Destination Moon (film)
| Destination Moon | |
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| Directed by | Irving Pichel |
| Produced by | George Pal |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | the novel Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A. Heinlein |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Leith Stevens |
| Edited by | Duke Goldstone |
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Production
company |
George Pal Productions
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| Distributed by | Eagle-Lion Classics Inc. |
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Release date
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Running time
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91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $5 million |
Destination Moon (a.k.a. Operation Moon) is a 1950 American Technicolor science fiction film, independently made by George Pal, directed by Irving Pichel, that stars John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, and Dick Wesson. The film was distributed in the United States and the UK by Eagle-Lion Classics.
With Destination Moon, George Pal produced the first major U.S. science fiction film to deal with the dangers inherent in human space travel and the possible difficulties of America's first lunar mission landing on and safely returning from our only satellite.
The film's premise is that U.S. private industry will mobilize, finance, and manufacture the first spacecraft to the Moon, while making the assumption that the U.S. government will then be forced to purchase or lease this new technology to remain the dominant power in space and on the Moon. Industrialists are shown cooperating to support the private venture. In the final scene, as the crew approaches the Earth, the traditional "The End" title card heralds the dawn of the coming Space Age: "This is THE END...of the Beginning".
When their latest rocket test fails and government funding collapses, rocket scientist Dr. Charles Cargraves (Warner Anderson) and space enthusiast General Thayer (Tom Powers) enlist the aid of aircraft magnate Jim Barnes (John Archer). With the necessary millions raised privately from a group of patriotic U. S. industrialists, Cargraves, Warner, and Barnes build an advanced single-stage-to-orbit atomic powered spaceship, named Luna, at their desert manufacturing and launch facility; the project is soon threatened by a ginned-up public uproar over "radiation safety". The three idealists circumvent legal efforts to stop their expedition by simply launching the world's first Moon mission well ahead of schedule; as a result, they must quickly substitute Joe Sweeney (Dick Wesson) as their expedition's radar and radio operator.
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