Rocketship X-M

Released in 1950, Rocketship X-M (eXpedition Moon) portrays the first manned attempt to reach the moon. Well-made on a small budget, this excellent film is not to be confused with the many low budget flying saucer creature-features to follow throughout the 50s.

The story begins with a press conference -- only minutes before launch, where members of the press are first told of the secret plans to go to the moon, and introduced to the crew of four men and one woman. When a reporter asks about having a woman on the crew, expedition leader Dr. Karl Eckstrom (John Emery) explains that Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen) is the best qualified person for the job as she is the chemist who developed the rocket fuel, which must be monitored closely during flight. The rest of the crew includes astronomer Harry Chamberlain (Hugh O'Brian), pilot Col. Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), and engineer Maj. William Corrigan (Noah Beery Jr.).

The ship is launched, and after several maneuvers, each requiring a change in the fuel mixture, the ship successfully leaves Earth orbit and heads for the Moon. Once under way, however, the engines stop unexpectedly. A fuel problem is suspected, and Drs. Eckstrom and Van Horn begin a tedious pencil and paper recalculation of the fuel mixture. This is where trouble starts. When Dr. Van Horn finds a mistake in Dr. Eckstrom's calculations, he simply overrules her objections, chiding her for being an emotional female -- even though she is a chemist and the fuel expert.

When the engines are restarted with the new fuel mixture the thrust is so great the crew blacks out from acceleration. They regain consciousness days later to find they are now near Mars, having overshot the Moon by several million miles! Naturally, they decide to explore Mars while they are there. What they find is the ruins of an advanced civilization, evidently destroyed by nuclear war, and a few mutant savages. "From the atomic age to the stone age", Dr. Eckstrom observes sadly. After exploring the ruins they agree they must warn Earth of the dangers of atomic war, but are attacked by rock-throwing savages on their way back to the ship. I don't want to give away the ending, which will come as a surprise to many viewers, but not everyone makes it back.

To put this 1950 release into historical perspective: the first atom bomb was dropped in 1945, Sputnik was launched in 1957, John Glenn orbited the Earth in 1962, and the first manned Moon mission was not until 1969 -- almost 20 years after the film was made.

Rocketship X-M was made in the early days of the cold war and does not yet have the pro-military attitude so often seen in later films, where scientists were depicted as idealistic dreamers who must be kept in check by practical military men. In fact, it it quite clear that this is a civilian expedition, with Dr. Eckstrom in charge from beginning to end -- setting this film apart from run of the mill 50s space movies.

Many viewers have complained that the film portrays a typical 50s attitude toward women. I disagree. Dr. Lisa Van Horn is not a weak bimbo, nor does she wear dark rimmed glasses. She does not scream, even once, nor does she need to be rescued from anything. She is a competent scientist and crew member who fulfills her duties with ease. Rather, it is some of the male crew members, mainly Lloyd Bridges' pilot, who insist on treating her as "a woman". When the pilot talks about getting her under the moonlight, Lisa informs him that she already has moonlight experiences of her own. And remember, she was right about the fuel calculations!

Despite a low budget, the film's writing, acting, direction and photography are all at a high level of professionalism. Live action shot in a desert is combined effectively with studio matte shots to portray the Martian landscape. The use of sepia toning (reddish brown) is a clever way of differentiating Martian scenes from the rest of the black and white film. The science is way off -- there seems to have been little effort to get it right, but that does not detract from the otherwise high level of story telling. The characters are believable, if somewhat stereotyped -- the folksy Texan, for example.

This well made, thought provoking film belongs in the collection of everyone interested in 1950s science fiction films. The print used to master the DVD (Image Entertainment) is clear and sharp, and the sound is fine.

This film beat the more highly publicized Destination Moon into the theatres in 1950 and thus kicked off the tidal wave of science-fiction movies that followed. It may not have been as realistic as the latter, but it was sure as heck a lot more fun. Despite some really hokey dialog and wildly improbable developments (aim for the moon, but hit Mars!), Rocketship does what every good movie should-- it holds interest throughout.

The opening scene is especially impressive with its well-stocked news conference and especially the booming countdown to blast-off. Already there's an air of thrills to come. Sure, the characters are a collection of movie stereotypes-- the jet jockey (Bridges), the likable yokel (Beery Jr.), the sexy scientist (Massen), the stern chief (Emery), and the rather unsteady engineer (O' Brien). Nonetheless, each is played with conviction, and in a real casting coup, there's the lordly Morris Ankrum back at command central.

Lippert Pictures was a budget-minded company to put it kindly. Thus it's to producer-writer-director Kurt Neumann's credit that he gets so much out of the material. Note the early scene where the crew climbs up to the control compartment. The opening shot of the rocketship interior could have simply placed the crew already in that central compartment and saved money. But it doesn't. Instead Neumann has the crew climb through the rather impressive guts of the ship, thereby creating a more believable and eye-catching transport. It's touches like this that help compensate for the occasional triteness.

Speaking of touches, how well I remember audience reaction to the Martian girl when she opened her eyes to reveal two blanks. The audience let out a collective shriek. Of course, that was 1950, and still a long time before today's super-sophisticated special effects. But I doubt if any of today's effects produced a stronger reaction than those two all-white lenses. (Question-- is that lipstick I see on the girl in this 1976 enhanced version?)

There's also a subtle subtext in the movie's latter half. 1949 was the year the Soviets first tested an atomic bomb, thus establishing the possibility of the Cold War going nuclear. Note the pointed comments crew members make about the destructive potential of radioactivity once they discover its effects on the Martian civilization. That would appear to be writer Neumann making some timely observations on a menace then beginning to emerge. On a similar note, Ankrum's closing insistence that space exploration must proceed despite an ill-fated first effort is years ahead of its time, and likely the first such declaration in the movies or any other popular medium. Then too, it was rather gutsy to crash the survivors on their way back to Earth. That unhappy ending warned audiences of the human cost that exploration would inevitably take.

Setting aside the strictly commercial aspects (the hokey romance, for one), the movie does a lot better than would normally be expected of a Lippert production, becoming rather prophetic in its own modest way. I think that's one reason for both the movie's cult status and general durability long after most contemporaries have faded away. I can't say that whatever changes the 1976 enhancements made on the original print are that noticeable on my new copy. But, then again, maybe that's a good thing. Rocketship X-M remains a minor milestone to this day.

What an absolutely great way to spend an evening. These older Sci-Fi movies are gems. Sure...they can't touch todays computer generated spectaculars...but they are great just the same. Those guys did a great job with what they had to work with. Spend an evening watching this movie and some of Ray Harryhausen's work...then you'll realize just where the "Force" came from!

Ferde Grofe, certainly one of the best known American symphonic composers, was hired to write the music score for ROCKETSHIP X-M. He was paid $1500 to turn in what may be the best sci-fi score for the movies. When you watch the film, tune in to the heroic main title (which is repeated, in part, later), the "weightless" sound in certain scenes, the romantic theme for Floyd and Lisa, and the eerie sound as the crew discovers they are headed for Mars. After the landing, Grofe uses part of some music he wrote for his "Symphony in Steel," and combines it with the use of the Theremin to create an unworldly sound indeed. On the trip back, the solar opera aspect of this movie is emphasized with the music setting the exact mood it should do for the tragedies encountered. This is a great score, worthy of re-recording in today's sound.
And, if you want to hear another score Grofe wrote for the same studio (Lippert) in 1950, get a copy of THE RETURN OF JESSE JAMES, another worthy listen.

If you listen to the music for the movie it sounds like a grand adventure is taking place and then it all ends on a crash of sour notes. What do I mean? Well, they embark on the grand adventure of being the first ones to take ship for the moon--and wind up on mars. On their way back they crash...just like the music. I liked it. It shows just how serious people took the possibilitly of space flight back in the early fiftys.

PROS:

1. None of the attempted indept characterization you usually get in todays movies where you have fifty main characters and only two hours to tell each ones' story--they use that for filler today, somebody told those
hacks in Hollywood it was good writing. No, 77 minutes of short, sweat, and to the point. They do use characterization but they don't use it as filler.

2. An interesting idea and the actors are acting.

3. The required meteor swarm--all science fiction movies seem to have them. I seem to remember they put them in because they really didn't know what else bad could happen to you up there. (Just remember, I didn't say Heinlein wrote this.)

4. Through a twist or two of fate they wind up making a landing on Mars. By the way, its starts raining when they stop. I think someone should have muttered '...ionizing the atmosphere as we came down....' might have passed the pop science of the day.

5. Another interesting thing was they discovered life on Mars and it had been destroyed by atomic wars. The question was if a big meteor had smashed them...no everything is being radiated so it was war destroyed them.

six. They find the destroyed remains of a civilization. Interesting in that they pick up a few objects and look at them. What were they...who knows? You remember the time machine with Rod Taylor and how the spinning rings were a big interesting thing and help make the movie because they told of how it all happened. Well, the artifacts are that kind of 'interesting'. Too bad there were not more. I figured that first one they uncovered was a tomb stone.

7. They find the remainder of the humanoid-like people of Mars. The one who threw the ax and killed the scientiest appeared to still have blisters on his back and the girls is blind. Obviously the dying remainder of the thousand year dead civilization still live close to their nuclear blasted cities. I've got to tell you all, this is actually original stuff for hollywood. Despite having rain, dry gulches that must sometimes have water, human like people, no space suits and a space ship capable of reaching Mars -- using chemical rockets-- but less than a hundred feet tall...it is still interesting. I guess it's that short, sweat, and to the point thing.

I don't think I'll tell you any more and ruin it for you.

CONS:

1. Humm. I don't find movies that are dead serious cheezy or campy...this movie is 'dead serious'.

Therefore, I give this movie five stars because they tried hard to make it a serious movie with limited facts about the surface of Mars. The actors did a fine job, the idea is fine and interesting and carried out seriously. No, I don't think more money would have helped. No, they need more information about space, acceleration, and the surface of Mars.
All sins are forgiven, it is a fine movie and should be view as science fiction drama. No popcorn this time...I think I'll read the bible.

I meant to give it five stars, not four--thanks Karen!

BYE!