Creature Feature Crypt by Count Gore De Vol

The Space Race Hits the Drive-Ins

 

   At the end of World War 2, the demand for classic horror rapidly died out, as millions of servicemen began to return to civilian life.  The gothic nightmares that had terrified audiences in the early 1930s had lost their ability to frighten a generation of people who had experienced the true horrors of modern war, and were replaced by modern terrors such as atomic warfare and genocide.  Science, not superstition, was the new source of horror in a world where civilization could end in an afternoon.

Not everything to come out of the war’s technological advancements was negative, however.  Science also opened up exciting new possibilities for mankind, not the least of which was the exploration of space.  Nazi Germany had taken warfare to the edge of space with its V-2 rockets, and now the scientists who had built the Vergeltungswaffe (Retribution Weapon) program for Hitler were continuing their research as “guests” of the US and the Soviet Union, competing to put the first man into space, and return him safely to Earth.  This “Race for Space” captivated the public interest, and it was just a matter of time before some enterprising filmmaker would choose to explore that interest.

In 1950, George Pal was readying what was intended to be the first motion picture to realistically examine the difficulties inherent in man’s quest for the stars, and the risks attendant in that quest.  Entitled Destination Moon, and directed by Irving Pichel, the movie was little more than an advertisement for space exploration; had NASA been in existence at the time, it would’ve been required viewing by every job applicant to the agency.  Pal, known for his series of children’s films using stop-motion animation, dubbed “Puppetoons,” wanted absolute scientific realism for the film, even hiring noted astronomical artist Chesley Bonestell to produce the matte paintings used as the background for most of the effects shots.  Produced independently on a budget of $594,000, Destination Moon enjoyed moderate success, earning $1.3 million at the box office.

The essence of Exploitation film, however, is the aphorism that what one man can conceive, another can copy.  Taking advantage of the massive promotional campaign that Pal mounted for Destination Moon, as well as that film’s lengthy post-production process (though filming was completed in December of 1949, the movie wasn’t released until the 27th of June 1950) producer-director Kurt Neumann, working for low-budget Lippert Pictures, rushed a similarly-themed picture into production, with the goal of beating Destination Moon to the punch.  He collaborated on a script with Orville H. Hampton (with some scenes contributed by blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo), and began shooting on the 22nd of February 1950.

Eighteen days later, production was completed, and on the 26th of May, Rocketship X-M was in theaters, just over a month before Pal’s picture was released.  Where the producers of Destination Moon stressed scientific accuracy over every other consideration, including any measurable amount of excitement, Rocketship X-M was intended from the beginning to thrill audiences with action and adventure, even if that came at expense of credibility. 

Under the command of Project Director Dr. Ralph Fleming (Morris Ankrum), the first manned space launch is being prepared for a journey to the moon.  The crew consists of Dr. Carl Eckstrom (John Emery), the designer of the X-M rocket and its commander; Col. Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), pilot; Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen), the expedition’s chemist; Maj. Bill Corrigan (Noah Beery, Jr.), the ship’s engineer; and Harry Chamberlain (Hugh O’Brian), the navigator and astronomer.  The launch and first part of the trip to the moon goes well; however, when they jettison the 1st stage of the rocket, it begins running away, causing them to take evasive measures.  Things settle back to routine operation, but another problem soon crops up.  The engines shut down without explanation, leaving them drifting in space, halfway between the Earth and the moon.

The two scientists begin calculations to correct the problem, but a conflict arises when Dr. Eckstrom’s figures don’t match those of Dr. Van Horn.  Lisa is convinced that Eckstrom is wrong—he’s tired, and has made a crucial error.  Eckstrom, however, is just as certain that the error was Van Horn’s, and ascribes it to her feminine emotions.  This ends the debate, and the calculations proceed using Eckstrom’s figures—figures which are unfortunately, erroneous.  His miscalculation sends the X-M careening out of control, and on course to the red planet—Mars.

While both Destination Moon and Rocketship X-M illustrate the hazards and difficulties inherent in Man’s initial explorations into space, the latter film is by far the more pessimistic of the two.  Destination Moon presents these hazards as challenges to be overcome by American ingenuity and industry; indeed, it is implied that success in this endeavor is part of the overall fight against Communism and tyranny.  Rocketship X-M, however, seems to say to the viewer that Man simply isn’t ready to reach for the stars, that rather than challenges to be overcome, the dangers of space travel are barriers that should encourage humanity to look inward, to solve its own problems without looking for others on other worlds.

In terms of Exploitation film, Rocketship X-M is a textbook example of how to seize an idea that is on the cusp of becoming the next big thing, an idea that others have invested time, money, and effort into perfecting, and capitalizing on it for your own profit.  Neumann and Lippert did this to George Pal’s Destination Moon, transforming Pal’s straightforward, almost documentarian examination of Mankind’s first tentative steps into outer space into a thrilling, if less than realistic, alternative view of those first steps.

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