Destination Moon (1950)

**BoG** Sun Feb 28, 2010 7:38 pm

This film put George Pal on the map (on Earth, not the moon). He then gave us War of the Worlds (1953) and Conquest of Space (1955). Destination Moon cost about $600,000 to make back then (1950) and grossed $5.5 million. It got the fifties cycle of Sci-Fi films off to an impressive start.

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DESTINATION MOON - from the pen of Robert Heinlein
This film really reflected the Heinlein outlook, namely smart guys getting
things done in a no-nonsense manner for the progress of all mankind.
There weren't too many screw-ups or shenanigans because these guys
knew what they were doing. The whole thing predicted what would really
happen about 20 years later, in regards to the USA beating the other
superpower to the moon, though the moon landscape in this film would
turn out to be inaccurate; it's still great to look at. BoG's Score: 7 out of 10
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ABOVE: ITALIAN POSTER

Destination Trivia: THIS FILM IS CREDITED AS BEING A KEY INFLUENCE ON THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA IN THE FIFTIES.

THE CRACKED SURFACE OF THE MOON, RESEMBLING A DRIED LAKE BED, WAS BY PAINTER CHESLEY BONESTELL; HE KNEW THIS TO BE SCIENTIFICALLY INACCURATE, BUT KEPT IT IN TO GIVE A SENSE OF PERSPECTIVE TO THE LUNAR LANDSCAPE.