12 to the Moon

I remember having seen "12 to the Moon" in theatrical release in the 1960's, the last hurrah of the matinees on Saturdays. While many of the "gen-X-ers" would not truly understand the times and feelings of the era, we "baby-boomers" were there, and shared in the fun and excitement of the times, and the thrill of going into a theater as a young person to see even a not-so-good sci-fi flick. "12 To The Moon" was, as I recall, another one of those "dislocated dramas". By that I mean--it took place on the Moon, but concentrated more on human elements than on actual science. It did not take itself seriously, and was un-ashamedly released strictly for entertainment value, as were 95% of the flicks of that era. The US had not yet conquered space, let alone the moon, in 1960. It was an era of expectation, anticipation, and discovery. The scene that still haunts me from the film is the ill-fated space voyager who dies in a form of "lunar-quicksand". The others are virtually helpless to assist their fellow traveler. There is a warmth and an empathy present in the sci-fi flicks of that era that is not present in to-day's "in your face" media and world. In those days, "attitude on a stick" was equated with a flawed, or even evil character, and required redemption on the part of the

"attitu-dee"..that is to say, the one who has the attitude. I don't remember a lot of the film, not having seen it since I was in third or fourth grade. But audiences then got a lot from a little, and what was unspoken or not shown spoke volumes over that which was more conspicuous.

Looking decidedly limp next to its colorful cofeature, Toho's "Battle in Outer Space," Columbia's 1959 "12 to the Moon" was shot independently in just 8 days on a budget of $150,000, from producer Fred Gebhardt, responsible for "The Phantom Planet" two years later (using two actors from this film, Francis X. Bushman and Anthony Dexter). Scientists from a dozen different nations form an international expedition to the moon aboard the Lunar Eagle 1, taking off at 9 minutes, reaching their destination at 24 minutes (mostly concerned with meteor showers along the way). The lunar surface provides the film's most elaborate set, dodging small fissures, finding gold, two people going missing after a tender moment in a cave, another falling victim to quicksand. The nine survivors receive cryptic messages in hieroglyphics from the citizens of the Moon, lifting off for home at 51 minutes, only to dodge more meteors before finding North America encased in an icy prison, all the inhabitants in a state of suspended animation. For all its tediously sober moments early on, the picture descends into juvenile fantasy by its conclusion, the Moon men enjoying a change of heart to welcome all future expeditions. The main screenwriter is DeWitt Bodeen, virtually at the end of his career, quite a surprise considering his pedigree (Val Lewton's "Cat People" and "The Seventh Victim" both featuring Tom Conway), while director David Bradley sadly earned raspberries for his mishandling of 1963's "The Madmen of Mandoras," later reworked into the even worse "They Saved Hitler's Brain," undoubtedly a head of its time! Tom Conway's casting as the Russian seemed rather appropriate as he and younger brother George Sanders were actually born in St. Petersburg, and stalwart Ken Clark ("Attack of the Giant Leeches") is the American captain (the only other recognizable veteran is John Wengraf). A movie not well thought out and certainly not well remembered.

Let me just say first, that it was a very noble idea for the moon to be explored as a global effort. They had representatives of many nations and even a black man and two women! (Actually pretty bold ideas at the time.) And even in the midst of the Red scare, they had a Russian, who, despite being a jerk, stops another European from sabotaging a mission to save the U.S. Yes, the movie seems to have been made with noble intentions towards world peace. That said, this is one big turkey. First, no one involved with the movie had any idea about what the moon and space were really like. (They have steam coming out of craters, and several clusters of meteors just between earth and the moon.) Second, the SFX are pitiful. (The ship at times has visible strings, and at one point a stick. The moon also appears to have Stage lights at one point.) These ingredients makes it a fairly awful movie. My recommendation? Watch the MST3K version and applaud the good intent but laugh at how awful everything else is.

A slapdash screenplay filled with random emergencies, 15 second solutions, random melodrama and emotional outbursts, and worse than usual unscientific "science" cripple what is nonetheless an optimistic effort.

The ship boasts a pre-Star Trek multicultural crew, but even here the screenwriters can't resist making the African man the superstitious one, and the Japanese woman the one who is capable of on-the-spot translation of hieroglyphics which "resemble Chinese" characters.

Still, it is an interesting effort within the context of the international space race, and worth 75 minutes for fans of that era's matinee science fiction culture.

This movie has been misunderstood and slammed by some of the reviewers. At the time of the production in 1959, we still didn't even know exactly what the Earth looked like from space! All we had were a pitiful few almost useless "trophy" satellites careening around the Earth... Martians and intelligent life on Venus were still open topics for scientific discussion! It was a great time for speculation and open-minded thought. And on the other hand, the Cold War era movies always had to have a political morality issue thrown in... they actually still tried to put values into their work. Todays audiences should be proud to stand on the shoulders of the people who built the world they have the luxury of spitting on. It's actually pretty cool to watch the maker's conception of future space exploration. It's a shame we are too prejudiced to share their dream for an hour or so. The rocket may resemble a butane lighter and the meteors may not be real, but hey... it's an old movie!!! Get a grip on yourself and a bowl of popcorn and enjoy this piece of pre-spaceflight speculation for what it is.