Rocketship X-M
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| Rocketship X-M | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster. |
|
| Directed by | Kurt Neumann |
| Starring | Lloyd Bridges and Osa Massen |
| Distributed by | Lippert Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1950 |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $94,000 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Rocketship X-M (1950) was the second of the American science fiction feature films of the space adventure genre begun in the post-war era, in 1950. Because expensive special effects and production value delayed the release of Destination Moon, this black and white film was quickly shot so as to be able to make it to the cinemas first. Unlike Destination Moon, however, this one delivers an anti-nuclear message.
It was directed by Kurt Neumann and features Lloyd Bridges and Osa Massen as well as a soundtrack by American composer Ferde Grofé. The film is also known as Expedition Moon, and originally as Rocketship XM-1. The film was also one of many B-movies mocked as episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
In the 1970s the rights to the film were acquired by collector Wade Williams, who set about re-shooting some of its special effects scenes in order to improve the film's look. The DVD release incorporates the re-shot footage.
[edit] Plot
Four men and a woman blast into space on mankind's first expedition to the Moon. Halfway to the moon, the engines shut down because of a problem in the fuel. Newton's laws are instantly violated as the ship comes to a dead stop. There are some tense moments (more or less) while the crew work on the problem. They solve it beyond their expectation and the ship tears off across the solar system on a new course. Incredibly, this takes them directly to Mars (about the same odds as hitting the left eye of a mosquito at a range of several miles), which causes Dr. Karl Eckstrom to "pause and observe respectfully while something infinitely greater assumes control".
On Mars, they find evidence of a once-powerful civilization, as evidenced by an art-deco wall-hanging of a face, and a backdrop of a building shaped rather like a dynamo. There has been a planetary nuclear war. They meet a descendant of the builders of the civilization: a blind and mute woman, who is pursued by other descendants: cave-men, whom they fight off and escape (with 2 dead and 1 wounded). The return voyage is only a partial success: the ship makes it back to Earth but hasn't enough fuel for a landing. As Col. Floyd Graham and Dr. Lisa Van Horn embrace the ship crashes. There is an epilogue in which the anti-nuke moral of the film is restated. The last members of the expedition are stated to have died, but a new ship will be built to continue the exploration of space.
[edit] Notes
The explorers wear U.S. Army-surplus clothing, with gas-masks to represent oxygen augmentation. In the first release of the film, these scenes were shot with color tinting, but the originals were lost. In the 1980s, some fans got some body-doubles to dress up the same way so that replacement, matching, shots could be taken using similar film stock at the same sites in Death Valley that were used to represent Mars in the original.
Curious particulars of this film include the trajectory that is prescribed for going to the moon. From standing on its pad, the rocket goes straight up. Once it escapes the atmosphere, it then makes a ninety-degree turn. Simultaneously with the turn, the cabin rotates within the rocket hull around a lateral axis so that the "floor" is always "down". Hence, after the rotation, it is oriented as in an airplane.
The rocket design was taken from the illustrations in an article in Life magazine, January 17, 1949, though not the spacesuits. The structure of this rocket is hollow, having a ladder in the middle surrounded by slender tanks of various fictitious chemicals. It is by selecting from these chemicals in various proportions that different levels of thrust are stated as being attainable from the engine. (The rocket from Destination Moon was stated as being nuclear.)
Several scenes involving the interaction between the sole female crewmember, scientist Dr. Lisa Van Horn, and the male crew, launch staff, and press corps provide insight to 1950s attitudes toward women, both in cultural expectations and attempts to change them. One notable scene involves Van Horn and expedition leader (and fellow scientist) Dr. Karl Eckstrom rushing to recalculate fuel mixtures after their initial problems. When they come up with different figures, expedition leader Eckstrom decides that they must proceed using his numbers. Van Horn objects to his "arbitrary" decision, but submits, and Eckstrom forgives her for "momentarily being a woman". (Interestingly, events prove Eckstrom to be wrong.)
