DESTINATION MOON (FULL SCREEN)

Details

• Release Year: 1950
• Genre: Adventure, Drama, Science-Fiction
• Plot: Industrialist John Archer, former Army general Tom Powers and research scientist Warner Anderson collaborate on a manned rocketship with an atomic engine, convinced that the nation that militarily controls the Moon controls the Earth as well. But as their work crews construct the spaceship 'Luna' in the Mojave Desert, insidious foreign-inspired propaganda turns the tide of public opinion against them. Realizing that the project's enemies can use the law to halt the launch, Archer, Powers, Anderson and electronics technician Dick Wesson decide to make a hasty pre-dawn liftoff in the untested rocket - Destination Moon!; ; Years before the first U.S. satellites were launched, and nearly two decades before Man first set foot on the lunar surface, George Pal's Destination Moon depicted these future events with a high degree of technical accuracy - and opened the floodgates of '50s Science Fiction.; ; Producer George Pal assembled an impressive roster of behind-the-camera talent — including noted science fiction author Robert Heinlein and artist Chelsey Bonestell — for this pioneering sci-fi adventure. Scientist Dr. Charles Cargraves (Warner Anderson), former Air Force General Thayer (Tom Powers), and industrial tycoon Jim Barnes (John Archer) believe that it's time that the U.S. blazed new trails and found new adventures. Convinced that exploration of space is the wave of the future (and that America's dominance in space is vitally important if they are to continue to dominate the Earth), the three men begin planning and constructing a spaceship called 'Luna' in the Mojave Desert that will take the men to the moon and back. However, anti-American forces begin flooding the press with propaganda against the moon mission, and finally the men make their way to moon without the aid of the federal government. While the men are thrilled to succeed in their mission, it turns out that they miscalculated the amount of fuel needed to return — and that the rocket needs to drop a lot of weight if it is to return to Earth. Destination Moon won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects of 1950; the film also features a brief appearance by cartoon favorite Woody Woodpecker, who helps explain how rockets work.;
• Cast: John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson, Erin O'Brien-Moore, Grace Stafford, Franklyn Farnum, Everett Glass, Kenner G. Kemp, Knox Manning, Mike Miller, Irving Pichel, Bert Stevens, Ted Warde
• Director: Irving Pichel
• Runtime: 1:32
• Company: George Pal Productions
• Media Format: Movie