Second in Ivan Tors Productions' "Office of Scientific Investigation" (O.S.I.) trilogy, "Riders to the Stars" belongs to that sf sub-genre of straightforward space exploration epic -- no ray guns and bug-eyed monsters allowed. Which is no doubt why I found it so boring, when I caught it on the afternoon Big Show back in the 1960s.Thanks to TCM, I've had a chance to see it again, and while it's undeniably leisurely-paced in parts and suffers from a tragically inadequate effects budget, it's still a far better film than I remembered. However, much of my appreciation comes from the fact that it tickles my nostalgia nerve and has some nifty stock footage from the early days of America's space program, which at the time mostly consisted of shooting off captured V-2s out at White Sands. So viewers who don't have the fond memories of and/or historical interest in this era of the Space Age will probably find this pretty dull stuff.The writer -- Curt Siodmak -- deserves high marks for doing his research on the subject, thereby making the section of the film depicting the painstaking selection process and rigorous training of our trio of astronauts remarkably prescient at times. The science behind their dangerous mission isn't so well-thought-out, but it provides for some minor thrills as the astronauts attempt to chase down and retrieve a meteor from low Earth orbit.Worth watching, especially if you consider it as a companion film and precursor to "Gog", the third and final entry in the O.S.I. series.

Put aside a Dr. House repeat that I had missed, and a Desperate Housewives (new) to watch this one. I don't know exactly what plagued this movie. I never thought I'd say this, but I want my 15 minutes of fame back.Script, Direction, I can't say. I recognized the stable of actors (the usual suspects), but thought Herbert Marshall was a class addition and sat myself down for a good cheesy flick. Boy, was I wrong. Dullsville.My favorite parts: where the "office girl" makes with the 029 keypunch and puts the cards into a 087 sorter. LOL @ "the computer". I'd like someone identify the next device - a 477 ? It's before even this dinosaur's time.And we dinosaurs don't have that much time to waste.

Unlike most Sci-Fi's of the era, this one had a first class star in Herbert Marshall, and a few popular stars of the day such as William Lundigan and Richard Carlson, Martha Hyer.Considering when this film was made, it had quite a few historically accurate problems facing science before man went into space. Unlike era sci-fi's that had travel to the stars, and all kinds of monsters from space, this took the short step into the future by tackling getting out of the earth's gravitational pull on a manned mission. The one step at a time type of effort that finally resulted in the moon landings.Some actual footage of V-2 rocket launches and the type of rocket that sent our first satellite into space was used. Some of the sets however were cheaply made and even for the time seriously dated. As far as the script goes, it was a bit corny, but unlike contemporary films, the characters were believable. Although there was hardly a kiss displayed, Lundigan develops an attachment to the only female scientist in the film. The suspense of the film centers around the secrecy of selecting unmarried candidates to rocket into space and capture a meteor which could provide clues to making future rocket. Three rockets with one pilot each go up, and only one come back with one of the meteors. Of course Lundigan is the sole survivor making for a happy ending for Martha Hyer.

The film manages to capture the wonder and awe of the space age you may have felt as a teenager in the 1950s. It comes through clearly with the superb cast in the movie (Richard Carlson is one of my favorites in this genre). And even though some people don't like the stock footage used, I enjoyed it. With the interaction of characters, and even love interest in the film, the movie takes you to another time and place. About the only the missing from this movie that usually draws me to these films was the usual flying saucer/UFO kind of connection. But even without that, I really enjoyed this movie. I would have loved to have grown up in that era. See it if you get the chance.