three Val Lewton productions (including the aforementioned "Cat People") is the somewhat amusing Russian, John Wengraf ("The Return of Dracula") is the guilt ridden German, and lovely Anna-Lisa is the Swede. Francis X. Bushman wastes his time making a special guest appearance as the guy delivering the exposition at the outset.Dedicated sci-fi buffs might find some value here, but overall this is quite forgettable.Four out of 10.

This is entertainment. It tells a story. The science is off, but that's because it is science fiction. There really has never been a film which had "great" science, and even fewer famous science fiction writers really gave us great science, or entertainment for that matter.This is about a united world expedition to the Moon, meaning 12 people of various nationalities with different qualifications.The film is well directed, following the story in a logical progression. While the actions aren't exactly understandable, they are coherent in the progression of the plot. The story is told. And the subplots meld well together.The atmosphere is what really works here. We get the isolated feeling of space travel. A big budget isn't needed, and indeed a film like this keeps a person's interest perked because of looking basic.This is because the film of the Golden Age of Hollywood, which pretty well ended in the sixties, were interesting in the look and technique. Directors knew how to stage a play. With a very few exceptions, modern science fiction puts people to sleep.Is the film cheesy? Yes. But it is deservedly so. It does entertain. It doesn't throw a stupid looking video arcade look at you, the sort of look that merely annoys you. This film astounds you with the basics.This is an exciting film. True entertainment.

Twelve scientists from around the world are selected to be part of the crew that will be the first to land on the moon. Once there, they begin their work, but it doesn't take long before they realize they are not alone. A mysterious underground race of beings kidnaps two of the crew members and demands the others leave at once. In their haste to get away, another scientist is lost in an accident. As they near Earth on their return, they discover the inhabitants of the moon have frozen all of North America. They come up with a plan to use the heat of a volcano to reverse the freezing process. But this will require the sacrifice of two members of their party to fly the ship into a volcanic crater. Will their plan work? I would be willing to overlook a lot of 12 to the Moon's shortcomings if the movie had any originality. Many of the plot points and set-pieces seem to be almost identical to those found in First Spaceship on Venus. While IMDb lists a release date of 1962 for First Spaceship on Venus, that's the North American release date. The film was released in early 1960 in West Germany. It would have been more than possible for someone to have seen that movie before making 12 to the Moon. I have no idea if I'm right about this, but if you've seen both movies, you undoubtedly noticed the similarities as I did.Beyond the films lack of originality, 12 to the Moon is pretty much a mess. Visible scaffolding and crew members, cheap looking sets, and an unnecessary Nazi subplot are among the many problems found in the movie. I'm not including the poor special effects in this list because, as bad as they are, I've seen far worse in other movies of this type. And besides, who doesn't expect to find problems with the special effects in a movie like 12 to the Moon – that's part of the charm of sci-fi films from the 50s and early 60s.