Tag: Outer Space
by Oscar on Jul.18, 2009, under TV Reviews
On TCM: 40th anniversary of lunar landing dedicated to to space-based films.
On Monday, July 20th, TV network Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will honor the historic first moon landing by airing an all day marathon of moon related SciFi films. many of them are yawners but, for a SciFi fan like myself, it would still be worth watching a few and TiVo-ing the rest. Below is a listing by time with a brief description:
3 a.m. “They Came From Beyond Space” (1967)
Aliens crash land on the moon, they try to use scientists from earth as slaves to to help fix their ship. But one of the scientists has a metal plate in his head and he cannot be controlled by the Aliens. Based on the Novel “The Gods Hate Kansas”. Written by Dylan Conner
4:30 a.m. “From the Earth to the Moon” (1958)
Set just after the American civil war, businessman and inventor Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotton) invents a new source of power called Power X. He plans to use it to power rockets, and to show its potential he plans to send a projectile to the moon. Joining him for the trip are his assistant Ben Sharpe (Don Dubbins), Barbicane’s arch-rival Stuyvesant Nicholl (George Sanders), and Nicholl’s daughter Virginia (Debra Pagent). Nicholl believes that Power X goes against the will of God and sabotages the projectile so that they cannot return to earth, setting up a suspenseful finale as they battle to repair the projectile.
6:30 a.m. “First Men in the Moon” (1964)
Going back in time to 1899, Arnold Bedford and his fiancée, Kate Callendar, learn that their neighbor, Joseph Cavor, has developed a substance he calls “cavorite,” which counters gravity. They travel to the moon in a spherical vessel he has built, parts of which are coated with “cavorite.”
8:30 a.m. “12 to the Moon” (1960)
An international team embarks on an expedition to the moon in an uncommonly spacious rocket ship. There they encounter a faceless alien intelligence who conclude that the human race is too immature and dangerous and must be destroyed.
10 a.m. “Destination Moon” (1950)
One of the first science fiction films to attempt a high level of accurate technical detail tells the story of the first trip to the moon. A private businessman arranges for an expedition to the moon before the Russians get there first. The American astronauts fly there, establish a base, but are not certain they have enough fuel to return to Earth.
Noon. “The Mouse on the Moon” (1963)
Sequel to The Mouse that Roared; The Tiny Country of Grand Fenwick has a hot water problem in the castle. To get the money necessary to put in a new set of plumbing, they request foreign aid from the U.S. for Space Research. The U.S. and Soviets get wind of the impending launch and try and beat them to the moon.
1:30 p.m. “Have Rocket, Will Travel” (1959)
A “Three Stooges” movie. Enough said!
3 p.m. “Moon Pilot” (1962)
A Disney production: An Air Force captain inadvertently volunteers to make the first manned flight around the moon. He immediately falls under the watchful protection of various security agencies, but despite all their precautions, a young woman who may be an enemy spy succeeds in making contact with the captain. The captain eventually discovers that this woman is not an enemy but rather a friend from a very unusual source.
5:15 p.m. “For All Mankind” (1989)
This movie documents the Apollo missions perhaps the most definitively of any movie under two hours. Al Reinert watched all the footage shot during the missions–over 6,000,000 feet of it, and picked out the best. Instead of being a newsy, fact-filled documentary. Reinart focuses on the human aspects of the space flights.
7 p.m. “The Right Stuff” (1983)
Indisputably, the best of the films offered by TCM. Tom Wolfe’s book on the history of the U.S. Space program reads like a novel, and the film has that same fictional quality. It covers the breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager to the Mercury 7 astronauts, showing that no one had a clue how to run a space program or how to select people to be in it. Thrilling, funny, charming and electrifying all at once.
10:30 p.m. “Marooned” (1969)
Three marooned astronauts. Only 55 minutes left to rescue them. While the whole world watches and waits…
12:45 a.m. “Capricorn One” (1978)
Classic conspiracy tale about the first manned mission to Mars. All appears to be going well until the astronauts are pulled off the ship just before launch by shadowy government types and whisked off to a film studio in the desert. It transpires that the space vehicle has a major defect which NASA just dare not admit.
