Destination Moon (film)

Destination Moon
File:Destination Moon DVD.jpg DVD cover
Directed by	Irving Pichel
Screenplay by	James O'Hanlon Robert A. Heinlein Rip Van Ronkel
Produced by	George Pal
Starring	John Archer Warner Anderson Tom Powers Dick Wesson
Cinematography	Lionel Lindon
Edited by	Duke Goldstone
Music by	Leith Stevens
Production company	George Pal Productions
Distributed by	Eagle-Lion Classics Inc.
Release date	June 27, 1950 (1950-06-27)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Destination Moon (1950) is an American science fiction film produced by George Pal. The film was directed by Irving Pichel, shot in Technicolor, and distributed in the United States and UK by independent Eagle-Lion Classics. Pal produced the first major U. S. science fiction film to deal with the dangers inherent in space travel and with the possible difficulties of landing on and safely returning from our only satellite.

Plot summary

When their latest rocket test fails and government funding collapses, rocket scientist Dr. Charles Cargraves (Warner Anderson) and space enthusiast General Thayer (Tom Powers) enlist the aid of aircraft magnate Jim Barnes (John Archer). With the necessary millions raised privately from a group of patriotic U. S. industrialists, Cargraves, Warner, and Barnes build an advanced single-stage-to-orbit atomic powered spaceship, named Luna, at their desert manufacturing and launch facility; the project is soon threatened by a ginned-up public uproar over "radiation safety." The three idealists circumvent legal efforts to stop their expedition by simply launching the world's first Moon mission well ahead of schedule; as a result, they must quickly substitute Joe Sweeney (Dick Wesson) as their expedition's radar and radio operator.

On their way to Moon, they are forced to go outside Luna in zero gravity, wearing magnetic boots to stay on the hull, in order to free a frozen piloting radar antenna greased-up by the inexperienced Sweeney hours before the launch. In the process they carelessly lose one of the crew overboard, untethered in free fall; he is cleverly retrieved by using a large oxygen cylinder as a retro rocket. After achieving orbit around the Moon, the crew begins the complex landing procedure, using too much fuel during the Luna's descent phase.

On the Moon, after exploring the lunar surface, they begin to calculate the mass needed to lighten their spaceship in the Moon's one-sixth gravity to get them back home with their remaining fuel. No matter how much non-critical equipment they remove and leave on the lunar surface, the hard numbers radioed from Earth continue to point to one conclusion: someone will have to stay behind on the Moon if the other three crew are to return safely to Earth. With time running out for their return launch window, the crew engineers their way home: They jettison the ship's heavy radio equipment and their sole remaining space suit, with air tanks and space helmet, directly through the spaceship's open airlock. The critical take-off weight is finally achieved, and with just minutes remaining, Luna safely blasts off from the Moon with all aboard. As the crew approaches the Earth, the film's traditional "The End" title card heralds the dawn of the Space Age: "This is THE END...of the Beginning."

Cast

• John Archer as Jim Barnes
• Warner Anderson as Dr. Charles Cargraves
• Tom Powers as General Thayer
• Dick Wesson as Joe Sweeney
• Erin O'Brien-Moore as Emily Cargraves
• Franklyn Farnum as Factory Worker (uncredited)
• Everett Glass as Mr. La Porte (uncredited)
• Knox Manning as Knox Manning (uncredited)

Woody Woodpecker

Cartoon character Woody Woodpecker's creator Walter Lantz and producer George Pal were close friends since Pal left Europe. Pal always tried to include Woody, out of friendship and good luck, in all his film productions. (On the commentary track of the Special Collector's DVD Edition of George Pal's 1953 science fiction film War of the Worlds, actors Ann Robinson and Gene Barry point out that Woody can be seen in a tree top, center screen, near the beginning of the film.) George Pal incorporates Woody in Destination Moon as a vital part of its unfolding storyline. In a cartoon shown within the film, Woody explains the scientific principles behind space travel and then a trip to the Moon. This engaging cartoon is shown to a gathering of U. S. industrialists, who it's hoped will patriotically finance such a daring venture before an (unnamed) non-western power can do so successfuly. But the Woody cartoon actually serves the purpose of explaining, in layman's terms, to the average 1950 movie going audience, the practical details of a manned space expedition to the Moon and how it might be accomplished.

Themes

The film's premise is that U. S. private industry will mobilize, finance, and manufacture the first spacecraft to the Moon. Given the perceived Soviet threat at the time, the film makes the assumption that the U. S. government will then be forced to purchase or lease this new technology to remain the dominant power in space and on the Moon. Industrialists are shown cooperating to support the private venture.

Production

Development

Pal commissioned an initial screenplay from screenwriters James O'Hanlon and Rip Van Ronkel, but science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein contributed significantly to Destination Moon's final screenplay, also serving as the film's technical adviser. Certain story elements from his 1947 juvenile novel Rocket Ship Galileo were adapted for use in the film's final screenplay. Heinlein also published a tie-in novella, Destination Moon, based on the screenplay. The film's storyline also resembles portions of Heinlein's novel The Man Who Sold the Moon, which he wrote in 1949 but did not publish until 1951, a year after the Pal film opened.

Release

Despite its half-a-million dollar budget and a large national print media and radio publicity campaign preceding its delayed release, Destination Moon ultimately became the second space adventure film of the post-World War II era. Piggybacking on the growing publicity and expectation surrounding the Pal film, Lippert Pictures' small budget ($94,000) and quickly shot Rocketship X-M, about the first spaceship to land on distant Mars, opened in movie theaters twenty-five days before the Pal feature.

Reception

Accolades

Destination Moon won the Academy Award for Visual Effects in the name of the effects director, Lee Zavitz. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, by Ernst Fegte and George Sawley.

At the 1st Berlin International Film Festival it won the Bronze Berlin Bear Award, for "Thrillers and Adventure Films."

Retro Hugo Awards: A special 1951 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation was retroactively awarded 50 years later, in 2001, to Destination Moon for being one of the science fiction films eligible during calendar year 1950.

The film was also nominated for AFI's Top 10 Science Fiction Films list.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack music, written by composer Leith Stevens, is noteworthy for its atmospheric themes and musical motifs, all of which add subtle but important detail and emotion to the various dramatic moments in the film. The Stevens Destination Moon film score had its first U.S. release in 1950 on a 10-inch 78 rpm mono LP by Columbia Records (#CL 6151):

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Earth: Prelude"	Leith Stevens	02:50
2.	"Earth: Planning and Building of the Great Rocket"	Stevens	05:03
3.	"In Outer Space"	Stevens	06:53
Total length:			14:46

Side B

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"On the Surface of the Moon: The Crater Harpalus"	Stevens	04:10
2.	"On the Surface of the Moon: Exploring the Moon"	Stevens	01:58
3.	"On the Surface of the Moon: The Dilemma"	Stevens	02:40
4.	"On the Surface of the Moon: Escape from the Moon and Finale"	Stevens	03:11
Total length:			11:59

Later in the 1950s the score was re-released on a 12-inch high-fidelity mono LP by Omega Disk (#1003). Omega Disk re-released it in 1960 as a stereophonic 33 1/3 LP (#OSL-3). In 1980 the score was re-released on stereo LP by Varise Sarabande (#STV 81130) and again in 1995 on stereo LP by Citadel Records (#STC 77101). An expanded and complete 56.32 minute version of Steven's original film score, limited to 1000 copies, was released on CD in 2012 by Monstrous Movie Music (#MMM-1967); also on the CD is Clarence Wheeler's incidental music used for the film's Woody Woodpecker cartoon. An illustrated 20-page booklet of liner notes is also included.

Adaptations

Episode 12 of the Dimension X radio series was called Destination Moon and was based on Heinlein's final draft of the film's shooting script. During the broadcast, the program was interrupted by a news bulletin announcing that North Korea had declared war on South Korea, marking the beginning of the Korean War.

A highly condensed version of the Dimension X Destination Moon radio play was adapted by Charles Palmer and was released by Capitol Records for children, who had become familiar with Capitol's recordings through a Bozo the Clown-approved record series. The series featured 7-inch, 78-rpm recordings and full-color booklets which children could follow as they listened to the stories. The Destination Moon record was narrated was Tom Reddy, and Billy May composed the incidental and background music. The record's storyline took considerable liberties with the film's plot and characters, though the general shape of the film story remained.

In 1950 Fawcett Publications released a 10-cent Destination Moon movie tie-in comic book. DC Comics also published a comic book preview on the Pal film; it was the cover feature of DC's brand new science fiction anthology comic book Strange Adventures # 1 (September 1950).

References

Bibliography

• Heinlein, Robert A. (1950). "Shooting Destination Moon". Astounding Science Fiction. London, England, UK: Atlas Pub. and Distributing Co. ISSN 1059-2113. OCLC 10756251. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)(reprinted in—Johnson, William (1972). Focus on the Science Fiction Film (illustrated ed.). Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 9780137951796. OCLC 314404. Retrieved March 12, 2013.)
• Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (1977). The Great Science Fiction Pictures. Metuchen, New Jersey, USA: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810810297. OCLC 2896253. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
• Strick, Philip (1976). Science Fiction Movies (illustrated ed.). London, England, UK: Octopus Books. ISBN 9780706404708. OCLC 2343549. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
• Warren, Bill (2009). Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the 50s (21st century ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina, USA: McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786442300. OCLC 567519752. Retrieved March 12, 2013.

External links

• Destination Moon at IMDb
• Destination Moon at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Destination Moon entire film at YouTube
• Complete original soundtrack from the film score released by the "Monstrous Movie Music" label (sound samples available)