De la tierra a la luna

I recently picked up the DVD of this film for a look. I originally saw it in 1951 when it got to my town on the bottom of a double bill with the western of the day. At that young age, the screaming cave-girl was my most vivid memory, but I liked it. Also saw it maybe 20 years ago on VHS. Still pretty good. Lloyd Bridges was cool, underplayed the whole part. On this last viewing, it's still a good sci-fi flick but from a vastly different point of view. The science as since provided by the real rockets that have been put into space was fairly on the money, especially the two-stage rocket explanation. Since special effects are practically nil, the look is O.K. The fiction, on the other hand was way, way out there. Please note, that all instruments were manual and mechanical and calculations were done with pencil and paper. Not a digital instrument or computer in sight. The idea of doing the Mars locations in Sepia-tone was as brilliant as it was cheap, as well. Lloyd Bridges and Morris Ankrum were head and shoulders the most talented actors in the cast of otherwise good players. Ankrum especially ,always under-rated, could read a grocery list and make it sound important. It also didn't hurt that Kurt Neuman put the whole thing together, either. This film probably inspired in it's own way a lot of young people to explore science and space exploration for real.

Writer-Producer-Director Kurt Neumann put together an excellent ensemble cast, and accomplished having Lippert Pictures finance this $96,000 venture in 1950. This is a simple picture that works due to fine direction, players and technical staff. Karl Struss, one of Hollywood's most admired photographers, lensed the picture. One of the best known American composers, Ferde Grofe, wrote the musical score, and one reviewer found it more original than John Williams' STAR WARS score. Although the technical knowledge that exists today dates the picture somewhat, this picture is not campy because it has a serious tone to it, and most audiences key in on that. The original soundtrack recording of the score received an LP release on the Starlog label during the 70's. There are now moves underfoot to re-record the entire score for a CD release, possibly in 2001.

ROCKETSHIP XM received some updates in the 70s, when some new special effects scenes were shot and released on VHS. This version is currently available from video sources.

Some films are blessed (though the producers would argue) by having less money with which to work. "Rocketship X-M" (the initials represent "eXpedition Moon") relies therefore upon, ahem, a real Story, with Acting, rather than flash and effects. That's why a half-century later, the well-remembered "RX-M" has held up so well. (An analogy could be drawn with the co-incidental 1949-1955 television series "Captain Video and His Video Rangers", where the bulk of budget also went towards quality writers and cast.) John Emery is - surprise!- a good guy here.

Osa Massen, one of the screen's most photogenic stars ever, is radiant. The whole cast carries through the forgivable inconsistencies with style. Ferde Grofé's music takes us from exultant triumph to eerie mystery and, finally, into bitter realization of what the RX-M crew discovers, the utter waste of an entire civilization. (Remember the real-life "face" on Mars?) Grofé well-illustrates the withering madness in the crew's panicked escape and return attempt. And the final moments aboard the doomed RX-M are of the stuff that makes for great film. I saw this in theatrical release, and you, too, will find "Rocketship X-M" one of your most memorable. Highly recommended to all.

I low-rated this film for years -- but for all the wrong reasons. There's one key scene in the film, and if the viewer misses the point of this scene, the whole story seems ridiculous and badly done. Some sci-fi fans tend to reject stories that have a spiritual element in the plot. Don't reject this one until you've given it a fair chance. The story involves a lunar mission which suffers engine failure en route. After repairing the engines, the ship accelerates too fast, causing the crew to black out. When they regain consciousness, they discover that the ship is within a few hundred thousand miles of Mars. This is the part that used to bother me. How the heck could a ship accidentally go to Mars? The odds against this are about the same as the odds against evolution being true (oops, that different soap box. Continuing...) But the scientist in charge of the mission specifically states that the only way this could have happened was by the act of a `higher power'. Most reviews do not mention this important idea. The rocket did NOT accidentally go to Mars. You'll have to watch the movie to find out why the `higher power' brought them to Mars. Suffice it to say, the reason was good enough to have been copied by dozens of later films. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. And while your watching, keep your ears open for the great music by Ferde Grofe, with the very first use of a therimin in sci-fi films. During the 1970s, the rights to `Rocketship X-M' were bought by Wade Williams for $2,000 (what a deal!). He had seen the film as a child and loved it. Williams shot a series of redone special effects scenes which are now part of the prerecorded tape and DVD. He even makes an on-screen appearance as one of the characters in a long shot of the ship on the Martian surface. Consider the irony in this -- Williams saw the movie as kid, and LATER he actually appeared in it! Marty McFly, eat your heart out!

Despite what we would now consider laughable scientific goofs, this science-fiction film carried itself well as a dramatic film. The actors were all solid professionals. The Martian settings were believable. The sentiments, while a bit pretentious, were sincere and laudable. It was an early attempt at mature science-fiction and succeeded better than many more polished, but cynical efforts that came later on.