Movie Review – Destination Moon (1950)
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
Those famous words by astronaut Neil Armstrong became embedded in our minds back when he made his famous moonwalk in July of 1969. Okay, maybe it was eleven years prior to my time.
Since the conclusion of the Second World War and the capture of German V-2 rockets and their scientists, people have been fascinated with rocket flight. Specifically, building them bigger and ultimately sending a payload and a person into not only Earth orbit but the deep unknowns of outer space. The 1950s era gave us some of the best science fiction movies of all time, from the serious to the fantasy.
One of the better science fiction movies that took a serious look at space travel was Destination Moon. Being released back in 1950, Destination Moon was also one of the earliest science fiction movies dealing with realistic space flight.
The plot for Destination Moon is fairly simple. A team of industrialists come together and decide to build a rocket capable of flying to the Moon and returning home safely. They decide to make this a private endeavor as A) unknown people (indirectly referring to Communists) are sabotaging current rocket flight experiments, and B) whatever gains they make will most likely be seized by the U.S. government. The bottom line is that it’s up to them to build a rocket and reach the moon before the Russians, as the country that controls the moon will gain a tremendous military advantage for waging wars on Earth.
The rocket’s construction takes place out in the desert of the U.S. southwest. The wide open spaces help keep prying eyes away from the secret project. Are the industrialists worried about breaking any laws regarding rocket launches and flying in space? Not really, as they mention just going ahead with the project before the government makes laws against it. The government does try to stop the rocket’s launch at the last minute, but the astronauts launch anyway and embark on their quest.
Destination Moon (1950) – (c) Eagle-Lion Classics Inc.
Destination Moon is not one of those highly technical or complicated movies that leaves the audience baffled by the terminology or technology. Early in the movie we see Woody Woodpecker explaining the concept and physics of space travel to a group of investors (just like the Mr. DNA character in Jurassic Park). On board the rocket is Joe Sweeney, a mechanic drafted at the last minute to join the lunar flight. Joe has a strong New York City accent and doesn’t have much understanding of space flight, so the other astronauts keep explaining concepts to him (and the audience).
Destination Moon (1950) – (c) Eagle-Lion Classics Inc.
After landing on the moon, the landscape and lunar scenery looks fantastic, just as I would imagine it would appear to an audience of that time frame. Don’t expect any aliens or “moon men” here. The mountains are jagged, the landscape is forbidding, and the astronauts are there to explore and conduct their experiments.
Destination Moon (1950) – (c) Eagle-Lion Classics Inc.
The lunar mission is going along well until it’s time to return home. According to the scientists back at “mission control,” their spaceship, Luna, is overweight. They don’t have enough fuel unless they find a way to lighten the load. The astronauts toss out nearly everything, but they’re still too heavy. Will one of the astronauts remain behind so that the other can return home safely?
Destination Moon (1950) – (c) Eagle-Lion Classics Inc.
As a whole, Destination Moon is a fantastic movie showing an early, and what was believed to be realistic, approach to space travel. You have to keep the movie’s early date in mind when watching the movie. The launching of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, wouldn’t take place for a further seven years. Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard wouldn’t make their historic first space flights until 1961. So for the Destination Moon movie producers, they were coming up with their rocket and space flight concepts on their own when the movie was made back in 1949.
Destination Moon (1950) – (c) Eagle-Lion Classics Inc.
Sure, quite a few scenes in Destination Moon are laughable today. Space walking was very simplistic. The astronauts have reclined benches instead of seats. The Luna‘s interior was very large and spacious. The concept of re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere wasn’t even discussed — the movie ends with the Luna flying back to Earth.
“Mission to Mars” ride in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
To me, a few of the launching and space flight scenes reminded me of the classic Magic Kingdom attraction, “Mission to Mars.” Originally known as “Flight to the Moon” and later changed to “Mission to Mars,” the attraction took park guests on a simulated flight to our neighbor in space. Like in Destination Moon, “Mission to Mars” guests experienced the inflating and deflating seat effect to simulate the high G-force of launch and then a brief feeling of weightlessness in space. The rows of seats all faced inwards, and in the middle of the theater (a.k.a. “rocket”) was a top-down view of both Earth and Mars during certain parts of the space flight.
Of course, the public’s interest didn’t keep demand for the classic sci-fi attraction, and Walt Disney World’s version of “Mission to Mars” finally closed its doors on October 4, 1993.
Destination Moon movie trailer
Destination Moon is a very enjoyable science fiction / space flight movie. The film had a big budget, it was a Technicolor film, and it’s great seeing the late 1940s perspective on realistic space travel.
General Thayer – “On the Moon! Jim, Doc, we’re on the Moon!”
Joe Sweeney – “And we’re alive – holy cow! General, the next time you tell me you can get me to the Moon, I’ll believe you!”