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Dedications
Dedicated in loving memory of my wonderful parents:-
Konstantinos (Dino) Christopoulos who took me to see my very first science fiction film in the early 1960s, The Man With The X-Ray Eyes (1963)
Rosemary Christopoulos who sat with me after school as I watched on TV episodes the first two doctors of the Doctor Who series and insisted on asking me interminable questions about who was who and what was going on!
Thanks mum and dad!
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The SCI-FI FILM FIESTA ebook series is intended as a salute to the pioneering work of science fiction film makers. May future generations have the privilege of enjoying your work and never stop wondering....What if?
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Dedicated also to you, the reader who appreciates these classic gems from the golden age of sci-fi film-making. It is you who help to keep such films alive for future generations to enjoy
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Other Ebooks in the Sci-Fi Film Fiesta series:
Volume 1: “Here Be Monsters”
Sci-Fi Film Fiesta
VOLUME 2:
“INTO SPACE”
©Chris Christopoulos 2022
CONTENTS
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
Introduction
By the decade of the 1950s, our knowledge of outer space was limited by what we could glean from Earth-bound telescopes. Humanity’s first tentative steps into that realm initially consisted of V2 rocket launches, experimental high altitude aircraft and balloons and sputnik satellites. It is no wonder that what lay beyond Earth’s atmosphere provided considerable material for fertile imaginations and the exploitation of people’s fears of the unknown.
In modern times, we still refer to our venturing into outer space as being a “space race.” What is less certain is the question of who is racing whom and for what end purpose. Back in the 1950s it was certain what the ‘race’ entailed: a race between two competing systems, Soviet Russian-style communism versus western-style democracy led by the United States of America. At that stage it appeared that the former was winning and space seemed to assume a rather terrifying prospect in many people’s minds.
These days space travel seems to be assuming a rather routine veneer with EVA maintenance tasks being undertaken at the International Space Station; proposals for space tourism; billionaires bobbing about weightless aboard low orbiting craft; and various missions involving new generations of spacecraft such as Artemis along with space craft from Space-X, Virgin Galactic and Blue origin.
Disturbingly, much of the talk surrounding humanity’s involvement in space is often couched in terms that stress purely economic, military, strategic and geo-political imperatives. Obtaining advantage in such areas constitute the end goal of the ‘race’ that is referred to in modern times.
Are we perhaps moving too far away from the sense of wonder and awe that can fire our imaginations when we contemplate space, our place in the universe and our part played in our exploration of it. Should our involvement in space be viewed in terms of our exploitation of what it has to offer as just another source of resources to be consumed? Should space and our ability to venture into its vastness allow humanity to better understand its place in the immensity of the universe, how much we have yet to know and appreciate what we have?
And so, dear reader, I’d now like to share with you my own enjoyment of many individual classic films from the golden age of science fiction with this volume of the “Sci-Fi Film Fiesta” series: VOLUME 2: INTO SPACE. This volume covers some classic science fiction films from the 1950s that feature humanity’s tentative and often dangerous steps into the great unknown realm of outer space…..
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Project Moon Base (1953)
A film with potentially good ideas but fails to take us forward into the future
Director: Richard Talmadge
Producer: Jack Seaman
Screenplay: Robert A. Heinlein; Jack Seaman
Story: Robert A. Heinlein; Jack Seaman
Music: Herschel Burke Gilbert
Cinematography: William C. Thompson
Editing: Roland Gross
Studio: Galaxy Pictures Inc.
Distributor: Lippert Pictures
Running time: 63 minutes
Cast
Donna Martell: (Colonel Briteis)
Hayden Rorke: (Gen. 'Pappy' Greene)
Ross Ford: (Maj. Bill Moore)
Larry Johns: (Doctor Wernher)
Herb Jacobs: (Mr. Roundtree)
Barbara Morrison: (Polly Prattles)
Ernestine Barrier: (Madame President)
James Craven: (Commodore Carlson)
John Hedloe: (Adjutant)
Peter Adams: (Captain Carmody)
“In 1948 the Secretary of Defence proposed that the United States build a space station as a military guardian of the sky.
By 1954 atom bombs and intercontinental rockets made it a necessity.
In 1966 the first orbital flight was made by Colonel Briteis.
By 1970 the space station has been built and free men were reaching for the moon to consolidate the safety of the Free World.
But while this was going on, the enemies of Freedom were not idle—they were working to destroy the space station.”
Synopsis
(Spoilers follow….)
The film, “Project Moon Base” is set in an imagined future of 1970 at a time when the United States is considering building bases on the Moon in order to “consolidate the safety of the free world.” Colonel Briteis, Major Bill Moore and Doctor Wernher are sent on a mission to orbit the Moon, photograph the back side of the moon and survey landing sites for future lunar missions. Unknown to anyone, Dr. Wernher has been replaced with a look-a-like impostor whose mission is to destroy the US Earth-orbiting space station, (“this perpetually menacing eye in the sky”) by using the rocket to ram the station on the way back from the Moon.
On the way to the moon, Wernher manages to give his identity away by inadvertently revealing that he knows very little about the camera systems that he is supposedly an expert in, and that he hails from Brooklyn but is unaware of the Brooklyn Dodgers. While he and Major Moore struggle for the control of the rocket, Col. Briteis is forced to make an emergency landing on the Moon.
The three astronauts now find themselves marooned on the moon. Dr. Wernher is given a chance to help Moore establish communications with Earth. While assisting Major Moore, Dr. Wernher suffers an accident which results in his death.
The US authorities use this unexpected outcome to make the stranded spaceship the first component of a new moon base. In order to avoid the then morally unacceptable scenario of an unmarried male and female alone within the close confines of the space craft for an extended period of time, General Greene convinces Major Moore to propose to Colonel Briteis. As a newly promoted Brigadier General and ranking officer after their marriage, Moore will effectively be her boss. (Hear the sound of Feminists’ heads exploding in the distance!)
Points Of interest
As was quite common for sci-fi and films of other genres, dealing with the role of women and how they ought to be portrayed seems to have presented movie-makers with something of a dilemma.
On the one hand, in “Project Moon Base” we see women holding positions of power, authority and responsibility equal to men such as a colonel and the president of the United States itself. On the other hand, we witness the main female protagonist, Colonel Briteis, the first person to orbit the Earth, and also about to make the first circumlunar flight, being easily flustered and spooked and eager to turn to Major Moore when the going gets tough! Despite Briteis’ experience, Moore asks her, “May I help you? Can I strap you in?” “Are you alright Colonel? No space sickness?” At one point in the film, Briteis even apologises, “Sorry, I’ve gone all female on you,” when she panics after the moon landing.
Here we are presented with a rather contradictory approach to gender whereby a rather progressive and radical idea of having a woman as the president of the United States is undermined by the portrayal of Colonel Briteis as a whining, petulant and spoiled female intruding on a male preserve. She is a woman in a position of authority, but is almost deemed to be unworthy of that authority (“you’re not a superwoman, you’re a spoilt brat!”) by males who are shown as being mostly strong and competent and who may deign to give her “a crack at the first moon landing…if all goes well.”
Fast forward 70 or so years and you’ll see many forms of gender inequality including such things as unequal rates of pay, misogynist attitudes, corporate glass ceilings, outmoded medieval religious attitudes and practices that subjugate and discriminate against women, inquiries into certain armed forces’ sexist and abusive treatment of female recruits and on it goes. We may feel we have come a long way in matters of gender, but how much further do we still need to go before we do not even have to think about it as needing to be an issue?
Rewind to 1953 and we see in “Project Moon Base” a full colonel being demeaningly referred to by her general as “bright eyes,” and told that the only reason she flew the first orbital mission was because she weighed only ninety pounds and could fit into the spacecraft and is scolded as if she is a little girl with comments like, “any more guff out of you and I’ll turn you over my knee and spank you.” It is not hard to see how such attitudes have become so ingrained in our culture.
Not only in matters of gender is the film a product of its times, but it is also reflects the fears and concerns of the early Cold War era. Missile and nuclear development would usher in the era of the hydrogen bomb and the ICBM missile. In the film we are presented with a foreign spymaster (we all know from where without needing to be told!) who has recruited hundreds of people who physically resemble scientists who may be asked to travel to the American space station. This spy happens to have an agent who closely resembles Dr. Wernher and will take his place and be used to destroy the space station. Espionage, sabotage and subversion were themes the American public were encouraged to become familiar with.
It was an interesting idea to use basic split screen techniques to show people walking on different planes or appearing to be sitting on the floor while others are sitting on the wall. At least it graphically shows how relative or even non-existent such concepts as “up” & “down” can be in space. Living and working in space for extended periods do require major physical and mental readjustments for terrestrially evolved humans. A similar effect was achieved by using angled shots for the space station interior which makes the viewer feel that they’re in space aboard a space station.
“Project Moon Base” originally started out as a pilot episode called “Ring Around the Moon” for a proposed television series called “The World Beyond.” Still, the film is very short, in fact too short. With this mind, it is a shame that so much time is filled with explanations of various kinds such as General Greene’s explanations to Ms Prattle and a presumably perceived technically illiterate audience concerning the effects of weightlessness, rendezvous procedures, and the Luna mission. It’s not just Ms Prattle doing the prattling!
“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organise and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too…..
….To be sure, we are behind, and will be behind for some time in manned flight. But we do not intend to stay behind, and in this decade, we shall make up and move ahead.” (Excerpt from JFK Moon Speech, September 12, 1962)
In the film, “Project Moon Base,” it was explained that America had to reach the moon first, before any other power. A decade and more later throughout the 1960’s, it was this race to be the first that provided the main impetus and rationale for the effort to fulfil JFK’s undertaking for the US to be the first to put a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth. The science involved in such a mission would tend to take a back seat and would not provide a sufficient rationale for such a risky and expensive enterprise as landing on the Moon. Perhaps General Greene’s words come closest to what always motivates the US in all matters terrestrial and extra-terrestrial: “Ma’am, the most important thing in the world to me is the military security of the United States, and I’m not the least apologetic about my attitude.”
As Moore, Briteis, and Dr. Wernher are ferried to the space station, I couldn’t help wondering what self-respecting astronaut would succumb to being forced to wear a tee-shirt, a felt skull cap, and a pair of short shorts. Yes, the tune “Who wears short shorts?” went through my head. Sure, the outfit highlighted Briteis’ wonderful physical attributes which I suspect was one of the reasons for the use of such space-wear. Notice how Briteis is forced down onto her acceleration couch during the struggle between Moore and Wernher, while the camera serves up views of her tee-shirt hugged chest area valiantly resisting the G-forces of acceleration.
With “public opinion being what it is,” no-one’s sensibilities are going to offended or any social mores transgressed with Major Moore and Colonel Briteis’ long-distance wedding ceremony, with Major Moore being promoted to Brigadier General and outranking his wife and with Moore and Briteis finally ending their constant bickering and finally kissing at the end of the movie.
“Project Moon Base:”
A journey into the future
or a trip back to the future?
A giant leap forward...
or one step forward
and two steps back?
You decide……
(End of Project Moon Base)
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Riders to the Stars (1954)
An ambitions sci-fi adult drama that refuses to wallow in menaces and threats from beyond. A serious consideration of the possibility of space travel at the dawn of the Space Age. Competent acting. Falls rather short of being considered a sci-fi film classic though.
“Riders to the Stars” is an American science fiction film that was released in 1954 by Ivan Tors Productions and directed by Richard Carlson. It is the second episode in Ivan Tors' “Office of Scientific Investigation” (OSI) trilogy, coming after “The Magnetic Monster” and before “Gog,” both of which are featured in this eBook series.
Directed by Richard Carlson, Herbert L. Strock
Produced by Maxwell Smith (associate producer: Scientific Research), Herbert L. Strock (associate producer), Ivan Tors (producer)
Written by Curt Siodmak, Ivan Tors (story)
Music by Harry Sukman
Cinematography Stanley Cortez, Joseph F. Biroc
Editing by Herbert L. Strock
Distributed by United Artists Corporation
Running time: 81 minutes
Cast
William Lundigan as Dr. Richard Donald Stanton
Herbert Marshall as Dr. Donald L. Stanton / Narrator
Richard Carlson as Dr. Jerome "Jerry" Lockwood
Martha Hyer as Dr. Jane Flynn
Dawn Addams as Susan Manners
Robert Karnes as Walter J. Gordon
Lawrence Dobkin as Dr. Delmar
George Eldredge as Dr. Paul Drayden
Dan Riss as Dr. Frank Warner
Michael Fox as Dr. Klinger (psychiatrist)
King Donovan as James F. O'Herli, Security
Kem Dibbs as David Wells
James Best as Sidney K. Fuller
1954: A Taste Of The Times
Despite the conservatism of the age, the winds of change were starting to blow with increased questioning of the need to conform and the nature of American values. More individualistic and anti-establishment feelings were coming to the surface with the creation of a new generation called “teenagers.” Young people began to set about breaking free of the constraints of mainstream, conservative, middle class values. American Bandstand, rock ‘n roll, hula hoops, blue jeans, poodle skirts, pony tails for girls, flat tops and crew cuts for guys, saddle shoes and blue suede loafers were symbols that set a generation apart from the stifling constraints of the established order of things around them. The door was opening ever wider into a counter culture that would eventually consist of rockers, teddy boys, bodgies and widgies, A new growing movement of musicians, writers and poets of the Beat generation were also set to chip away at the flaking walls of the Establishment edifice and the conventions and values of their parents’ generation.
Synopsis
(Warning: Spoilers follow below…..)
Dr. Donald Stanton and his colleagues are working on manned space travel. The seriousness of the enterprise is made apparent at the start of the film when we are informed that “man has met every challenge but one-the void of space” in which he will be met by “radiation and agonizing cold.” However, it also turns out that even the best quality steel turns brittle in outer space. It seems as if the steel’s molecular structure is rearranged by radiation or as Dr Jane Flynn suggests that the metal has weakened because of exposure to cosmic rays. She wonders how meteors can survive such conditions for millions of years. Since meteorites are not subject to the same problem, Stanton inspired by Jane puts together a project to recover some meteors before they enter the atmosphere in order to find out how their "outer shell" protects them so that they can build spacecraft that can withstand the rigors of space travel. This program will require sending astronauts into space for the first time and to this end twelve scientists are recruited and are required to undergo a series of tests. However, the men are kept in the dark as to the purpose of the project.
The 12 men are taken by bus to Snake Mountain Proving grounds, operated by the Office for Scientist Investigation. They are then escorted to a holding room where over time they try to figure out what is going on and what they are doing. Unknown to them, Dr Klinger the project psychologist is there among them to observe their behaviour in order to determine their suitability for the project. For instance, he recommends Fuller be cut from the program because of his claustrophobia.
The next morning the candidates undergo the gravity test which is capable of producing 12 gee acceleration. While in the centrifuge the first two men achieve 9 gees before passing out. Drayden is concerned this will not be enough and from the remaining 6 candidates they have to find 4 that can pass. Dr Stanton is the next candidate to take the test. He achieves 12 gees and successfully manages to complete all the tasks given to him.
Dr Donald Stanton calls a meeting of the four remaining men who made it through the test where he explains the purpose of the mission they are proposing and that “survival depends on being the first in space.” Dr Stanton then hands each man an envelope and asks them to take a week to consider if they are interested or not and then mail in their answer. Stanton, Lockwood, and Walter Gordon accept the dangerous assignment, while Wells quits in disgust (“here we go again boys, wars!”) since he hates the idea there could be military applications involved.
Later on Dr Stanton shows the men a film of two mice launched into space, the effects of weightlessness on them and their successful return to Earth. He then informs them that the Mount Palomar observatory is tracking a suitable swarm of meteors which will be able to be intercepted in two weeks. The training of the three men begins as final assembly of the rockets is completed. Timing, precision and strict adherence to procedures is stressed, particularly with the operation of the meteor scoop which is to be used to capture the meteors for return to Earth.
Finally, three one-man rockets are sent a couple of hundred miles up into space to intercept the meteor swarm. At first Gordon attempts to capture a meteor despite warnings from the ground that the target is too large. Gordon ignores them and attempts to capture the meteor. The rock impacts the ship and it is destroyed. Lockwood then suffers a mental breakdown when he sees Gordon's body hit his view screen and sail on past his ship. In terror he imagines that he’s back in WWII and tries to return to Earth. Thinking he is in a plane, he tries release himself so he that he can bail out of the rocket. As he struggles to get out of his chair, he accidentally fires his engines and hurtles away from the Earth.
Stanton meanwhile has missed the main swarm, but a stray single meteor crosses his flight path. He then makes the decision to capture it (“like shooting fish in a barrel!”) contrary to the warnings from ground control that he will use up too much fuel and burn up upon re-entry. He moves in to intercept the rock and succeeds in capturing the meteor. Stanton then begins the process of returning to Earth.
Since Stanton has used too many rockets capturing the meteor, he is going to re-enter the atmosphere a bit too fast. He will need to let the rocket get deeper into the atmosphere so that he can nose the ship and decelerate. Meanwhile, the heat inside the suit has become unbearable. All Stanton can do is to try and glide the rocket in. He eventually manages to crash land heavily.
Stanton is pulled from the wreckage by emergency teams and he regains consciousness to be greeted with a kiss from Dr Flynn. His father, Dr Stanton inspects the recovered meteor and identifies its covering as being “crystallized carbon.” The secret to long term space travel has been discovered!
Points Of Interest
The title of the film “Riders to the Stars” has an optimistic ring to it as if what lies beyond our world holds the promise of a new frontier for human kind to explore. How much of this initial, almost naïve optimism we as a species seem to have lost in the intervening 65+ years! It has been about 50 years since mankind has set foot on another world beyond our planet and we have limited our physical presence in space to mere low Earth orbit. Budgetary restraints, lack of political will, fickle levels of interest and short attention spans, along with the demise of Cold War superpower rivalry have contributed to reining in the human spirit and yearning to break free of our terrestrial bonds.
It is more than reasonable to ask ourselves whether it is better to devote our resources to solving the many problems that are being faced here on Earth. However, more than ever we need a collectively inspiring human enterprise that will unite our species and ensure our long-term survival. Make no mistake: one day we humans will have to leave our planet and seek a home somewhere else among the stars. Our ability to move beyond the confines of this planet will form part of the continuing process of life finding a way to establish itself and thrive throughout the universe.
As is mentioned in the film during a discussion of man vs machine in space exploration, human qualities such as belligerence and sheer courage are important. As good as robotic probes are, direct human observation and perception are essential for a complete understanding of the unknown. As is also stated in the film, “we live in the dark on Earth-like blind moles.”
The operation involving the meteor scoop to capture the meteors for return to Earth is far from being a far-fetched concept. Using robotic space vehicles, we have already rendezvoused with and landed on an asteroid. The exploitation of asteroids for resources such as iron, nickel, titanium, water, oxygen and hydrogen and even the moon for such elements as Helium-3, rare Earth minerals such as yttrium, lanthanum and samarium, as well as titanium and iron has been seriously proposed.
In the film, “Riders to the Stars,” the Pentagon runs a computer program and comes up with 12 men out of 150 million who may be able to help with the mission. The information or computer data that is stored and obtained by the OSI is rather limited being based largely on types of occupation. Compare this to the identification and profiling that can be and is being done today based on masses of stored and shared data on individuals by agencies such as the NSA!
The film is very much a product of the Cold War era with emphasis on security and secrecy. For instance, security agent O’Herli visits Dr Richard Stanton, head of an electronics research department and informs him that he is” invited” by the government to go out and spend a week in California as if he is some kind of guest. The security officer states that he knows no more other than the details of the invitation. In fact, the tests and what the scientists are trying to achieve are conducted by keeping the astronauts in the program in the dark as to what is happening. Of course there is the government directive to “find out if man can survive in space” and “if they can, ours must be the first.” In real life, as the former Soviet Union was preparing for manned space flight the level of secrecy was extreme. For instance, the identities of those who were selected as candidates for cosmonaut training were concealed, as was the fact that some of those undergoing training and testing had lost their lives in the process. In fact, the images of some of those unfortunate cosmonauts were airbrushed out of photos as if they had not existed. Even 65+ years later, we often find ourselves denied vital information on the grounds of “national security” or no comment on the grounds of “operational matters” lest some “enemy” gets wind of what we’re up to.
If and when we do embark on extended human missions into outer space or establish human bases on the moon and Mars, psychological suitability and the well-being of astronauts and mission specialists will be of vital importance. In the film, “Riders to the Stars,” Dr Lockwood is called to Dr Stanton’s office to be questioned over the reasons for volunteering for the mission. In particular, he is questioned about his relationship with Susan, his desire to marry her and her refusal of his offer. There is obvious concern about his emotional state with Dr Delmar going so far as to wonder if thoughts of suicide have crossed Lockwood’s mind. Lockwood reassures his questioners about his desire to fly the rocket and that he may have still wanted to go on the mission even if Susan had accepted his proposal. The psychological aspects of space travel is further highlighted in the tense dramatic scene involving Lockwood panicking and thinking “he’s back in the war” resulting in his rocket shooting out into space. Then there is the scene in which we witness Gordon snapping under pressure and careening around the cabin of his ship in a (for the time) convincing depiction of weightlessness. Either that or he suffered an overdose of caffeine and an exploding bladder from all the coffee the astronauts consumed just prior to their mission!
Curt Siodmak, the writer of the story, “Riders to the Stars” also wrote the novel, “Donovan's Brain” (1942) the film of which is featured in this ebook. His other film contributions and involvements include, “The Magnetic Monster” (1953,) “Creature with the Atom Brain” (1955) and “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” (1956), all of which you’ll find in the book as well.
Richard Carlson directed and acted in “Riders to the Stars.” He also was an actor in the films, “The Magnetic Monster” (1953), “ It Came from Outer Space” and” Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954). Richard Carlson, once described by the film’s editor, Herbert L. Strock as a "writer, producer, director, film editor - a brilliant guy," managed to put together a film with an almost documentary-like realism complete with shots of an actual centrifuge, real rocket launch footage and the use of scientific equipment in various scenes. However, it is quite obvious that unconvincing model rockets were used for the meteor capture scenes.
It is unfortunate, however, that a bit too much emphasis was placed on the technology and detailed discussions of scientific concepts at the expense of the drama and story itself. This was at least off-set with the astronauts’ dramatic and well-paced encounter with the anticipated meteor shower.
And of course there’s William Lundigan. I loved that pioneering series he starred in called “Men Into Space” (1959-1960). That series presented a very serious and often accurate depiction of what space travel would entail, with one episode even touching on the possibility of extra-terrestrial life. Lundigan played the sure and dependable Colonel McCauley and seemed born for the role of astronaut, not to mention just how many missions into space he managed to clock up! All sponsored by Lucky Strikes cigarettes!
Riders to the Stars is definitely a part of the sci-fi genre where;
“Everything in the realm of imagination is in the realm of possibilities”
(End of Riders To The Stars)
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Conquest of Space (1955)
Ambitious, serious action-packed sci-fi adventure
Directed by Byron Haskin
Produced by George Pal
Screenplay by James O'Hanlon
Music by Nathan Van Cleave
Editing by Everett Douglas
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Running time: 81 min.
Box office: $1 million (US)
Cast
Walter Brooke: Gen. Samuel T. Merritt
Eric Fleming: Capt. Barney Merritt
Mickey Shaughnessy: Sgt. Mahoney
Phil Foster: Jackie Siegle
William Redfield: Roy Cooper
William Hopper: Dr. George Fenton
Benson Fong: Imoto
Ross Martin: Andre Fodor
Vito Scotti: Sanella
John Dennis: Donkersgoed
Michael Fox: Elsbach
Joan Shawlee: Rosie McCann
Iphigenie Castiglioni: Mrs. Heinz Fodor
1955: A Taste Of The Times
Claudette Colvin (a fifteen-year-old African-American girl) refuses to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, to a white woman after the driver demands it. She is forcibly carried off the bus backwards and then kicked, handcuffed and harassed on the way to the police station.
A few months later In Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger and is arrested, leading to the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Montgomery Improvement Association is formed in Montgomery, Alabama, by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other Black ministers to coordinate a Black people's boycott of all city buses.
Racial segregation is outlawed on trains and buses in interstate commerce in the United States.
Synopsis
(Spoilers follow below….)
The film,” Conquest of Space” we are told is a “story of tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.” It opens with a dramatic narration and a music score where we are shown a view of a space station and a space craft under construction. We are told that the station is used both as an observation post and as a place where space ships can be constructed for future missions.
“This is a story of tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, when men have built a station in space, constructed in the form of a great wheel, and set a thousand miles out from the Earth, fixed by gravity, and turning about the world every two hours, serving a double purpose: an observation post in the heavens, and a place where a spaceship can be assembled, and then launched to explore other planets, and the vast universe itself, in the last and greatest adventure of mankind, the plunge toward the…
Conquest Of Space!
The film’s opening sentiments reflect the kind of attitude that has pervaded much of human history. It is an attitude based on the belief that everything on the earth and in the cosmos exists for the sole purpose of being tamed and conquered by human beings. Instead of being viewed as a realm ripe for “conquest,” space should be seen as being a new frontier which will allow us conquer our petty divisions and all of the constraints that bind us to our speck of rock in a collective spirit of human exploration and a desire to better understand our place in the universe. More than ever we need such a collective human endeavour to drag our eyes away from our on-line lives to gaze upward, outward and onward into a realm where there are more things that have or will ever be dreamt of in anyone’s philosophy!
The Wheel
“The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the colour of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them…..” [Ezekiel 1]
On board the space station, Captain Barney Merritt complains to his father, Colonel (soon to be General) Merritt that he has been married for 3 ½ months but that he has also been on board the station (the Wheel) for a year without any leave. For him, he feels more like a “ghost” instead of a soldier. His request to return to Earth on the next transport is denied after his father says to him, “you belong here, Barney: space is your heritage.”
Human exploration of space will require extended periods away from family and loved ones which will be one of the many complicating factors that will need to be dealt with. Considering Colonel / General Merritt’s later breakdown and his views about humanity’s presence in space, it is ironic that he tells his son that he belongs in space as a part of his heritage.
On the rocket being constructed, Roy Cooper confides that he is afraid of going to the moon but he is also “afraid of being left behind.” Sgt Jackie Siegle asks, “who’s gonna guarantee we’ll ever get back?” Suddenly an accident occurs when Roy Cooper becomes paralysed while working with high tension cabling. After he is taken back to “The Wheel” and checked out by the doctor, it is determined that he is suffering from “somatic dysphasia” or “space fatigue,” and needs to be returned to Earth. The doctor points out that “man has never before lived in space” while Roy tells his crew-mates, “you fellas know how tough it’s (crew selection process) been.”
Living and working in space and exploring space is, has always been and will always be a dangerous endeavour. A thin barrier of technology is all that separates existence from oblivion. People will continue to die in space despite all of the precautions we take. What effect would such an unnatural and alien manner of existence have on the human psyche as days stretch into weeks and then into months and potentially into years? How tough and rigorous must the training be to prepare people to deal with such stresses?
The six crewmen who made it through the selection process go to the mess hall. Immediately their unique status is apparent as everyone else stands to attention until Sgt Mahoney and his “six little lambs” take their places at their own table. Their meal consists of a special diet of various flavoured tablets and water: “all the nourishment you need, no waste.”
The provision of sufficient food and water for long duration space flights and planetary missions may prove to be a logistical nightmare until recycling and methods of achieving self-sufficiency have been perfected. At least obtaining nourishment for astronauts has come a long way from notions of diets consisting solely of pills or bland slop sucked from tubes!
The dangerous environment of space is suddenly and shockingly made apparent when the wheel is struck by meteors with the concussive force of Thor’s hammer. In an unnerving scene, the men in the mess hall are hurled and sprawled all over tables and end up wearing the contents of their dinners. Under Col / Gen Merritt’s direction the wheel is eventually stabilised and damage control crews manage to seal the hull leaks.
In our own times, micro-meteorites and man-made space junk pose a real and dangerous threat to modern space craft and the International Space Station.
A cargo rocket arrives and transfers Dr George Fenton who has some critical news for Col / Gen Merritt and adds a complicating factor to the story. Juxtaposed to this is the apparent emotional and mental unravelling of Merritt. In an ironic response to Dr George Fenton’s query, he states that he is as “fit as a fiddle.” We have already had lingering shots of Merritt in his quarters undergoing some kind of inner turmoil; almost losing his balance on his way to his quarters; displaying almost Captain Queeg-like utterances when severely reprimanding members of his crew: “One second can be the difference between life and death!” and chastising those who talk about food when there are those on board who can’t share their diet. We know that Merritt is not a well man.
Merritt questions the construction and purpose of the space craft being assembled. It has been brought into space and assembled piece by piece as part of an international combined effort. He is under the impression that the ship is destined to go to the Moon, but can’t understand why it has wings.
Fenton soon informs Merritt via a letter from the Supreme International Space Authority that the true destination of the ship is in fact Mars. The newly promoted general Merritt almost blows a gasket over this new development as he has all along been preparing to go to the Moon as a test run of the ship’s systems: “No word, no warning; just take off and leave!” Although he considers the mission to be “stupid and callous” he accepts the command and his son also requests his transfer be stopped as he too wants to go on the mission to Mars with his father. Along with Merritt and his son, the crew after the calling for volunteers will consist of Siegle, Imoto and Andre Fodor, each possessing a necessary speciality.
Unlike film fiction where destinations in space can be changed on a whim, real-life missions take years of meticulous planning. We have, however moved a long way from selecting crews based solely on fly boys and test pilots possessing the right stuff. From the days of Gemini and Apollo, emphasis has been placed on crew members being mission specialists, (geologists, physicists, etc.,) We have also witnessed many examples of international cooperation in space since the 1970s culminating in the construction of the ISS and various joint missions to it. The space station itself was brought into space and assembled module by module over time.
In agreeing to go on the mission to Mars, Imoto gives an impassioned speech about the Earth’s need to find more resources. He uses his native Japan’s experience as an example of a country embarking on a “terrible war” having no other resources apart from paper for constructing houses and wood for chop sticks. Without such a mission as the one he has volunteered for, “Japan’s yesterday will be the world’s tomorrow.”
Although criticism has been made about such sentiments being little more than a apologetic justification for Japan’s aggression during the Second World War, there is an important element of truth in the character Imoto’s words.
Human conflict and warfare can never be seen in simple superficial black and white, good vs bad or right and wrong terms. The reasons for and causes of conflict are often complex and multifaceted. The actions of Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and a host of military acts of aggression since cannot be condoned or justified. However, a combination of political, social and economic elements can come together to impel a nation’s people to adopt a violent course of action in order to seek redress and find a solution to perceived problems and threats to its survival.
Could a similar planet-wide catastrophe threatening the very survival of the human species be extrapolated from such a scenario? Imoto thinks so and for him missions like the one he has volunteered to take part in offers the best chance of guaranteeing humanity’s long-term survival.
Merritt’s long time friend Sgt Mahoney volunteers to go on the mission but he is rejected on the grounds of being too old. Helping an old friend or the usual case of ageism?
Later on in a recreation lounge, the crew watch a tv broadcast from Trans World Communication on Earth when suddenly a special bulletin interrupts the crew’s entertainment to announce the official launch of the ship to Mars. This is then followed by a heart-rending private message from Fodor’s mother and an amusing one from Sgt Seigle’s “two-timin’ tomata’” of a girlfriend, Rosie
Spaceship 1: Mission To Mars
The ship with the ‘highly original’ name! “Spaceship 1” launches on its long voyage to Mars. Imagine being stuck that long in a tin can with such an annoying character like Seigle. That would be enough to push anyone over the edge, never mind having to grapple with the moral and religious implications of one’s presence in God’s domain!
You would think that Mahoney’s stowing away aboard the ship just might call into question mission security procedures, not to mention throwing the presumed pre-calculated weight to fuel ratios necessary for the mission’s success completely out of whack!
During the course of the voyage, Gen Merritt is in evident anguish over his doubts about man’s role and presence in space. For him man’s every move is recorded in the bible, “except for this one.” He questions whether we are “explorers or invaders” and concludes that they are committing “an act of blasphemy” by their very presence in “the sacred domain of God.” By comparison, even a certain Captain Queeg from Caine Mutiny fame would come across as being sane and rational!
Merritt’s son in his discussion with his father suggests that with the Earth’s diminishing resources, the timing was too perfect to be accidental and that the “universe was put here for man to conquer.” And this argument is supposed to help placate someone who is emotionally, spiritually and mentally unbalanced!
Would humanity’s presence in space and colonisation of planets constitute an act of exploration or invasion? In Merritts’ mangled mental and spiritually suffering condition there can only be one answer. However, life is never that black and white. It depends from whose or what point of view you’re seeing things. Our very presence in space and on other planets, along with our interactions with such alien environments would cause them to be affected and altered even in the minutest sense, no matter what our intentions may be.
What if we come across some form of life whether it be deemed by us to be intelligent or not? If “intelligent,” they may have a definite point of view about our presence in their domain. Also the sheer immensity of space itself makes the idea of the universe being entirely at humanity’s disposal laughable. We are after all located on a pimple on the surface of a bum at the arse-end of the universe!
As if there is in fact a deity intent on expressing its displeasure at puny humanity’s efforts to trespass on its realm, an external camera suddenly malfunctions resulting in Siegle and Fodor having to go perform an EVA and make repairs.
While they are making repairs on the camera, a huge asteroid hurtles toward the ship. After Merritt performs an emergency manoeuvre to save the ship, it seems as if the danger is over.
As Seigle and Fodor continue their work, a swarm of micro meteors strafes the ship and Fodor is struck by one. He is dead and attached to the ship by a tether: an unnerving drifting admonishment and reminder to the rest of the crew of their own mortality, something no-one wants to reminded of least of all Seigle who cries out at the sight of Fodor’s drifting body, “Get lost, will ya’!”
General Merritt eventually decides to go outside the ship and conduct a space burial for Fodor. The passage he has selected seems to be from Psalm 38;
“{A Psalm of David, to bring to remembrance.} O LORD, rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart …………..For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin………..Forsake me not, O LORD: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.”
Merritt in his anguished mental state has hit upon a passage from the bible that for him seems to reflect the kind of grief he feels and how he believes that his own sins are the cause of what he is going through and which has provoked God to act against him and his crew for daring to do what they have done. He has now confessed his sins against God and asks for His help to save him.
As the voyage progresses General Merritt’s mental and emotional state further unravels. As he watches the planet Mars loom closer, he declares it to be both “the planet and the blasphemy.” During a routine report to Earth he rants about their mission being either to “Mars or hell.” He even declares that he would blow the ship up rather than complete the mission.
It is a wonder how at this stage the General’s condition can be reported as being the product of suffering very bad headaches and lack of sleep. Worse still, he is left in command of the mission! To make matters worse, Mahoney makes the ominous observation that as they near Mars the planet appears to be “all red-faced and pouting, like she’s angry with us.”
Mars
As the ship begins its decent, we have a quite realistic view of the jettisoning of its booster rockets which brings to mind the Space Shuttle’s own jettisoning of its re-usable rockets after take-off from Earth.
In one of numerous dramatic scenes that punctuate and drive the film’s plot, the General as he is piloting the ship suddenly has a vision and attempts to crash the spaceship being convinced that their mission violates the laws of God. His son, however is able to overpower him and completes the landing.
After the crew explores their surroundings on the surface of the planet, Imoto grabs a handful of soil and declares it to be good for growing things. He intends to plant some flower seeds in the Martian soil. Suddenly they hear and see a gushing stream of water pouring down from the rocket.
The leak is the result of sabotage caused by General Merritt, who in his deranged state shoots at his son with a .45 automatic. As father and son struggle, the pistol discharges, killing General Merritt. Sgt Mahoney, witnesses only the tail-end of the struggle and thinks Capt Merritt shot his father intentionally. He wants to have Barney brought to trial or court martialled and sentenced to death hoping, “it will be slow so I can watch you kick.” Until that can happen back on Earth, Barney is still the ranking officer and therefore now in command of the mission.
Facing an inhospitable Martian environment and having to ration their limited water supply, the crew will need to be able to survive for a year until the Earth reaches the exact orbital position needed for their return trip.
In the face of such a bleak prospect and during the act of burying General Merritt, Imoto plants a single seed in the Martian soil. This symbolic act highlights the prospect that out of the ashes of despair and death, hope and life can find a way to grow and flourish.
After months slowly pass by the crew celebrates Christmas on Mars. However, their morale is very low due to a lack of water and no contact with Earth, besides having to put up with Siegle’s annoying presence for so long! Mahoney now begins to believe the General was right all along and that they are all cursed. Just as Siegle declares that “only God can make a tree” and asks, “Where’s the water?” a snowstorm suddenly blows-up thereby solving the water supply problem.
When July arrives, it is time for the crew to make preparations for their departure. With the approach of their launch window, the seed Imoto had earlier planted sprouts into a tiny flower proving that life is possible and that Mars can be agriculturally productive.
Humanity’s ability to colonise other planets will be determined by our ability to transform those worlds by terraforming them, as well as to utilise the resources of those worlds to produce water and oxygen. Even our own seemingly sterile moon has the essential elements for producing fuel, oxygen and water for future lunar colonies and missions to other planets. The prospect also of mineral exploitation of other planets, our moon and asteroids by nations and private corporations also appears to be looming ever closer and may prove to be a critical option as our own planet’s finite resources become depleted.
A Marsquake suddenly rocks the landing site, throwing their launch plans into jeopardy. The ship which is now tilted at the wrong angle, needs to be straightened. Barney comes up with a plan to fire the engines in order to shift the sand from under the ship and have it oriented correctly. At the last minute before take off the plan succeeds and the ship gradually rises from the Martian surface.
Homeward Bound
Once in space, Mahoney who is impressed with Barney's heroic actions and leadership skills decides not to press charges against him upon their return to Earth. Rather than tarnish General Merrit’s impeccable reputation and career through court-martial proceedings, it is decided that “for the man who conquered space” it would be better that it was made known that he died in the performance of his duty and had sacrificed himself to save his crew.
Points Of Interest
Production & Background
Director, Byron Haskin was involved with other sci fi film classics that are featured in this book. He worked with George Pal on “The War of the Worlds” (1953) and there was his work on” From the Earth to the Moon” (1958) and “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” (1964).
The film “Conquest of Space” is based on a 1949 non-fiction book of the same title illustrated by Chesley Bonestell and written by German Rocket Society member Willy Ley. Bonestell known for his photo-realistic paintings of outer space vistas, worked on the space matte paintings used in the film. Material from Wernher von Braun's 1952 book “The Mars Project” was also incorporated in the making of the film.
Originally George Pal had the idea of making a movie involving a trilogy of stories featuring a giant revolving space station in orbit around the Earth from which missions to the planets Venus, Mars and Jupiter would be launched. Paramount studios wasn’t keen on the idea of a lengthy space epic, which was deemed to be too expensive. What we were eventually left with was a scaled-down version involving only the one mission to Mars, together with a complicated father-son relationship and the mission commander suffering a mental and emotional breakdown as well as religious / spiritual delusions and jeopardizing the mission with acts of sabotage.
Special Effects & Music
The special effects and the visuals (many taken from Chesley Bonestell’s paintings) together with the impressive sets and props by art directors Hal Pereira and Joseph MacMillan Johnson still make an impact on us today as we witness beautiful star fields, rockets approaching from earth as viewed from the space wheel, the looming fiery meteor / asteroid, meteor fragments bombarding the space ship and striking Fodor through to the ship landing on Mars. All of this and without the benefit of CGI!
Van Cleave who was responsible for the music in “Conquest of Space” also made music for other sci fi films that feature in this Ebook series,`The Space Children' & `The Colossus of New York.'
Realistic Portrayal
“Conquest of Space” at least within the context of the mid 1950s made a worthy attempt at a realistic portrayal of space exploration. Take for instance the “Space Wheel" which is almost a precursor to the current International Space Station. The Wheel like our own ISS has an international cooperative basis behind its construction and function. In the case of the Wheel in the film the crew consists of US and former WWII enemies in the form of Japanese and Austrian / German representatives. However, there don’t seem to be any 1950s Cold War characters from the former Soviet Union or Communist China!
Consider also the movement of the astronauts through the vacuum of space and the scenes of weightlessness inside the space ship. Such depictions appear to be far more impressive than many other similar film portrayals at the time and later.
Detracting Features
There are certain unbelievable and unrealistic elements of the film that detract from its overall impact as quality film sc-fi. For instance, how is it that General Merritt, the commander of the space station could be responsible for assembling a spacecraft to be used on the Moon / Mars mission and then raise questions about its design and purpose only after it has been completed? Then suddenly the mission’s destination is changed and Merritt and his crew are to leave for Mars and not the moon the very next day!
Apart from his function as comic relief, the character Jackie Siegle adds to his annoying presence by constantly asking dumb questions and making stupid statements about basic principles of space flight that one might presume any astronaut with the most basic of training would be familiar with. Of course this device serves as a means of informing the audience about the unusual aspects of space flight. Still, we can only hope and pray that the laws of physics would change long enough so that if Siegle went outside the ship moving at 20,000 mph he'd be swept off and be left behind! Astronaut Siegle apparently can’t even get his head around the fact that they wont be able to take off from Mars for a year which will be the next time the earth aligns with Mars. And yes, cointainly, they are stuck with him for a whole year! Forget about it!
Conclusion
When all things are considered, what you are left with is a very ambitious and action-packed film that still stands the test of time as being a piece of wonderful sci-fi film adventure that seriously deals with aspects religion and human emotion.
(End of Conquest of Space)
**********
Satellite in the Sky (1956)
A lesser known 1950s British science fiction film with good production, solid acting and an intelligent script.
Directed by Paul Dickson
Produced by Edward J. Danziger, Harry Lee Danziger
Written by John Mather, J.T. McIntosh, Edith Dell
Music by Albert Elms
Cinematography: Georges Périnal, James Wilson
Special effects: Wally Veevers (would later work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968)
Edited by Sidney Stone
Production company: Danziger Productions Ltd. New Elstree
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Running time: 84 minutes
Cast
Kieron Moore as Commander Michael Haydon
Lois Maxwell as Kim Hamilton
Donald Wolfit as Professor Merrity
Bryan Forbes as Jimmy Wheeler
Jimmy Hanley as Larry Noble
Barry Keegan as "Lefty" Blake
Donald Gray as Captain Ross
Thea Gregory as Barbara Noble
Shirley Lawrence as Ellen
Alan Gifford as Colonel Galloway
Walter Hudd as Professor Blandford
Carl Jaffe as Professor Bechstein
Peter Neil as Tony
Ryck Rydon as Reporter
Ronan O'Casey as Reporter
Robert O'Neil as Reporter
“Satellite in the Sky” is a less well-known 1956 British science fiction film directed by Paul Dickson. The film was the first British science fiction film to be shot in Cinemascope and WarnerColor.
Synopsis
(Spoilers Follow....)
“Satellite in the Sky” begins with an apparent quote from Nostradamus;
“And Man,
Having conquered the earth
Shall rise into the skies…and reach the stars.”
It is as if we are being led to believe that humanity’s entry into space is somehow predestined, that it is written in the very stars we will strive to reach.
As if to reinforce this highly optimistic and uplifting view of our destiny, we are presented with shots of an Avro Vulcan bomber (“Mike’s plane”) - the pinnacle of human (British!) technology and ingenuity. After the plane lands, we are given sufficient time to feast our eyes on its sleek lines and overall sense of combined pride and power. (Damn! The plane even looks beautiful through 21st century eyes.) Throughout all of this show of technological brilliance, our emotions are given a stir from the uplifting and majestic music score by Albert Elms.
While Cmdr. Michael Haydon arrives at the airfield in the Vulcan, we learn that a new rocket engine is being tested at the British Air force base, Thunder Hill where Lefty Blake and his colleague are supervising the 23rd test with a new fuel.
At a news conference / briefing held to discuss operation “Stardust,” (the first manned spaceship to orbit the Earth) Prof Blandford explains that in this supposedly “purely scientific” mission the craft is to be fired to a height of 1000 miles.
Cmd Haydon is to be the chief test pilot and Larry Noble will be the navigator of the flight. Cmd Haydon will be taking a test flight up at 15.00 hours and he will fly to 50,000 feet to test the new engine. If the test is successful, the Stardust will be launched the next day.
Kim Hamilton, special correspondent for the World Press Service poses some interesting questions to Haydon concerning the whole point of the mission;
What do you hope to accomplish?
What will man have gained?
Perhaps we should always ask such questions when we become overenthusiastic about scientific and technological breakthroughs such as for instance, the recent proposals to clone a woolly mammoth or T-rex dinosaur by using surviving DNA in retrieved blood samples! Do we do it just because we can? Why should we? Should we? What are the consequences?
Kim Hamilton (along with many people these days) believes that there are enough problems here on Earth to concern ourselves with first before worrying about space.
Haydon responds by declaring that space exploration is all about knowledge and the efforts to gain it. His argument is also held to be valid by many other people today who believe that such scientific endeavors as space exploration are important for increasing our understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe.
A darker note is suddenly added to the philosophical discussion when the question is posed as to what potential the operation might have in time of war. Interestingly, a rather evasive and nervous response is all that is given.
Added to this rather sinister undertone, is Kim’s claim that the mission is “unnecessary” and “suicidal.” Quite understandable given the fact that the film is (just) pre-Sputnik and little was known about space and space exploration. Nevertheless, the later Apollo and Soviet space programs and Space Shuttle missions would show just how dangerous space exploration can be, despite much of it seeming to many people to be rather “routine.” Something we should not be too blase about as we launch into the ‘Space-X’ era
Finally, a clue as to the purpose behind the mission is revealed to us by the whispered utterance of two words: “The Bomb!”
A bit of drama and tension is added during the aircraft test. As the plane descends, it gets into trouble with the danger of possibly overshooting and failing to pull out of its dive. But have no fear as control is recovered at the last moment before the plane hits the ground. Despite the potential for failure, the power of technology and human ingenuity seem to reign triumphant! Hoorah!
“Nice work Mike!” But why is it necessary to know where he will be on the night before the launch of Stardust scheduled for 10.00am the next day? HHHMMMMM!
Later at the press lounge, Haydon and Hamilton continue their discussion about what exactly will be found in space:
Kim: “What are they going to find up there that’s worth so much?
Mike: “Perhaps a better world.”
Kim then asks Haydon to show her the Stardust. When they arrive at the hanger, Hamilton stands transfixed at the sight and sheer size of the phallic-like craft. She utters the words, “I’ve never seen anything so overpowering, so beautiful.” Not only is she amazed by the beauty and power of the craft, but she also perceives the evil inherent in such power. As if it’s all too much to bear, Kim asks to leave and wonders if there is any point in trying to do something simply because it’s never been done before.
As she leaves with Mike, Kim questions him about the guards stationed at the facility. Now why would you want to know that Kim? HHHHMMMM!
Playing alongside the weighty philosophical issues surrounding scientific and technological progress, there are the more tangible and down to earth concerns relating to human relationships and emotions and how they are being impacted by the mission’s requirements. There exists a perception that one is impinging on and overwhelming the other. In this case, we have the friction and tension between Nobel and his wife Barbara who accuses him of only caring about her when it suits him: “You suddenly remembered you have a wife….You don’t really need me anymore….The rocket is always important!”
Commander Michael Haydon and his crew thus far believe they are on a scientific mission, but it is revealed to the commander that the officious and brusque scientist who will accompany them on board the space craft is Professor Merrity who is from the War Office and is really working hand in glove with the United States to test an experimental nuclear "Tritonium Bomb" (T1). This bomb is “far more powerful than the Hydrogen bomb” and “that’s why it cannot be exploded on earth.” The object is to use the explosion to persuade the nations of the world to abandon nuclear weapons by providing a “convincing demonstration of the futility of war.”
Any hint of opposition or argument is met with by the cold hard fact that “it took millions to finance Stardust” and that most of the cost of the project had been met by the Americans. Therefore, the government has little choice but to following through with the bomb’s deployment. This overrides any concern about not giving the crew a chance to back out and keeping them in the dark as to the true purpose of the flight.
In our own time, how many space missions and other scientific endeavors have been developed and presented to the public in the guise of beneficial scientific progress, while secretly concealing some other militaristic or surveillance function. Even something as basic as a satellite image can be used for either military weapons targeting or assessing the health of civilian crops. A great deal of current space technology is dual use in that it may have both civilian and military/security & surveillance purposes, as well as offensive or defensive uses.
As in the film “Satellite in the Sky,” humanity has reached a stage whereby certain kinds of warfare may prove to be futile as was seen during the Cold War period when it was realised that so many powerful nuclear weapons were being produced that if used could destroy the planet many times over. We had arrived at the era of MAD: Mutually Assured Destruction.
Returning to the events in the film, while the true purpose behind the Stardust mission was being revealed, certain events were being played out leading up to the launch of the space craft.
Firstly, at the rocket installation, Kim Hamilton returns, manages to avoid a number of guards and sneaks aboard the ship as a stowaway. Now here’s a strong female character who is prepared to risk all and not just take no for an answer. It’s as if she’s the physical embodiment of the kind of ethical and moral concerns that should underpin human progress and as such she (and such concerns) are just not going to go away or be overlooked!
Secondly, we have the juxtaposition of two subplots involving relationships: one taking off so to speak and one seemingly about to end. For instance, as Larry and Barbara are preparing to go out, the phone rings and Larry is informed that he is required back at the base. This is the final straw for Barbara and she tells Larry that their relationship is over, leaving the way open for that cad and bounder, Tony who soon takes an interest in her. On the other hand, we have brash bow tie Jimmy ringing his girl Ellen at the fashion show and proposing to her after initially being upset with her for having to cover a fashion show and canceling their date.
Thirdly, back at the base a routine check has revealed that Kim Hamilton never handed her pass in but this is dismissed as being not important, despite it being the occasion of the first manned space flight in history! Not that long ago she’d be put through the process of rendition, spirited away to Guantanamo and water-boarded without trial!
[Note: Much of the film’s strength lies in the performances given by the cast such as Kieron Moore who plays the valiant and stalwart hero Commander Michael Haydon very well. Lois Maxwell, who will go on to play Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films, plays a strong female role as indefatigable reporter, Kim Hamilton. Donald Wolfit is very good as the brusque, pompous and officious Professor Merrity while Thea Gregory is convincing as Larry's fed-up wife, (the lady in red) Barbara.]
Launch Day
Apart from lax security, there is meticulous planning evident in the lead up to the launch as huge crowds assemble out the front of Thunder Hill. We see the crew making final preparations for lift off: Haydon being given his final briefing on how to deploy the bomb; the optimism of youthful Jimmy vs the cynicism of Larry: “You’ll be surprised how the most wonderful girl in the world turns into the old woman!” and the down to earth realism of one of the workmen who comments, “air smells good. Don’t have any where you’re going.”
During the 45 minute engine warm up period, a special arming device is delivered and installed on the bomb. At the main gate, Ellen is refused entry to see Jimmy, while Barbara still in bed is woken by the sound of the launch. Is that a twinge of remorse and guilt flickering across her face? Such individual dramas of human emotion are dwarfed by the sheer enormity of the Stardust undertaking and the world-wide interest in it as the camera takes us from one commentary booth to another, each one containing a commentator from a different nation: French, English, Indian…
Lift Off
The ship lifts off using a ramp system somewhat like the old German V1 rockets and the ramp used in the film, “When Worlds Collide” (1951).
On Earth, the press are briefed on the bomb that’s on board the ship and the reason for detonating the weapon as being a “scientific demonstration of destructive power” in order to demonstrate the “futility of war.”
Meanwhile back on board the ship, Haydon also reveals to the rest of the crew the real reason behind the mission, as well as for Merrity’s inclusion. Surprisingly no-one kicks up a fuss about this! The whole deceptive process would certainly get my dander up!
As Merrity proceeds to check on the bomb, he discovers an unconscious Hamilton in a storage locker. The discovery of the stowaway prompts a wry remark from one of the crew that “it’s more like a bus service than a space ship.” The seriousness of the situation is made clear when Mike points out to Kim that “we might have been working on precise limits on the weight the ship can lift.” Yes, one might have thought so! At least in this film they bother to concede such an important factor.
In Orbit
Hamilton is more than just an “attractive” female stowaway who makes coffee and “wiggles her hips” as Merrity might view her. She’s serves as a moral and ethical reminder that just refuses to go away. From her perspective, the mission amounts to just “dashing out into space before we’ve even thought about the problems we will have to meet.” She later elicits the following response from Jimmy, “I didn’t think much at all” about the bomb. From Lefty she receives the comment, “I’m just an engineer. If the bomb has to be exploded, this is the place to do it.” Complacency? Apathy? Naïve acceptance? Lack of engagement and critical understanding? They are certainly factors that help to explain how many problems the world faces today are allowed to continue, Covid-19 not being an exception!
Hamilton tells Haydon she thinks the bomb initiative is a complete waste of scientific resources: “It’s a pity so much time, money and intelligence is wasted on building bigger and better bombs.” Still a profoundly relevant comment considering the proportion of GDP that is devoted to military endeavours by many nations in our own time.
Hamilton learns that Haydon wants nothing to do with that part of the mission involving exploding the bomb. Nor does he want any part of the glory associated with it. It does however seem that he also does not want to accept any kind of responsibility. After all, he feels that exploding the bomb isn’t his job and that it is nothing to do with him. He believes that it would only be a matter of time until someone else took the Stardust up on another mission.
Kim then challenges Merrity to take full responsibility for whatever might happen but he refuses and states that he is simply following the instructions of his superiors. Besides, according to him, “everything is taken into account.” Nothing like a dose of smug hubris!
And so we have the kind of justifications put forward by both Haydon and Merrity explaining why each is not responsible for what might happen: Just following orders! Not my job! The world is indeed full of concentration camp guard types, minions and functionaries, all just following orders…..
The Bomb
After the bomb is released and its engines fire moving the device away from the ship, the rockets on the bomb suddenly fail and it drifts back towards the ship to which it stubbornly attaches itself. Even after firing the ship’s engines again in order to put distance between the ship and the T1 when it explodes, the crew discover that the bomb remains determinedly stuck to the ship and refuses to be dislodged. Lacking air resistance and gravity, magnetic attraction has caused the metal of the bomb to stick to the hull of the ship.
The clock is ticking with only 9 hours for the crew to find a way to get clear of the blast!
[Note: It is pretty obvious that much of the scientific content of the film is nonsense such as the notion that the space craft would travel "beyond gravity" when in fact it was merely going into orbit around the earth. As for the "metallic attraction" idea between the ship and the bomb to explain the bomb’s adherence to the spaceship’s hull, well….need I say any more? And don’t get me started on the ship’s rocket exhaust effect in the vacuum of space! At least the observation or viewing platform bubbles on each side of the spacecraft was a cool idea.]
Back on earth, Barbara overhears a news broadcast announcing the dire situation in space and realizes that her husband may be in trouble, As she hangs up on that scoundrel Tony, Barbara may also be starting to realize just exactly what is important in her life.
In orbit, a moral and ethical choice needs to be made: To rectify the situation themselves possibly with Hayden going outside the ship and seeing what can be done with the bomb, Or, follow Merrity’s idea and land the craft in the Sahara desert. The decision is really made for them due to the nature of the bomb rendering it impossible for it to be detonated on Earth.
Hayden leaves the ship and attempts to push the bomb clear, but once again it sticks to the ship’s hull. Hayden has no choice but to return to the ship.
Meanwhile back on earth, certain moral and ethical decisions also need to be made. Here we witness via an overhead camera shot a meeting convened to discuss the options that could be tried save the crew and the mission. Although there is concern for the crew, it is a fact that there are “only six of them” as opposed to the millions on earth who would be impacted by the bomb. There is an idea to try and disconnect the primer but it is felt that this may accelerate the bomb’s detonation. One of the attendees concludes, “No gentlemen, I cannot see any hope.” It is therefore agreed to inform the crew that they are not to try and return to Earth. They are to stay up there in orbit. It appears that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Is the decision to sacrifice the 6 people on the ship acceptable?
The one factor that often lies behind many disasters involving technology is evident in this crisis: the human factor. In this case, all the meticulous planning and the boastful confidence surrounding the T1 operation did not pick up on the likelihood that metal fatigue would cause the rockets to fail.
People react to life and death situations in a variety of ways. Despite having everything to live for, Jimmy is oddly cheerful about the situation declaring that “not everyone has a chance to go out the way we will.” Bravado disguising some other feeling perhaps?
Merrity on the other hand, is beginning to lose it and he lunges at the controls in an attempt to fire the jets and try for a desert landing. After a vigorous bitch slap-fest he is restrained by the crew.
The choice seems to be rather stark: Start the jets and go for a landing (Merrity) or stay put (rest of the crew). But is it really just an “and / or” situation?
On Earth, with only 4 hours left till detonation of the bomb, American advisor, Colonel Galloway tries to make contact with the US President to arrange a rescue mission.
Coincidence or Fate? On board the ship, Hamilton explains to Hayden that her opposition to the Stardust program is based on the death of her brother who was killed while flying an experimental jet. She is angry because Hayden’s attitude reminds her of her brother’s attitude. It also turns out that her father was killed testing rocket fuel as part of his quest to find the right kind of fuel. Lo and behold! Hamilton is the daughter of the man who made the fuel that made the Stardust mission a reality! What are the odds!
In the brief period of time left, we see alternating moments of resignation and hope. Now that the end seems imminent, Lefty’s final assessment is that he is happy as he has managed to achieve what he wanted to. Jimmy feels that just as he has reached a point of being happy in his life, it is now cut short. Larry?….well….he was once happy.
Unknown to the others, Lefty and a transformed Merrity decide to leave the ship and see what they can do with the bomb.
Meanwhile, out of the ashes of tragedy hope rises triumphant. A sentiment highlighted as Haydon declares his love for Hamilton and asks her if she would she have married him, and she replies that she would and then they kiss.
The rest of the crew soon realize what Merrity and Lefty are doing but can only watch helplessly as the two men attempt to defuse the bomb. However, they are unable to do so as the fuse is too badly damaged.
Merrity suggests to Larry that they work together to get the bomb away from the ship. Lefty and Merrity know exactly what it is they must do and what the consequences are since they cannot defuse the bomb. There’s no need for any words or explanation between the two men……
…..Or between the two men and the crew as Haydon quickly orders the ship’s engines to be fired. After a brief bit of drama involving an open airlock, the engines are fired and Stardust pulls away from the bomb and its two brave custodians.
The ship manages to land as the bomb explodes in space and we are left to witness and contemplate what could have been had all that evil destructive energy been let loose upon the Earth……
(End of Satellite in the Sky)
**********
It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
An at times quite frightening and atmospheric film achieved by means of economy and simplicity
1958: A Taste Of The Times
World Firsts
An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen files a patent for the plastic Lego brick.
Ruth Carol Taylor is the first African American woman hired as a flight attendant.
Pizza Hut is founded.
The plastic hula hoop is first marketed in the United States. Over 100 million are sold.
The nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus becomes the first vessel to cross the North Pole under water.
BOAC using the new De Havilland Comet jets, becomes the first airline to fly jet passenger services across the Atlantic.
Civil & Social Protest & Unrest
A peace symbol, commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.
Demonstrators in the first protest march for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament from Hyde Park, London to Aldermaston, Berkshire, demand the banning of nuclear weapons.
(Spoilers follow below…..)
In a “future” 1973, the first manned expedition to Mars has been attacked and destroyed by an unknown life form which somehow later manages to stow away on the rescue ship. There is only one survivor from the initial ill-fated expedition: the leader, Col. Edward Carruthers. He is being brought back to earth under suspicion of having murdered his fellow astronauts! Will he have to face a firing squad for the crime of murder, or can he prove his claim that a Martian monster is to blame for the deaths of his crew-mates?
Director: Edward L. Cahn
Screenplay: Jerome Bixby
Music composed by: Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter
Producers: Edward Small, Robert E. Kent
Makeup: Paul Blaisdell
Narrated by Marshall Thompson
Cinematography: Kenneth Peach
Edited by Grant Whytock
Production company: Vogue Pictures, Inc.
Distributed by United Artists
Running time: 68 min.
Cast
Col. Ed Carruthers: (played by Marshall Thompson) Captain of the first expedition to Mars. All his crew-mates were killed by the creature, but he is the one blamed for it.
Col. Van Heusen: (played by Kim Spaldin) Captain of the rescue ship that is sent to rescue Ed Carruthers and his crew. Initially he is hostile towards Carruthers and manages to become infected by the alien stowaway.
Major John Purdue: (played by Robert Bice) He gets injured and spends most of the movie with a bandage on his head.
Eric Royce: (played by Dabbs Greer) Mary's husband we can assume.
Dr. Mary Royce: (played by Ann Doran) The ship’s doctor.
Ann Anderson: (played by Shirley Patterson) Scientist and love interest for Carruthers.
Lt. James Calder: (played by Paul Langton) Suffering a broken ankle and armed with only a blow torch, he becomes trapped between a couple of induction pumps by the monster.
Bob Finelli (played by Richard Benedict) & Gino Finelli: (played by Richard Hervey) Brothers who fall victim to the creature.
It!: (played by Ray Corrigan) A Martian life-form that stows away on the rescue ship and sets about picking off the crew one-by-one so that it can drain them of all their bodily fluids. The creature appears to be impervious to bullets, fire and radiation.
United States Space Command
Inquiry Into
The First Manned Mars Mission Incident
Of January _____ 1973
General Steelbottom: “As you know, the first attempt to send a spaceship to the planet Mars was made just a few months prior to the sending of the rescue mission. We knew that the ship, the Challenge 141, had reached its destination. But that's all we knew. Teleradio communication with Mars ceased immediately and we were forced to assume that the ship and crew had been lost. The man in charge of this expedition was a man who had become known to the world as the first man to be shot into space: The man who pioneered interplanetary space travel, Col. Edward Carruthers….. “
“…..We sent a second ship to Mars to learn the fate of col. Carruthers and his crew…..(We learned that the colonel had) been found alive on Mars…..(and that he) was the sole survivor of this first expedition……Col. Carruthers (was to be brought) back for a court-martial to face trial for the murders of the rest of the crew.”
As events have since transpired, this is obviously no longer to be the case. Colonel Carruthers has been asked to attend this inquiry to place on the record all that he can recall about the incident beginning with his own mission on the surface of Mars through to the events involving the presence of the alien life form on the rescue vessel.
Hopefully his testimony will serve as a guide to any future missions to Mars should they occur, as well as to any contact with potential hostile alien forms of life.
So, Colonel, we’ll begin with a shot of the site where your ship crash-landed on the Martian surface and we’ll add further graphics and ship photo & video-logs during the course of your testimony.
(Smartboard presentation of a panoramic shot of Mars where in the distance can be seen see a wrecked spacecraft.)
Col. Ed Carruthers: “This was the planet Mars as my crew and I first saw it. Dangerous, treacherous...Alive with something we came to know only as...Death. This is what we faced when our spaceship cracked up on landing just six months (previously)...In January of……. 1973. (It seemed) as if six centuries passed before a rescue ship arrived...Of all my crew, I, col. Edward Carruthers of the United States Space Command, (was) the only one alive.”
“(I knew I would be) going back to face my superiors on earth in Washington. And perhaps there, too, I (would expect to) find another kind of death.”
“I (was) to spend the next 4 months with strangers, a crew of men and women who (had) but one single purpose...To see that I face a military firing squad.”
It wasn’t long after take-off that colonel Van Heusen challenged me about the fate of my 9 dead fellow crew members. I held fast to my story that the others had been killed by a mysterious creature on the surface, and that was why they could not find any bodies.
It was hard to even try to argue against Van Heusen’s unassailable logic. He pointed out to me something like, “The Challenge 141 cracks up in landing. You know you're marooned indefinitely on Mars until another ship is sent - If another ship is sent. You know the food and supplies aboard would last the entire crew only a year, but they'd last you 10 years, if the others were dead. Those people were killed by something.”
Van Heusen then showed me a skull they had recovered clearly bearing a bullet hole! He said to me, “There's only one kind of a monster that uses bullets.”
From the outset, the crew was openly hostile to me, all except Ann Anderson. I felt I could trust her somehow and so I told her my version of events: “We were all outside the ship, exploring the southern tip of Syrtis Major when suddenly a sandstorm came up and we started back. I was driving the Jeep. The sand was so thick we could barely see. We were almost back to the ship when... Cartwright just disappeared. One minute he was there and the next minute he was gone. As if something had just plucked him out of the Jeep like... candy out of a box. We heard a weird sort of sound. Then we thought we saw a dark shape running near the Jeep and started shooting at it. A few moments later, Kenner and all the rest were gone. I was the only one who made it back to the ship. When the sandstorm quit, I... went out and searched all over. There wasn't a sign of them. How (could I) explain the bullet hole in the skull? We were all shooting at this thing... Maybe the one who got the bullet was lucky.”
Later on, while I was with some of the others, I thought I heard some strange noise and so I went with Eric Royce to investigate. We soon discovered that Kienholz was missing and so, despite thinking that he might have turned in or that he was playing a practical joke, the crew began an extensive search of the ship.
After we made a complete search of the ship, we not only did not manage to locate Kienholz but we also discovered that Gino was missing too! While I was investigating one of the air vents, I discovered Kienholz's body. Major Purdue thought that Gino might also be in the same crawl space and so he went to check. Soon enough, Purdue located Gino who was near death. Before Purdue could help him, he found himself under attack by some kind of creature. Having managed to escape with his life, he ordered the crew to seal the air vent.
Colonel Heusen came up with a plan that involved some grenades he found in storage which we used to rig the air vents. The plan involved killing the creature with the grenades should it try to break out of the air vent.
Once the vents had been rigged, we withdrew to the rec area and began assembling an arsenal of available weapons. Gino's brother, Bob was understandably angry that no further attempt was made to save Gino. Major Purdue also took it hard knowing that he was only three feet away from Gino, that he couldn’t help him and instead had to leave him behind in the vent.
Discussion soon turned to the nature of the threat we were faced with. The creature was determined to be “man-shaped, humanoid. Perhaps there was once a civilization on Mars. It ended. Disease, war, something terrible. The Martians that were left went back to barbarism. Savage murderers. Maybe that's what (we had) on board.”
Thoughts then turned to how the creature got on board and why it was attacking us. “It opened the door to ‘C’ compartment” and its use of the air vents was certainly not a random action. It was obviously intelligent and “what is the usual reason an intelligent creature kills? It's hungry!”
Loud percussive sounds alerted us to the fact that the creature had triggered the explosives, and judging from the blood-curdling racket it was making, we suspected that it had been injured and not killed.
After we investigated the damage the creature had made, we soon came to realize that we had the creature isolated where we could corner it and open fire with our guns. However, it was all to no avail. Our assault had no effect on the creature and it simply counter-attacked driving us back to the rec room.
Mary Royce suddenly had a brainwave as she recalled the time when Gino made gas grenades. Apparently, at one time he had “joked about them, said if we ran into any dinosaurs on Mars, the grenades would take care of them.” We agreed that we would use them as a last resort.
It wasn’t long before we had to make use of our new weapon when we mounted another attack and used the grenades with the aim of retaking the lower deck. Once again, we found ourselves being driven off by the creature.
Mary Royce performed an autopsy on Kienholz's body which threw up some interesting results concerning the nature of our enemy. Mary reported that there was “not a molecule of oxygen or a drop of water left in Kienholz's body.
Water, blood, bone marrow, glandular secretion, moisture in the tissues...Every ounce of edible fluid in his body (was) gone. Probably through some osmosis process.”
This seemed to make sense seeing that “Mars is a world almost totally without water or oxygen. The creature's entire being (was) probably organized to feed in that manner. It (would’ve preyed) on smaller creatures, which in turn feed off the sand itself, converting their intake and hoarding it as water.”
To make matters worse, we had a pressing problem involving the injured Van Heusen’s condition. He was coming down with a fever from an infection that Mary Royce could not control.
Our attention was yet again drawn back to the presence of the creature by a series of loud banging noises coming from the deck under its control. We quickly ascertained that the creature was exploring the ship, looking for weaknesses and that it could get through the center hatches. From its point of view, it was a simple choice of it having to kill us or starve. As far as we were concerned, we had to kill it or die.
While we considered our options, we realized “we could get around behind the creature by going out the control room emergency air lock, moving down the hull to the emergency air lock on the motor level. That would put us one level below (the creature).” We thought we “might be able to surprise it that way. If we knew what to surprise it with.”
The plan was a simple one. We planned to time it so that we could get to the motor level airlock at the time when the others would begin to make noise, “not a lot, just talk.” They would also be moving around “just enough to keep (the creature’s) attention away in case we (made) noise coming in below.” We hoped that this would be “the last attempt we (had) to make to kill the thing.”
Realizing that grenades, gas and bullets had thus far failed to stop the beast, we decided to rig a trap that would electrocute the creature with “enough voltage….to kill 30 human beings. The only drawback (was), the thing (wasn’t) human.” The plan unfortunately failed. I managed to escape back through an airlock but Calder broke his leg and found himself trapped in a corner armed with just a welder’s torch.
Despite establishing contact with Calder through the ship’s intercom, the gas bottle he was using only had a 3 hour supply remaining. Added to this, Ann Anderson informed us that Colonel Van Huesen would not survive without fresh blood supplies. The bacteria was attacking the bone marrow, resulting in a leukemia-like condition which could be fought with drugs, “but slowly. Too slowly.”
Another potential danger was that if the creature had attacked the induction pumps or the bank of control relays, we wouldn’t have been able to maneuver the ship or land it. We'd have just drifted right past earth towards interstellar space. We'd have just drifted forever.
Finelli, Major Purdue and I had the task of obtaining the supplies of fresh blood from the dispensary. In the meantime, Calder informed us that the creature was in the reactor room. In a move to trap the creature once and for all, the only door to the reactor room was automatically closed.
By now Colonel Huesen was in a bad state but despite his delirium, he made it out of his sickbed to activate the controls that opened the reactor shields in the hope of killing the creature. With enough radiation to kill 100 men and with the urgent need to get the blood supplies to our sick crewmates, we had to get out of the area fast.
As it turned out, the creature did manage to break out of the reactor room before the shield was opened. Tragically, Finelli was killed while Purdue and I managed to escape into the control room.
As the creature went on a rampage below, all we could do was ascend higher into the top level of the ship. Suddenly, I had an idea. I noticed that the oxygen consumption was way up: 40 percent over every previous maximum. The use of the gas grenades couldn’t account for it. Neither would a leak seeing that the pressure was OK. The creature itself provided the clue! It must’ve had enormous lungs from the thin air on Mars. If we were to let all the air out of the ship we could kill it.
I told Lt. Calder to crawl to the airlock and then I told the others to get into spacesuits. My plan was to destroy the creature by venting the atmosphere from the ship.
There was nothing to do but wait, nothing to do but see if the beast would reach us through the centre hatch. We could go no higher. We were in the top level of the ship. We all knew then “this is where either we die, or it dies.”
We watched as the creature made one last effort to break into our remaining refuge through the closed central hatch. As the hatch’s metal covering was seemingly being effortlessly punctured and peeled away, I triggered the venting process. Suddenly, as the ship began to exhale, its venting atmosphere clutched and clawed at us threatening to cast us out into the black infinity of space. Fortunately, the creature lost the battle for survival and with the air supply depleted and its enormous lungs starved of oxygen, it finally succumbed.
As to how exactly the creature had managed to board the ship in the first place? It is thought that it must've followed us back to the ship after I was picked up by the crew of Challenge 142. It must have then “climbed one of the fins just before take-off and got in through the open emergency hatch in ‘C’ compartment.”
General Steelbottom: Thank you Colonel for that most informative and illuminating testimony of what transpired in the depths of space. Your insights, together with the reports of your crew mates, will help to determine what will be our next steps in our exploration of outer space.
Of the 19 men and women who have set foot upon the planet Mars, only 6 have safely returned to us. Our latest venture on to the Martian surface has confronted us with “an alien and elemental life force” on a “planet so cruel, so hostile, that man may find it necessary to bypass it in his endeavor to explore and understand the universe.”
Ladies and gentlemen, there is now no question that "another name for Mars is…
……… Death!"
Points of Interest
“It! The Terror from Beyond Space” was distributed by United Artists on a double bill with “Curse of the Faceless Man,” featured elsewhere in this ebook series.
The film's premise seems to have served as an inspiration for screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's screenplay for Ridley Scott's film, “Alien” screened 20 years later. The film’s story itself may have been based on A.E. Van Vogt's, "Voyage of the Space Beagle."
Jerome Bixby who wrote the screen play for the film also had a hand in writing for such series as Star Trek, The Twilight Zone and also Fantastic Voyage.
The film was originally known as “It! The Vampire from Beyond Space.”
Principal photography took place over a two-week period during mid-January 1958.
This was the last film of actor Ray "Crash" Corrigan. Since he was not prepared to travel all the way to make up artist’s Paul Blaisdell’s studio, no exact measurements of Corrigan's head could be made. The result was that there were final fit problems with the creature's head prop with Corrigan's chin sticking out through the monster's mouth, necessitating his chin having to be painted to look like a tongue!
There is an interesting plot reversal in which the story begins as the characters take-off from another planet and return to Earth bringing back with them an alien menace. This time it is not so much a case of human beings venturing out into space to confront hostile aliens or hostile aliens coming to earth to invade us. What we need to be fearful of are the kinds of dangers to our survival we ourselves carry about with us.
Colonel Carruthers insists on his innocence to the crew of the rescue ship, claiming that his original crew mates were killed by some unseen hostile alien presence. Of course, he cannot establish his innocence. A trial, court-martial and firing squad await him on his eventual return to earth. It’s truly amazing that an advanced civilisation that can send a person to Mars and return him to Earth would still condone the use of capital punishment: a primitive and barbaric form of state-sanctioned murder! How many innocent people have been put to death in such a manner?
The small confining sets help to reinforce the claustrophobic tension and characters’ sense of entrapment, while the effective use of black & white photography helps to enhance the film’s dark and sinister mood. Note the use of shadow to suggest the creature’s aggression and menace.
You would no doubt have noticed that the women in “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” are not in the Ripley mould and do not fit in with the over-the-top 21 Century over-compensating “take that for the last sixty plus years” female action screen heroes. So what? It’s a part of history that can’t be air brushed out of existence. The women in this film without needing to faint, fall down or scream, had responsible positions as part of a space ship crew and made coffee and cleaned up the dishes after serving meals while the men charged about doing stuff. That was then and times change so we just need to get over it and move on instead of gleefully and smugly pointing out historical sexist stereotyping! How many women these days hold down successful careers yet still find themselves doing a disproportionate share of the once traditional female domestic chores in this oh so “enlightened” age? The female characters in the film were not “Wonder Woman” types beating up evil men but were instead level-headed, reliable and responsible team players.
You can't help but laugh when the crew discharge firearms, rig grenades to explode and make ready to fire off a bazooka, all within the confines of a space ship in the vacuum of space! They obviously don’t build spaceships like they used to!
MARS
Named after the Roman god of war and now often referred to as the “Red Planet. The ancient Greeks called the planet “Ares”, after their own god of war; while China’s astronomers called the planet ‘the fire star’ and ancient Egyptian priests referred to it as ‘the red one’. Even the Egyptian city’s name of “Cairo” is Arabic for “Mars” so named because the planet was apparently rising on the day the city was founded.
Notice that the planet is somehow associated with war and anger. It has also featured in many of the classic science fiction films featured in this Ebook series and usually in association with an impending threat of invasion.
• Rocketship X-M (1950)
• Flight to Mars (1951)
• Red Planet Mars (1952)
• Invaders from Mars (1953)
• War of the Worlds (1953)
• Devil Girl from Mars (1954)
• Conquest of Space (1955)
In some strange way it is as if the planet Mars has been trying to warn us to stay away. After all, until quite recently only about 18 missions to Mars have been successful out of approximately 40 missions. Some were destroyed on launch, others were lost in space or on the planet. It is as if Mars is trying to tell us something!
And yet still we are drawn to our red-hued neighbor in space and long to have a human presence there. I believe we will be lucky if we manage to set foot on Mars any time before the middle of this century. You can be sure that with setting targets for such a mission as this, years or even decades will need to be added despite over-confident assertions that we presently have the technology to achieve such a goal. Many more steps will need to be taken in addition to the steps that have already been taken to help us better understand our neighbour and eventually get us to Mars.
Baby Steps Taken So Far:
1960s
The former Soviet Union:
Mars 1 mission sent back data about Mars before contact was lost a few months after launch.
Mars 2 reached Mars, but its rover crashed-landed on the surface.
Mars 3 - 6 were partially successful,
Mars 7’s lander never made it to the surface.
USA:
In 1964 Mariner 4 flew by Mars and returned the first-ever images of the planet.
Further successful Mariner fly-by missions returned images and data.
1970s And 1980s
The US spacecraft, Mariner 9 arrived during a planet-wide dust storm and successfully put itself into orbit. After the dust storm, it returned 7,329 images that revealed 85 percent of the surface of the planet including images of river beds, craters, flood plains, canyons, and volcanic features.
In 1976, the US. put two Viking landers on the surface of Mars that communicated with Earth via their orbiters. Over several years, they supplied surface images, atmospheric data, and orbiter mapping.
In 1988 the Soviets launched two Phobos Missions. Contact was lost with Phobos 1, while Phobos 2 entered Mars orbit and returned some data before contact was lost with the spacecraft.
1990s
Failed Missions:
In 1993 NASA’s Mars Observer mission failed due to a possible fuel leak.
In 1996 Mars 96 failed at launch.
In 1999 NASA’s Mars Climate Orbiter crashed to the Martian surface due to a metric-English Imperial measurement error.
In 1999 NASA’s Mars Polar Lander crashed to the surface due to an equipment failure.
Successful Missions:
NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spent nearly 10 years mapping and imaging the planet from orbit.
Mars Pathfinder mission became the first to set a rover down on the planet. It lasted for three months and was the first mission to drill into rocks to determine their composition.
21st Century
NASA’s Mars Odyssey.
European Space Agency’s Mars Express
In 2004 The Mars Exploration Rovers “Spirit” and “Opportunity" began searching for evidence of past water on Mars. Amazingly “Spirit” lasted for about 7 years and Opportunity is still operational. Both rovers should have monuments erected in their honor for their endurance and for their discoveries about the surface of Mars, the existence of water and insights they have given us into the Martian weather and climate.
In 2005 The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched and has mapped and imaged the planet at high resolution.
Mars Phoenix landed on Mars and spent several months cataloging conditions near the northern polar regions.
Britain’s Beagle Rover made it to Mars, but failed upon landing.
China’s Yinghuo-1 mission fell back to Earth after a launch failure.
The U.S. Mars Curiosity rover has been returning images from the surface as well as detailed mineralogy of the rocks where it landed.
In 2014, the Curiosity Rover discovered 'burps' of methane, which could indicate life or at least ancient life.
In 2014 the Indian Space Research Organization’s Mars Orbiter Mission returned images of the planet and data about the atmosphere.
MAVEN, an atmospheric studies satellite, has been sampling the upper atmosphere to help us understand how the planet is losing its atmosphere and how it may have lost water in the past.
As of May 2021, there are three operational rovers on the surface of Mars, the Curiosity and Perseverance rovers, both operated by the United States of America space agency NASA, as well as the Zhurong rover, part of the Tianwen-1 mission by the China National Space Administration (CNSA). There are also eight orbiters surveying the planet: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbiter Mission, MAVEN, the Trace Gas Orbiter, the Tianwen-1 orbiter, and the Hope Mars Mission. The stationary lander InSight is investigating the deep interior of Mars. In all, there are 13 probes currently surveying Mars including the Ingenuity helicopter, which is scouting sites for Perseverance to study.
To all those who rush out to sign up to be among the first colonists of Mars, take heed of the sentiments expressed by one of the characters in the film:
“The second we hit earth, I'm gonna jump through that air lock all the way to the ground. Then I'm gonna roll around and stretch like a cat in the sun. Oh, boy, the sun. We'll be 50 million miles closer to it. Even when I was a kid, I could never stand being cold.”
Future missions to Mars will take months to get to the planet and will probably amount to buying a one-way ticket. Imagine being confined in space and then on Martian soil in a relatively small space for all that time with the same people for company. Tell me you wouldn’t get homesick after a while:
Hot luxuriant baths and showers instead of sponge baths; the smell of springtime instead of the stale stench of body odour; the invigorating effects of a walk in the fresh air instead of the mouth-drying and eye-irritating effects of air-con & recycled air; the mental and emotional stimulation of civilised life as opposed to the soul destroying and psychologically damaging effects of isolation and virtual technological imprisonment.
You’d wish for that airlock through which you could jump all the way to our home planet’s terra-firma!
Assuming you did make it to Mars and were able to survive the effects of being bombarded by radiation. What would you be confronted with?.......
Mars Fact Sheet
You’d be standing on the surface of the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the solar system.”
If you decide to jump for joy, be careful because the Martian surface gravity is only 37% of the Earth’s. You can leap nearly three times higher than you would on Earth!
You would not be able to breathe without an oxygen tank due to the thin atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide.
Look up and you might see two small moons: Phobos & Deimos. You’d soon long for the comforting glow of our own lunar lady.
You’d also see the Sun which appears about half the size as it does on Earth.
Rug up and keep warm since the surface temperatures range from -153 to 20 °C.
If you’d like to warm up with a spot of mountain climbing, there’s always the challenge of the tallest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, a shield volcano, 21km high and 600km in diameter!
Staying outdoors might not always be a good option since Mars has the largest dust storms in the solar system that can last for months and cover the entire planet. Not to mention the extreme seasons due to the planet’s quite elongated elliptical orbital path around the Sun.
As for that dust! It gets into every nook and cranny if you’re not careful. The red colour that Mars is known for and named after when referred to as the “Red Planet,” is due to the rock and dust covering its surface being rich in iron.
On Mars, you’d have to wait longer for your next birthday seeing that a Martian year is the equivalent of 687 Earth days. Almost twice as long as an Earth year.
You’d get used to the days on Mars as a day lasts just 40 minutes longer than a day on Earth.
On the up-side, there are signs of liquid water on Mars. There’s water in the form of ice. There’s also trickling or flowing water on crater walls and cliffs particularly during summertime. I wouldn’t try to drink it I were you as it would be rather briny or salty. There’d be a need for a desalination process.
(End of It! The Terror from Beyond Space…)
**********
War of the Satellites (1958)
A typically fast and cheap Roger Corman sci-fi epic and certainly not his best!
Directed by Roger Corman
Produced by Roger Corman
Music by Walter Greene
Distributed by Allied Artists
Running time: 66 minutes
Budget: $70,000 (approx..)
Cast
Dick Miller: Dave Boyer
Susan Cabot: Sybil Carrington
Richard Devon: Dr. Pol Van Ponder
Eric Sinclair: Dr. Howard Lazar
Michael Fox: Jason ibn Akad
Robert Shayne: Cole Hotchkiss
Jered Barclay: John Compo
John Brinkley: Crew Member
Bruno VeSota: Mr. LeMoine
Jay Sayer: Teen
Mitzi McCall: Teen
Roy Gordon: The President
In the office of the head of Allied Artists, the phone noisily and hysterically cries out for the boss’s attention. The boss could tell just by the ring who it would be….
Walter: Hello, Roger. What can I do for you?
Roger: Hey Walt. You know how the Russians sent up that Sputnik last year and scared the hell out of everyone?
Walter: Yeah. What of it?
Roger: Well, I’ve just had a talk with Jack Rabin and he agrees with me that we could capitalize on this Sputnik hysteria with a nice little sci-fi movie of our own!
The wheels in Walter’s mind began to crank up faster and faster at the prospect just put before him by his pal, Corman.
Roger: Hello, Walt. You there?
Walter: Sorry, Roger. Sounds good. What time frame are we looking at?
Roger: Well, you know me. No dilly-dallying. Just throw a few bucks my way and you’ll have a great little movie with a great story about satellites ready for distribution in about two or three months.
Walt: No kidding? Sounds fine to me Roger. I like the satellite angle. Let’s get the ball rolling!
As Corman hangs up the receiver he notes that Walter had not even asked him about the story’s details. Good thing too! He figured he could get a first draft screenplay, a full cast and enough of a set together to begin shooting in….say…. a couple of weeks! Principal photography could be wrapped up in about 10 days and in about three months’ time, “War of the Satellites” would be up on US screens. Yes Siree! Don’t let anything stand in the way of a good story and good acting, coz that’s all ya’ really need!
What happens when;
A mysterious alien force declares war against planet Earth?
The United Nations disregards warnings to halt its attempts at assembling the first satellite in space?
(Spoilers follow below....)
A satellite sails across a star field and is being observed in a control room by members of the United Nations space program consisting of a group of scientists and politicians. It is as if they were a bunch of guys watching a sporting event and hoping their team scores the crucial winning goal.
“All those men in that satellite will die as have all the others. And when they do your project comes to an end, doctor."
Suddenly their hopes are crushed when the satellite, the tenth in the Sigma Project is destroyed after coming into contact with a mysterious space barrier. Recriminations begin when Jason ibn Akad criticises Dr. Pol Van Ponder about his lack of success and the waste of half a billion dollars on Project Sigma. He believes it must be terminated because of the loss of money and lives.
*************
The Apollo, Space Shuttle, various Mars lander and other space missions have shown us that space can be a very dangerous place and that disaster and failure is an inherent part of human space endeavors. And yet faced with such a prospect, we persist with space exploration hoping to learn from mistakes made.
A scientist or mission specialist might devote most of their working life to a particular space mission. So much of their being is invested in the success of that mission and if it fails one can readily imagine what a personal blow that would be.
**************
After the satellite’s destruction by the force field, Van Ponder announces that he will launch another satellite.
On a moon-lit night, a young teenage couple are seen necking in a car. Their nocturnal face-nibbling activities are abruptly interrupted when they notice a light in the sky. Their initial shooting-star hypothesis is quickly disproved when they go to investigate something that has crashed to earth. It turns out to be a small missile-like object which the teenagers turn over to the authorities.
“Well, why not Latin? Once, it was understood throughout the civilized world. Perhaps they think it still is.”
After examining the small rocket, the U.N. calls a meeting where a message in Latin is read aloud to those assembled. It purports to be a message from…..wait for it……. THE MASTERS OF THE SPIRAL NEBULA, “GHANA!” (No, not the Republic of Ghana!) It turns out that these are aliens who are irked by our repeated attempts to leave the confines of our planet to explore space.
The aliens warn the inhabitants of Earth that their, "contamination shall not be allowed to spread." Having labeled us as a "disease," the aliens declare they will set up a quarantine to protect the universe and that any attempt to depart the Earth will be stopped.
Full Message:
“To the United Nations of the third planet of minor luminary Sol, called by the inhabitants thereof the Earth, Attention. We, the masters of the Spiral Nebula, Ghana have been observing your actions. Understand, earthlings, that we look with disfavor upon your persistent efforts to depart from your own planet and infest other areas of the universe. We have therefore set up quarantine measures to ensure that this contamination shall not be allowed to spread. We shall frustrate your every attempt in the future, as we have those in the past. Knowing that earthlings are equipped with rudimentary reflex-type intelligence, we are taking this means of conveying our command that all such efforts to expand and depart from the infected planet Earth shall from this moment be stopped.”
*****************
It is quite true that we do in fact orbit a very nondescript star which is just one out of countless trillions of stars in an expanding universe. It kind of puts things in perspective in terms of our significance.
It would also not be all that surprising that an advanced alien species would wish to curtail out ability to venture beyond the confines of our planet and spread throughout the universe like some kind of pestilence.
After all, consider what human beings have managed to do with the planet they already infest. In the interests of corporate greed and nationalistic imperatives we have managed to tear out large chunks of the planet’s guts and lungs. When the wounded and choking planet strikes back at us for our depredations, our response is to deny that there’s anything to see here and that it’s business as usual.
The imperatives of political ambition, ego and collective insanity have provided us with the excuse to embark on periodic wholesale slaughter and acts of genocide on members of our own species.
Not only that, but we are now on the verge of relocating our ability to wage war on one another from the surface of the earth to the very realm of space!
To a dispassionate alien observer, the only conclusion to be reached is that such an unworthy species never be permitted to “infest other areas of the universe.”
**********************
In response to the aliens’ message, the United States representative, Mr. Hotchkiss declares in an impassioned speech that no other life force has the right to prevent humanity from venturing into space. The continuation of the Sigma Project is whole-heartedly supported.
“I won't ask anyone to take a risk I wouldn't take myself. I mean to captain my own ship.”
Later on, the head of Project Sigma, Dr. Van Ponder played by Richard Devon (who bears some resemblance to the Robbie Barone character in the TV series, Everybody Loves Raymond) calls a press conference in his office at which he informs reporters that he believes the alien message is a fake, but that he still plans to lead the next satellite mission.
Van Ponder then privately reveals to astronomer David Boyer and researcher Sybil Carrington that the capsule has defied all analysis and that its origins remain unknown. In addition to Van Ponder leading the next mission, both Sybil and Dave will accompany him on that mission. Preparations, training and crew selection will now start in earnest.
As preparations for the next mission proceed, Akad has been voicing opposition to the project. One evening, Hotchkiss summons Van Ponder to a U.N. meeting after calling him and warning him that Akad is trying to stop the mission.
As Van Ponder drives over to the U.N. he experiences trouble with his car and is attacked by a mysterious ball of light. The aliens then cause him to drive him off the road and wreck his car. This “accident” then allows them to execute their plan which involves replacing Van Ponder with one of their own.
"Dr. Van Ponder was killed in an automobile accident while on his way to this forum."
At the UN Hotchkiss receives notification of Van Ponder's death which causes stunned consternation among the council members. This is replaced by shock when out of the blue, Van Ponder arrives at the meeting and is soon greeted with thunderous applause. Unknown to those assembled, the aliens have assumed the form of Van Ponder to infiltrate and hamper the project.
In case we are in any doubt, when Van ponder is later alone in Hotchkiss' office, we witness him splitting into two separate but identical duplicates of the human Van Ponder.
At the research centre, we are almost spared the usual ‘this ain’t fit for women folk work’ routine from David who requests that Van Ponder reconsider Sybil's participation in the mission. If he agreed, then Sybil would have to go back to being a stereotypical ice-cold-calculating-machine female type of scientist.
Anyway, just in the nick of time Sybil enters with her wannabe Liz Taylor eyebrows to tell the two men to turn on the radio. News reports feature a large number of natural disasters occurring worldwide and it is speculated that the disasters may be related the U. N.'s warning from outer space.
"We must proceed with project Sigma at all costs."
Not surprisingly, alien Van Ponder decides to capitulate to the aliens’ threats and suggests to Hotchkiss that they should call a halt to Project Sigma. Hotchkiss reluctantly agrees and Van Ponder writes a letter to be read at the U.N. declaring the end of human space exploration.
David volunteers to present the letter, but without consulting Van Ponder, he decides to make a declaration on the floor of the UN to the assembled delegates at the council meeting that the Sigma Project will continue despite the alien injunction:
“The delegate has spoken of naked survival. Gentlemen, you do not survive by abject surrender. Nations and worlds must fight for survival. If we give in now, let down our defences, give this alien planet full control over our actions & our lives for mere survival, won't they decide to take even that away from us? Have the gentlemen here asked themselves why these aliens are so concerned that we do not penetrate the Sigma barrier? Isn't it peculiar that this action alone excites them to retaliation? They consider us a danger to them if we break out of "quarantine" as they so tactfully put it. They haven't even bothered to find out whether our motives are peaceful or not. They don't know that we would collaborate and share knowledge, greet them as equal partners in the universe. But we can't show them this by surrendering. No, it is precisely because they do not wish us to travel the skies that we must do so. Gentlemen, we must proceed with Project Sigma at all costs.”
********************
Yes, human beings are ornery and contrary critters. If someone tells them they can’t do something, like defiant teenagers they’ll go ahead and do it anyway.
For life to find a way in this universe it needs to be defiant as by rights “Life” itself shouldn’t even exist! Peaceful motives or otherwise playing a part in our forays beyond our planet are irrelevant as it will eventually boil down to a matter of survival as will be the case for other life forms throughout the universe. In such a scenario there may not be room for equal partnerships. It certainly hasn’t been so on just our own planet when technologically advanced cultures have come into contact with indigenous or First Nation peoples.
*************
As Dave and Van Ponder discuss matters to do with the launch, astronomical engineer John Campo enters the room and is surprised to see Van Ponder. He states that he just saw Van Ponder at the Proving Grounds. Not only that, but Dave notices a growth on Van Ponder’s arm and is further surprised to notice that the scientist has an identical marking on his other arm. Afterwards, a curious Dave records the license plate (New York 9Z 9324) on Van Ponder’s Lincoln in the parking lot.
"There's something about you. You're not human!"
Meanwhile, Van ponder joins John Compo in the lab where he is welding a component. John sets down the welding torch while he and Van Ponder consider the solenoids. Suddenly, the torch is accidentally bumped causing the flame to come into contact directly with Van Ponder's right hand. Curiously, Van Ponder fails to notice that his hand is being burned by a torch and his hand becomes quickly charred. An alarmed John pulls Van's hand away from the flame and runs off to summon medical attention.
While John races for a doctor, Van Ponder shuts off the acetylene and heals the damage to his hand. When John arrives with Dr. Howard Lazar, Van Ponder's hand is perfectly restored. John, in an almost hysterical state, insists that Van Ponder’s hand was severely injured but Van Ponder pretends that nothing has happened. Dr Lazar suggests that John has perhaps been working too hard.
When Dave locates Van Ponder's wrecked car by means of the identical license plate number, it is obvious to him that no one could have survived the “accident.”
Dave then contacts Sybil by phone and she informs him that the Sigma launch schedule has been moved forward and is to occur in just a few hours.
Dave hurries to the launch site where preparations continue for blast-off. Dr. Lazar arrives at the elevator with John Compo and tells Van Ponder that John is cleared to be a part of the mission. The news that John is to be a part of the crew unsettles Van Ponder.
Later, while heading for his post, Dave is shocked to witnesses Van Ponder's ability to duplicate himself. Van Ponder is indeed an alien who intends to sabotage the mission.
“We're up against a race of beings whose intelligence is as ours to ants and bacteria”
Aboard the rockets while preparations continue for departure, Van Ponder pays a visit on John Compo. He corners John and places his hand on John's chest, paralyzing him so that he cannot escape. Van Ponder reveals himself and his mission. He informs John that;
“The warning from outer space….came from a superior intelligence. An intelligence able to transform energy into matter, and back again. You once told me I was not human. You were correct. I am above the human: a transformation which can be yours. This satellite will never return to Earth. Its disintegration upon contact with the energy barrier will end Project Sigma, and all similar projects to come. The creatures of your planet are not yet ready for space.”
When Van Ponder offers John the opportunity of joining him and the alien race, John defiantly responds with, “You can go to hell! I was born a human, and I'll die one before I'll join a race that kills innocent people for abstract ideas!”
With that decision, Van ponder kills John.
Sybil suddenly enters the control room and, Van Ponder explains that John did not survive the g-forces from the ship's rapid acceleration. While a funeral service is being arranged for John, David tells Sybil that Van Ponder is an alien, but Sybil refuses to believe him.
Later, David questions Howard about John's death and the doctor states that John was perfectly healthy. David then informs Howard that Van Ponder had murdered John because he discovered something that Van Ponder was trying to conceal. Howard agrees to give Van Ponder a medical examination.
Dr. Lazar goes to give the required medical exam to Van Ponder, but before he can check his heart, an urgent call comes through concerning the satellite’s approach to the space barrier. Before meeting up with the doctor again, Van Ponder creates a beating heart for himself, and he is startled by a new sensation: a surge of emotion for Sybil. When Van ponder tries to express his feelings for Sybil, she is taken aback and fobs him off by telling him, "I'm in the middle of a computation." A novel way of giving a guy the brush off!
Van Ponder undergoes the doctor's cardiac exam and tries to eliminate Dr. Lazar the same way as he did with John. However, this method does not seem to work, so Van Ponder goes old school and kills Dr. Lazar by choking him.
After murdering Howard, Van Ponder announces to the crew that he suspects David of having killed John. Just before his arrest, David insists that Sybil seek the doctor’s protection, unaware that he has in fact been killed.
When Van Ponder's orders two crew members to arrest Dave, it finally begins to dawn on Sybil that Dave is right about him.
"You're not human. Who are you? What are you?"
As Sybil goes in search of Dr Lazar, she sees Van Ponder placing the doctor's body in the disposal chute. Van Ponder catches sight of Sybil and gives chase. Sybil then flees from him and takes refuge in the solar radiation energy room. As Van Ponder follows her, he hears an announcement that David has escaped his guards. Van Ponder then replicates himself in front of Sybil. While one replica heads for the command centre in search of Dave, the other confronts Sybil.
As the satellite ventures closer to the space barrier, the pilots are puzzled over why Van Ponder should order them to head toward the barrier. David soon follows Van Ponder into his cabin where he confronts him and wounds him with a gunshot to the hand. Both the van Ponders bleed! A brief punch up then follows in which Dave gets hold of the gun and shoots Van Ponder dead. At that moment, the replica with Sybil also collapses and dies.
Dave then orders the abandonment of Plan B to be replaced by the activation of Plan A. The Solar Accumulator is deployed against the barrier involving the detonation of a radiation blast thereby catapulting the satellite through the barrier. Just in the nick of time, Dave rescues Sybil from the radiation room before the blast. The Sigma barrier is finally broken and as the satellite orbits the Earth, U.N. Satellite Control receives the following message;
“We are passing through Andromedae at the speed of light. (Buuuushit! Sorry reader, I sneezed!) We've made it. The whole universe is our new frontier.”
This would be the cue for the whole universe to run – run like hell!!
*********
Points of Interest
“War of the Satellites” was released on a double bill with “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.”
Roger Corman is well-known for his ability to make something fun and enjoyable out of nest to nothing and War of the Satellites fits the bill. Corman even has a bit part as a ground control radio operator! It is a fast-paced film with an interesting premise that gets right down to business. Just add a few war-surplus props, footage lifted from other films and a set that looks like a basement for a UN meeting scene and Bob’s your uncle! I’d love to get my hands on those fabulous reclining chairs that were used by the crew of the rocket ships!
In October, 1957, the Soviet Union shocked the world with the first successful launch and orbit of a spacecraft, the satellite, "Sputnik". That name and the term "satellite" was featured on the front pages of every newspaper in America.
Roger Corman knew he could get funding from his distributor by promising a film with word, "satellite" in its title. The timing couldn’t be more perfect with the USA viewing the Soviet satellite “Sputnik” as a dent to national pride and a threat together with the consequent rush in the US to launch its own satellite in response.
Interestingly enough, the “satellite” in the film appears to be assembled by using a modular system whereby different portions of the satellite are fitted together in space. Our own International Space Station consists of a collection of modules that have been progressively joined together in space. Added to this is the international basis of the space station missions of today and of the “satellite” program in the film.
Notice also that the rockets containing the satellite modules in the film are staged rockets whereas most depictions of rockets leaving the earth in early sci-fi films were single rockets that seemed to burn their propellant continuously.
Finally, “War of the Satellites” presents a scenario which even we in the 21st century have to contend with. This involves the use of power or perceived power to bully others to act and think in ways that benefit the interests of the powerful. We see acts of intimidation occurring in the world of politics, international relations, the corporate sphere, relations between the State and the governed and so on. Intimidation and abuse of power will only continue unless it is recognised for what it is and is resisted.
(End of War of the Satellites)
**********
First Man into Space (1959)
A sci-fi story containing both charm and corny dialogue, told on a modest budget.
1959: A Taste of the Times
World Events
After a revolution, Fidel Castro comes to power in Cuba - the first communist state in the west.
A 12 nation International agreement is signed to make Antarctica a scientific preserve and ban military activity.
Ho Chi Minh declares a "people's war" to unite all of Vietnam, including an uprising in the southern half of Vietnam.
Previously ruled by Britain, Singapore becomes a self-governing state within the Commonwealth of Nations.
Archbishop Makarios is elected president of what will soon be an independent Cyprus.
China & Tibet
China considers Tibet a part of China.
The spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama flees Tibet and is granted political asylum in India.
Sino-Russian Relations
Soviet leader Khrushchev abrogates the treaty with China by which the Soviet Union was to provide China with military technology.
Khrushchev publicly denounces China's system of communes.
US & Soviet Union
US Vice President Nixon speaking on Soviet television, criticizes communism and warns against any attempt to spread Communist ideology beyond the borders of the Soviet Union.
Khrushchev begins a 13-day visit in the United States declaring that he has arrived "with open heart and good intentions.”
Directed by Robert Day
Produced by John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter, Richard Gordon
Written by Wyott Ordung, John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter
Music by Buxton Orr
Cinematography: Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited by Peter Mayhew
Production company: Amalgamated Productions
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Running time: 78 min.
Budget: $131,000
Box office: $635,000
Cast
Marshall Thompson: Cmdr. Charles Ernest Prescott
Marla Landi: Tia Francesca
Bill Edwards: Lt. Dan Milton Prescott
Robert Ayres: Capt. Ben Richards
Bill Nagy: Police Chief Wilson
Carl Jaffe: Dr. Paul von Essen
Roger Delgado: Mexican Consul
John McLaren: State Dept. Official, Harold Atkins
Spencer Teakle: Ratings Control Room
Chuck Keyser: Ratings Control Room
John Fabian : Ratings Control Room
Richard Shaw: Witney
Bill Nick: Clancy
Helen Forrest: Secretary
Roland Brand: Truck Driver
What if?..........
(Spoilers Follow Below……)
Good evening. I’m your host, Bill Bannerman and welcome to tonight’s program, Probing the Past where we will be revealing to you exclusively shocking revelations that cast doubt on the widely held assumption that the Russians were the first to launch a human being into space and return him safely to earth.
History has recorded that on April 12, 1961, 27-year-old test pilot and industrial technician, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, became the first human being to travel into space. During the flight, Yuri Gagarin also became the first man to orbit our planet which he did in 89 minutes. But was he…the first man into space?
During the early years of the American and Soviet space race, the Soviet Union achieved a series of firsts with the launching of the first satellite into space, the first robotic spacecraft to the Moon, the first woman in space, and the first spacewalk. These monumental scientific, technical and strategic breakthroughs sparked a desire within the United States to catch up with and hopefully surpass the Soviets in the area of human exploration of space.
The result of this urgent endeavour resulted in American astronaut Alan Shepard venturing briefly into space on the Mercury 3 mission in May 1961 and astronaut John Glenn spending five hours in orbit on the Mercury 6 mission in February 1962.
What is not known is that one of the “firsts” we have been led to believe the Soviets achieved-the first human launched into space-had in fact been secretly accomplished by an American astronaut test pilot in…….1959!
This courageous young test pilot we have been informed died soon after his achievement for reasons which will be explained later and was never to be recognised for his feat as were the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts who became the most visible and celebrated symbols of space exploration.
After his tragic death, according to the recent revelations, the one-man Mercury missions were developed to ensure safe spaceflight and return to Earth and demonstrate how human beings would fare in space. No-one wanted to see anyone else succumb to the same fate as befell the real first human in space…..or so it seemed….
By why, you may ask wouldn’t the US proclaim their achievement to the world and establish their giant leap forward and ahead of their Soviet rivals? Had the tragic death of the American test pilot tarnished the accomplishment? Was more time needed to establish what might have gone wrong and try for a completely successful mission next occasion? Did experts in the US believe that time was on their side to do this? Or was a calculated risk made whereby if the Soviets beat the US with a successful manned launch into space, then whatever went wrong with the American mission would also affect any Russian mission and some kind of political capital could be made out of this?
Tonight’s story is based on testimony from military and other personnel who are still alive, documents released under freedom of information provisions, as well as secretly obtained top-secret audio-visual recordings of the alleged 1959 manned space launch mission. No representative from the White House, The Pentagon or NASA have been prepared to appear on our program. Nor has anyone from the Kremlin responded to our invitation to appear, except for the issuing of a terse statement ridiculing the claims that an American and not a Russian was the……..
Many of the images you will see are reconstructions depicting both alleged and actual events from the time. Visit our website and Facebook page for sources of information used in tonight’s program, interviews that were conducted and more.
If you wish to respond to any of the claims made in tonight’s program, please feel free to join the conversation via our Facebook page and on twitter.
Our story begins with Navy test pilot Lieut. Dan Prescott, in an experimental rocket plane. His brother U. S. Navy Commander Charles "Chuck" Prescott was skeptical about Dan being the right choice for piloting the rocket-powered Y-13 to extreme altitude. Captain Ben Richards of the Air Force Space Command, however felt that Dan was their best pilot.
During the test-piloting of the Y-12 into the ionosphere, Lieut. Prescott began to experience flight difficulties. After landing his craft, Dan contravened regulations by immediately going to see his girlfriend, Tia Francesca instead of immediately submitting his flight report.
Despite concerns about Dan Prescott’s conduct and suitability, Captain Richards insisted that Dan pilot the Y-13 after a thorough check-out and briefing by Dr. Paul von Essen, former German Nazi scientist co-opted by the US government at the close of the Second World War.
In an interview conducted earlier, one of the then young operators in the launch control room tells us what he recalls of the launch of the unlucky numbered Y-13:
“The Y-13 took off with Lieut. Prescott at the controls. Everything was going well as he ascended higher and higher. At 600,000 feet, Prescott was supposed to level off and begin his descent. But for reasons best known to himself he just continued to climb, firing his rocket emergency boost for more speed."
"When he reached 1,320,000 feet or roughly 250 miles, he suddenly lost control of the Y-13. All the while his brother, Cmdr. Charles Prescott was frantically trying to get the Lieutenant to stick to the mission parameters and then tried to establish contact. The next question for us was what became of Lieut. Prescott and the Y-13? Had he crashed somewhere outside of the predetermined landing zone? Did he manage to eject and was he lost but still alive? It wasn’t long before we found out!”
We disguised the former operator’s voice and identity at his own request.
The next thing that is heard about the fate of the Y-13 is when the New Mexico State Police later sent a report that a Mexican farmer spotted a parachute attached to what appeared to be a plane that landed near his farm on Route 17 about 10 miles south of Alvarado. Fortunately, Police Chief Wilson notified the military on the off-chance that it was related to their recent rocket firing.
Wilson then met up with Commander Prescott and showed him the wreckage. By the looks of things, it seemed impossible that the pilot could have survived the crash.
Tests on the recovered aircraft later revealed that the automatic escape mechanism and breaking chute had operated perfectly. Tests also revealed the presence of an unknown substance encrusting the aircraft’s hull and that it was impervious to x-rays, infrared photography and ultraviolet light.
Where had this substance come from? What exactly had Prescott and his Y-13 encountered in space, 250 miles above the earth? And where was Prescott?
Interestingly enough, from about the same time as the crash of the Y-13 we have two reports from the Santa Fe Daily News. One report tells of a break-in at the New Mexico State Blood Bank in Alameda where one of the nurses was brutally murdered and even more shockingly, vast quantities of blood had been consumed by someone or….something!
The other article is headlined, “Terror Roams State” and reports on the grotesque slaughter of cattle on a farm right next to where the Y-13 crashed.
An autopsy report on the dead nurse revealed the presence of wounds in the form of jagged tears across her throat. Also mentioned was the presence of shiny specks around the wound.
Now listen to an interview we earlier recorded with the son of Commander Charles Prescott and Tia Prescott (formerly Tia Francesca), Daniel Earnest Prescott:
“Dad never talked much about those days. I do remember one story he told me after we watched a documentary about the mysterious incidents of cattle mutilations around the world. Dad told me that he once visited a farm back in 1959 somewhere in New Mexico where some cattle had been mysteriously slaughtered. He said that he discovered some shiny specks on the necks of the dead cattle. Even more surprisingly, he went on to say that lying under one of them was found a piece of ‘what looked like a high-altitude oxygen lead that was used in….’ .and then he just abruptly stopped speaking about it. He never once mentioned it again till the day he died in 1996.”
Just before her tragic death in a freak car accident, Mrs Tia Prescott who was in her eighties kindly granted us an interview in which she recalled many of the important events surrounding the crash of the Y-13 and the fate of her then boyfriend, Lieut. Dan Prescott:
“My husband Charles began to suspect that the strange deaths in New Mexico and the slaughter of cattle may have been linked to the crashed Y-13 craft. Samples of the shiny specks that were gathered were sent for testing to Dr Von Essen at Aviation Medicine where I also worked.
The results of the tests revealed that the specks were particles of meteor dust that showed “no signs of structural damage such as would be expected from passage through atmosphere.”
Dr Von Essen’s notes on the results of the metallurgical tests performed on the encrustation revealed that those parts of the metal of the Y-13’s hull that were encrusted were intact. However, the places on the hull that were not encrusted had become brittle and resembled crumbling carbon that could be reduced to a powdery substance.
Charles was of the opinion that the encrustation may have been a form of cosmic protection, something akin to the evolution of skin on primeval creatures as protection from the sun."
We have recently obtained a document from 1959 from a source in the Mexican government detailing damage caused to a bullring in San Pedro due to an object that apparently fell out of the sky! It seemed to have caused one bull in particular great consternation and almost killed His Excellency, the Minister for Social services.
A certain Senor Ramon DeGareara, consul for Mexico at Santa Fe met with Capt. Richards of Air Force Space Command with the result that ruffled feathers were smoothed with assurances of compensation for damages caused. After this, a crew was sent to San Pedro to salvage what we believe was a section of the Y-13, most likely its tail section.
Something or someone was responsible for the strange deaths and killing of the cattle. Something or someone was responsible for quantities of blood being consumed at the Blood Bank. All available evidence seemed to suggest a link to the crash of the Y-13. And where was the body of Lieut. Dan Prescott?
Perhaps Mrs Prescott is able to shed some light on the strange series of mysterious but related events:
"After more killings were reported, Charles began to suspect that the strange encrustation that formed a protective barrier on the hull of Y-13 also covered the cockpit’s interior, including Dan. This would suggest that it was actually Dan himself doing the killing. But why?
Charles considered the matter of the blood and speculated that Dan’s blood absorbed a high content of nitrogen while the protective encrustation that had penetrated the canopy quickly formed on his body, allowing him to survive the hostile conditions of space. Charles believed that once back on Earth, Dan's body and brain had become so starved of oxygen that he needed to consume oxygen-enriched blood in order to replace the oxygen his body lacked.
It wasn’t really until Dan’s helmet was found in the car of another dead victim that Charles’ theory seemed to be correct after all.”
Shortly after this interview, Mrs Prescott was killed in the auto accident while on her way home. A tragic twist of Fate or the result of something more sinister? She, like all the other personnel associated with the Y-13 project would have been required to sign strict non-disclosure agreements and be subject to and bound by national security provisions. Despite this, Mrs Prescott and other surviving personnel - who unlike her have chosen to remain anonymous - have bravely decided to step forward and put the record straight.
Back at the airbase lab, there was much talk concerning how best to stop this dangerous version of Dan Prescott, especially seeing that even bullets were useless against him. One of the then junior operators takes up this part of the story but was evasive when asked if he had actually witnessed the events or had learned about them second-hand:
“Suddenly this monstrous wheezing hulk of a creature burst into the building. It turned out that he gained access through a window. It seemed to be encased in some strange-looking material and appeared to have real trouble breathing. It sure was difficult to believe that creature was in fact Lieut. Prescott!
While the high-altitude chamber was being opened, Comdr. Prescott used the P.A. system to warn all personnel in the building to stay out of the corridors. He then instructed Dr von Essen to use the P.A. to guide Lieut. Prescott to the high-altitude chamber seeing as he seemed to be able to understand what was being said to him.
"The plan worked, and the Lieutenant entered the chamber, but the Commander realized that his brother wouldn’t be able to operate the controls due to his altered physical condition and deformed clumsy fingers. Like a flash the commander entered the chamber only to find himself narrowly dodging swipes from the lieutenant’s flailing arms.
"While this was going on, the high-alt chamber operator increased the simulated altitude to 38,000 feet, making the conditions easier for the Lieutenant to tolerate. The Commander on the other hand was reduced to wearing an oxygen mask.
“When the Lieutenant started to settle down, he tried to describe what happened, but he seemed to have no memory of the events. All he could recall was darkness, a feeling of being suffocated, and a need to stay alive until he could find Dr von Essen.
“Just before he took his last breath, Lieutenant Prescott apologized to Miss Francesca for the way things turned out and that he just had to be the first man into space. I think I understand what he meant, and I guess ‘there will always be men willing to take the risk.’”
And so, viewers, that is all we know so far. It certainly raises more questions: Was an American indeed the first man into space a full two years before the Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin? If so, why wasn’t this feat made known to the world and why has it been kept secret for six decades? Why have there been no more recorded incidents of encounters with the kind of cosmic dust material that affected Lieutenant Prescott and the Y-13 he piloted into space back in 1959? Had plans been made to incorporate such material into the hulls of the first capsule to carry an American astronaut aloft into space, but then abandoned with the success of the first Russian manned mission? Did this influence the eventual development of heat shields for space craft?
This is what programs like “Probing the Past” seek to do – to ask difficult questions about our cherished beliefs concerning our history in the hope that the answers will provide us with the truth.
Until next week, the is Bill Bannerman wishing you good evening from all of us at Probing the Past where we take one step back into the past and two steps forward into the future….
POINTS OF INTEREST
The micro-meteor encrusted spacesuit costume worn by the Dan Prescott character was so stifling due to its tendency to heat up inside, that it could only be worn for a few minutes at a time. Breathing became a real problem for the actor because of the costume's poor air circulation. It only had small holes cut in its head and face mask section, so the actor could see.
The Y-12 was portrayed by the Bell X-1A, which was carried and launched by a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The Y-13 was portrayed by a Bell X-2, which was carried and launched by a Boeing B-50 Superfortress. A Redstone rocket launch was also featured.
Location filming for First Man into Space took place near a Brooklyn, New York air base in the US and also in New Mexico. Much of the studio work was shot in a mansion near Hampstead Heath near London while some exterior shots were done in Hampstead itself with additional filming conducted at other British locations.
Bill Edwards, who played pilot Lieut. Dan Prescott had his dialogue synced in post-production because he had difficulty with maintaining an American accent during shooting.
If the plot of “First Man into Space” seems somewhat derivative, then it comes as no surprise that it was influenced by “The Quatermass Xperiment” (1955), a far better film and one which is featured in another volume of this series of Ebooks.
Marshall Thompson, who plays Air Force Commander Prescott we have seen in superior sci-fi films such as “It! The Terror from Beyond Space,” and “Fiend Without a Face,” both of which are also featured in this Ebook series.
*************
HISTORY IS……….
Like listening to an old man telling tales of yesteryear,
Whom we tire of hearing tell the same story over again.
Instead contenting ourselves with myths of heroes and villains,
And lap up lies that swell our chests with national pride.
Like a cherry tree from which choicest bits are picked
To sweeten and satisfy what we hold to be true
And spit out the pips we cannot chew and swallow
Lest they cause us to choke on a bitter truth.
Like a man accused and made to feel shame,
Standing before a wagging furious feminist finger
Admonishing him for daring to tell his-story
Of building, laying siege to and destroying his castles.
Like parchment paper upon which stories are scribed
With quills dipped in the blood of innocents,
Guided by the hands of those who’ve won;
Blank pages of ignorance left to those who’ve lost.
Like a random memory that is half-forgotten
Or half-remembered but just out of reach.
Connections are quickly lost as the fog rolls in
And we wonder why we find ourselves standing here.
**********
I hope you enjoyed this second volume of “Sci-Fi Film Fiesta.”
Keep an eye out for Volume 3, Other Worlds.
Useful Resources
Atkinson, Barry., Atomic Age Cinema The Offbeat, the Classic and the Obscure, Midnight Marquee Press, Inc.; 2013
Bliss, Michael., Invasions USA The Essential Science Fiction Films of the 1950s, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014.
Fischer, Dennis., Science Fiction Film Directors, 1895-1998, McFarland, 2011
Hendershot, Cyndy., Paranoia, The Bomb, And 1950s Science Fiction Films, University of Wisconsin Press, 1999
Koca, Gary., Good and Bad Sci-Fi/Horror Movies of the 1950s: And the Stars Who Were in Those Films, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017
Moore, Theresa M., & Carlyle, Patrick C., Science Fiction Films of The 20th Century 1950-1954, Antellus, 2019
Moore, Theresa M., Science Fiction Films of The 20th Century 1955-1956, Antellus, 2019
Moore, Theresa M., Science Fiction Films of The 20th Century 1958 Anrellus, 2019
Wade, John., The Golden Age of Science Fiction: A Journey into Space with 1950s Radio, TV, Films, Comics and Books, Pen and Sword, 2019.
Warren, Bill., Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties: McFarland; 21st Century Edition, 2016
Useful Links To On-Line Resources
Project Moon Base at Wikipedia
Project Moon Base at 1000misspenthours
*****
Riders to the Stars at Wikipedia
Riders to the Stars at Scifist.net
*****
Conquest of Space at Wikipedia
*****
*****
It! The Terror from Beyond Space at IMDB
It! The Terror from Beyond Space at Wikipedia
It! The Terror from Beyond Sapce at Manapop
*****
War of the Satellites at Wikipedia
"War of the Satellites (1958) Reviews and overview" at moviesandmania.com
*****
First Man into Space at Wikipedia
*****
“Space Adventure Films of the 1950s” Manapop
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