Copyright 1 August 1950 by George Pal Productions. Released in the USA through Eagle-Lion: August 1950. New York opening at the Mayfair: 27 June 1950. U.K. release through Eagle-Lion Classics (a division of General Film Distributors): 25 September 1950. Australian release through British Empire Films: 15 June 1951. 8,468 feet, 94 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Patriotic U.S. businessmen send a rocket to the moon.NOTES: Negative cost: $586,000. Initial domestic rentals gross: $5.5 million. Although the movie actually came in at 3rd position (after Samson and Delilah and King Solomon's Mines) and took more money at US/Canadian ticket windows than Annie Get Your Gun ($4.7 million), Destination Moon does not figure at all on the contemporary lists of box-office winners for the simple reason that it was not released by a major distributor. No-one ever expected an independent exchange to achieve such a huge box-office success, let alone to defeat heavily publicized offerings like Annie Get Your Gun. Lee Zavitz carried off 1950's prestigious Hollywood award for Special Effects (defeating Samson and Delilah). On the other hand, Fegté and Sawley were nominated for Art Direction (color), but lost out to Samson and Delilah! Movie debut of Dick Wesson.COMMENT: I looked again at this movie especially for this review. I did so with some misgivings, but actually the film stands up rather well. The lunar sets and backdrops still impress, Pichel's direction offers occasional insights and what's more important you don't leave your armchair feeling short-changed. The moon is what we pay for, and the moon is what we get and there are more than enough segments of suspense along the way (such as the drifting in space scene and the discarded suit at the climax) to compensate for the screenplay's rather odd political stance (the Truman administration gets quite a drubbing) and somewhat one-dimensional characters. Wesson, Archer and Powers (in that order) have the best parts and all manage to keep interest alive. Lionel Lindon's Technicolor photography is a stand-out, of course, as are the justly award-nominated sets.

DESTINATION MOON is a landmark science fiction film that nowadays would be seen as science fact. It tells of a trip to the moon a good twenty years before the event happened in real life, so listening to all the theories play out and watching as the astronauts head off into space makes for very interesting viewing – in most aspects the technicalities are spot on. Sci-fi writer Robert A. Heinlein was involved in the script and he creates a literate, realistic film that was the APOLLO 13 of its day.Of course, half a century later, it's inevitable that the film feels stagy and dated. The scenes set in space look like nothing more than a couple of actors on a set somewhere with a black wall behind them studded with little light bulbs and wires are often visible. In terms of filmmaking, while all of the special effects are well handled by actor-turned-director Irving Pichel (DRACULA'S DAUGHTER) the human drama is a bit stilted. I found that I didn't connect with any of the guys on an emotional level, I wasn't involved with them in the same way I was involved when I watched the Tom Hanks-starrer. On the plus side, there are none of those 'control room back on Earth' interludes which I always find a bit uninteresting in science fiction films.The cast are all right. The various actors playing officious types all seem very officious. The inclusion of Woody Woodpecker is a nice touch that humanises all of the jargon. George Pal, later the director of such wonderful fare as WAR OF THE WORLDS and THE TIME MACHINE, acts as producer here and I think he's responsible for all the colourful and fun spaceship stuff. There's an engaging quandary at the climax too; I think the drama here was handled very well.

Historically Important in the History of Film. Also, NASA, for Obvious Reasons, Loved this Movie and to this Day give it Credit for Influencing the Government and the Public. It was Prescient and did Prognosticate the Space Race and America's Need to get with the Program.For Hollywood it was the First Movie with a Few Odd Exceptions like Metropolis (1927), and Things to Come (1936), to Utilize Science-Fiction as a Theme in a Big-Budget, Production that wasn't a Serial Aimed at the Kids. This was a Gallant Effort and not at all a Safe Venture, both Financially and Artistically.Released in 1950 it Virtually Created the Sci-Fi Genre in Films as we Know it Today. It Strived for Accuracy Foremost and its Imagination was in the Concept more than the Execution. if it wasn't Scientifically Feasible, or at Least Theoretical it wasn't Shown. The Result was a Strain on Entertainment Value, but it made up for it with a Grandiose Vision Firmly Grounded in Political Reality and the Emergence, mostly because of the War, in the Acceleration of Industrial and Scientific Technology. Producer George Pal's Vision, Robert Heinlein's Literary Skills, and Chesley Bonestell's Paintings (influenced by His Sci-Fi Pulp Cover Creations), with Help from a Fine Musical Score and some Hollywood Trickery, make this a Seminal Creation. A Must See for those Interested in Hollywood History along with its Influence on Public Perceptions. Woody Woodpecker Adds some Cartoon Flare along with the Movie's Greatest Shortcoming, the Ever Present Skirt Chaser, Joe Six-Pack. "Wow, look at that, can you see Brooklyn?...I wonder who's Pitching."

I wonder if America of 1950 had any greater worries than the possibility that Russia could get to the Moon before them? I bet they did, but that didn't stop Destination Moon from handling the subject with the most earnest of touches. Its serious science fiction, researched fact mixed with sober speculation and served up with a dollop of right wing attitude. I can't say as I think this one has aged terribly well in many aspects other than its effects sequences actually, though I found it broadly watchable enough. For starters I wasn't sold on the political attitude. The anti Commie slant is fair enough and not something I would expect to be given serious treatment, but I thought rather less of the idea of free enterprise bypassing the law and then being applauded when they succeeded, indeed I found it rather too simplistic. The film brings up the notion of public opinion being agitated against the idea of an atomic rocket, which is interesting, but never dwelt upon, there is mention of the possibility of a saboteur when an early rocket explodes, this is also never dwelt upon, most importantly in terms of characters little discussion goes into the possibilities of danger for the land around the site should the mission go wrong, other than that it has been evacuated. Now, I don't generally like to get into politics in cinema but here it stands out, as the writing isn't up to much, the acting is mediocre and the events too sparsely exciting. Everything seems more concerned with asserting grandeur and importance of the mission and then putting some scientific accuracy on screen, rather than drawing interesting characters to invest the audience in events or stirring up excitement. Having said this, the emphasis on accuracy is pretty interesting in itself, especially when contrasted with the lunacies of so many fellow science fiction films of the time. Destination Moon is really the result of smart minds doing their best to come up with an absolutely plausible account of man landing on the Moon and its remarkably prescient stuff, from plans of the later Apollo missions to even the first words spoken on the eventual landing in 1969. Everything comes across accurate and the special effects are excellent (they bagged an Oscar) with fun depictions of weightlessness and low gravity, some ace matte painting work and shuttle take off excitement. Cast-wise no one impresses too much and Dick Wesson irritates in a lamely written everyman role, but things just about hold together until the lightly suspenseful end. Altogether I wasn't a big fan of this one, its respectable and probably a worthy watch for the serious science fiction fan but it isn't all that much fun. A fair 5/10 from me then.