Ned Roberts Assistant Producer was my Uncle. This week I was looking at old photographs... and found a few personal pictures of behind the scenes. Interesting.... thank you for having this 🎥 movie on UA-cam 😮
When I was a boy in the 1960s and the real effort to reach the Moon was unfolding before my eyes, I watched every one of these movies that attempted to visualize space travel as I could and found them compelling viewing. They have NOT aged well.
me too I was into this at age 12 in 1962. All my projects were about space ,my class mates were amazed,asked me questions,never stopped. wow I was busy.
This movie may be cheap but its post WW2 political stance is exact to period and very galvanizing...I can't think of any other Science Fiction film from this period where an African character has a key role, the aggressors from that conflict have been culturally rehabilitated and the Holocaust is referenced outright. Bravo.
@@electricelf-musicThere's an implicit argument that the way forward is to distance ourselves from the truth of the past, i.e. the Nazi doctor's son changing his name and "working so well" with the Israeli who's unaware of his real identity. Sounds more like conservative propaganda to me, a bit like banning so-called CRT. In any case it's all pretty surprising in this sort of film.
I love old movies, especially if the space ship has tons of floor space! We have birds, monkeys, cats and a dog too? And what in the world are those weird braids along the back of arms, and across the back, on "space suits"?
@@brianhiles8164 Those suits they were wearing were fighter pilot g suits from the 50s. They were laced up like a corset, that's the braids you see. Modern g suits still use this lacing on legs and waist, but they're hidden by a flap of nomex fabric. G-suits were and still are custom fit. Had to get one refit after gaining a few pounds on vacation.
The reason you see the stars through the rocket is a simple matter of budget: footage of the rocket was shot against a black background and then superimposed over a second length of footage - both probably packed into an optical printer and exposed against a third negative. To remove the stars would have require rotoscoping - a painstaking process where a black matte of the rocket travelling against a white background is created frame by frame. The rocket is exposed against this. I believe also the same matte would have to be used against the star background, as well. That a mere 8 years later The Discovery would she shown against those spectacular moving star fields in '2001' - it still looks freaking amazing today! - boggles the mind.
I couldn't help but notice...the hand held "flashlights" used in the cave had extension cords powering them. I liked the explanation as to why the helmets had no face shields. I did see a shield when the captain put his helmet on at 7:32 to 7:35. All in all, it's a pretty decent story for a low budget movie and considering what they thought at the time that made a good story. Hey! It's a space movie! We can't ignore it because we don't have that many.
12 to the Moon. "Starring an International Cast!" , yelled the cinema lobby cards. "Name us!" yelled the poor actors, "Or we won't go!" Very well then, but not all 12, ten who were doctors. There was Ken Clark, who played Captain Anderson (who??), British bloke Tom Conway (true brother of British bloke George Sanders), Anthony Dexter (best known for portraying Rudolph Valentino), Robert Montgomery Jr (son of you-know-who) and Francis X. Bushman (best known for appearing in the original silent version of Ben-Hur!). On the production side, there was David Bradley (who often directed Pete Smith Specialities - bleeearrgghhh!), De Witt Bodeen (writer of Cat People (1942) for Val Lewton NB don't tell John Carpenter that!) and John Alton (one of Hollywood's unsung photographic geniuses!). Oh, there was also special effects man Howard A. Anderson (formed his own group, Howard A. Anderson Co, and did some of the special effects for Jack the Giant Killer (1962)). Anyway, off these 12 go to the Moon, in their rocket. There is a model rocket, but the launching is stock footage of a real rocket. Well, it was done on a very low budget and it was for drive-in teenagers, who were looking for a cheap cinematic thrill, in those days! The story looks utterly absurd and silly, nowadays, and the audience sadly does not see the beings encountered on the Moon at all. Why not? Beings on the Moon, I hear you say, dear reader? Yup! Then again, this film was made in the days when many people still thought that the Moon, and other planets in the solar system, were inhabited by alien beings. The film is definitely watchable, but that's about all. Again, another of those curios from the past.
Wow... you know a lot about this film 🎥 My uncle Ned Roberts was in the crew ... I am a retiredelementaryschoolteacher..... I just found some old behind the scenes pictures amongst the tons of Memorabilia I inherited in Los Angeles County 🌴 Just researching for sale .... Any ideas on who would buy such items? You seem to know a lot Thank you 🤝 Miss Rosella 🌹
@@rosella0555 Hello, there. I got a lot of knowledge of this film, from a certain book written by a certain British bloke called Denis Gifford (sadly, now deceased). I am terribly sorry, but I would not really know who would buy those old behind the scenes pictures (apart from collectors of such memorabilia, that is). Sorry about that.
@@rosella0555 Regrettably not, Rosella, I am very sorry. By the way, I got a lot of information about this film from Denis Gifford's book: Things, Its and Aliens: Lobbycard posters from Sci-Fi shockers, as well as The Aurum Film Encyclopedia of Science Fiction films, by Phil Hardy. But it was nice to know that your Uncle Ned Roberts was in the crew.
Wow, they certainly cut some corners on this movie. I too saw it when it first came out and back then criticised it for running roughshod with scientific facts. Now I realise, of course, that having 'proper' spacesuits, and simulating the 1/6 Lunar gravity would have been beyond the poor studio's budget. They could have, however, afforded some thicker paper to make the space ship because you can see the background stars through the model (the launch sequence). Finally, one woman and 11 men....?? surely not a good look these days.
A international crew in 1960 can you imagine were the US and the world would be if it were true. I was 4 and already was a spaceman but by the time I entered the public school system and experienced racism full on my dreams dashed because I was just glad to make it home every day everyday.
The dog, cat, monkeys etc....their natural bodily functions could be problematic in zero G. And their helmets seems to be open to the vacuum of space....that could also be a problem.
They didn't, they bought it for distribution from independent because of public interest in the space race, Columbia began as Poverty Row with notoriously awful studio head, NO studio produced all classics, 1 reason Hollywood is called dream FACTORY.
Ned Roberts Assistant Producer was my Uncle.
This week I was looking at old photographs... and found a few personal pictures of behind the scenes.
Interesting.... thank you for having this 🎥 movie on UA-cam 😮
Wow, that's a cool fun fact! Glad you enjoy the movie :)
When I was a boy in the 1960s and the real effort to reach the Moon was unfolding before my eyes, I watched every one of these movies that attempted to visualize space travel as I could and found them compelling viewing. They have NOT aged well.
Well, they were made in a different time and decade, Joseph.
me too I was into this at age 12 in 1962. All my projects were about space ,my class mates were amazed,asked me questions,never stopped. wow I was busy.
Happy to see Muzaffer Tema a Turkish player RIP
just few seconds
I am Turkey.Muzaffer Tema Which minutes
ua-cam.com/video/l80n0zEPsdY/v-deo.htmlsi=aPzgFGsQYbHhey53
Muzaffer Tema Life
Not a bad movie at all I enjoyed it thank you glad it is in UA-cam😊❤
This movie may be cheap but its post WW2 political stance is exact to period and very galvanizing...I can't think of any other Science Fiction film from this period where an African character has a key role, the aggressors from that conflict have been culturally rehabilitated and the Holocaust is referenced outright. Bravo.
In other words, it is straight up American Liberal propaganda lol
@@electricelf-musicThere's an implicit argument that the way forward is to distance ourselves from the truth of the past, i.e. the Nazi doctor's son changing his name and "working so well" with the Israeli who's unaware of his real identity. Sounds more like conservative propaganda to me, a bit like banning so-called CRT. In any case it's all pretty surprising in this sort of film.
I love the dog walking around
I love old movies, especially if the space ship has tons of floor space! We have birds, monkeys, cats and a dog too?
And what in the world are those weird braids along the back of arms, and across the back, on "space suits"?
Spider webs, from _Space Spiders._
@@brianhiles8164 Those suits they were wearing were fighter pilot g suits from the 50s. They were laced up like a corset, that's the braids you see. Modern g suits still use this lacing on legs and waist, but they're hidden by a flap of nomex fabric. G-suits were and still are custom fit. Had to get one refit after gaining a few pounds on vacation.
The reason you see the stars through the rocket is a simple matter of budget: footage of the rocket was shot against a black background and then superimposed over a second length of footage - both probably packed into an optical printer and exposed against a third negative. To remove the stars would have require rotoscoping - a painstaking process where a black matte of the rocket travelling against a white background is created frame by frame. The rocket is exposed against this. I believe also the same matte would have to be used against the star background, as well. That a mere 8 years later The Discovery would she shown against those spectacular moving star fields in '2001' - it still looks freaking amazing today! - boggles the mind.
I like how the astronauts seemingly first met inside the spaceship xD
I couldn't help but notice...the hand held "flashlights" used in the cave had extension cords powering them. I liked the explanation as to why the helmets had no face shields. I did see a shield when the captain put his helmet on at 7:32 to 7:35. All in all, it's a pretty decent story for a low budget movie and considering what they thought at the time that made a good story. Hey! It's a space movie! We can't ignore it because we don't have that many.
Invisible electromagnetic ray shields. Very convenient!
Gotta love the high tech space ship back then, astronauts blasting off in the comforts of lawn chairs..
Agreed! Lawn chairs in outer space!
Well if pigs can fly, Kermit can ride a bicycle & The Muppets have already been there, why not? Science FIKSHUN.
They were chosen because they were easy to fold up and stow away.
고맙습니다 컬러라이징하면 무척 좋겠습니다
12 to the Moon. "Starring an International Cast!" , yelled the cinema lobby cards. "Name us!" yelled the poor actors, "Or we won't go!" Very well then, but not all 12, ten who were doctors. There was Ken Clark, who played Captain Anderson (who??), British bloke Tom Conway (true brother of British bloke George Sanders), Anthony Dexter (best known for portraying Rudolph Valentino), Robert Montgomery Jr (son of you-know-who) and Francis X. Bushman (best known for appearing in the original silent version of Ben-Hur!). On the production side, there was David Bradley (who often directed Pete Smith Specialities - bleeearrgghhh!), De Witt Bodeen (writer of Cat People (1942) for Val Lewton NB don't tell John Carpenter that!) and John Alton (one of Hollywood's unsung photographic geniuses!). Oh, there was also special effects man Howard A. Anderson (formed his own group, Howard A. Anderson Co, and did some of the special effects for Jack the Giant Killer (1962)). Anyway, off these 12 go to the Moon, in their rocket. There is a model rocket, but the launching is stock footage of a real rocket. Well, it was done on a very low budget and it was for drive-in teenagers, who were looking for a cheap cinematic thrill, in those days! The story looks utterly absurd and silly, nowadays, and the audience sadly does not see the beings encountered on the Moon at all. Why not? Beings on the Moon, I hear you say, dear reader? Yup! Then again, this film was made in the days when many people still thought that the Moon, and other planets in the solar system, were inhabited by alien beings. The film is definitely watchable, but that's about all. Again, another of those curios from the past.
Wow... you know a lot about this film 🎥
My uncle Ned Roberts was in the crew ...
I am a retiredelementaryschoolteacher..... I just found some old behind the scenes pictures amongst the tons of Memorabilia I inherited in
Los Angeles County 🌴
Just researching for sale ....
Any ideas on who would buy such items? You seem to know a lot
Thank you 🤝
Miss Rosella 🌹
@@rosella0555 Hello, there. I got a lot of knowledge of this film, from a certain book written by a certain British bloke called Denis Gifford (sadly, now deceased). I am terribly sorry, but I would not really know who would buy those old behind the scenes pictures (apart from collectors of such memorabilia, that is). Sorry about that.
@@matthewhyatt281
@@rosella0555 Regrettably not, Rosella, I am very sorry. By the way, I got a lot of information about this film from Denis Gifford's book: Things, Its and Aliens: Lobbycard posters from Sci-Fi shockers, as well as The Aurum Film Encyclopedia of Science Fiction films, by Phil Hardy. But it was nice to know that your Uncle Ned Roberts was in the crew.
Apologies - I forgot I had replied to your message already!
Wow, they certainly cut some corners on this movie. I too saw it when it first came out and back then criticised it for running roughshod with scientific facts. Now I realise, of course, that having 'proper' spacesuits, and simulating the 1/6 Lunar gravity would have been beyond the poor studio's budget. They could have, however, afforded some thicker paper to make the space ship because you can see the background stars through the model (the launch sequence). Finally, one woman and 11 men....?? surely not a good look these days.
Two women.
@@Madbandit77
@@Madbandit77 Hi Roy, thank you. - my brain probably glazed over....
A international crew in 1960 can you imagine were the US and the world would be if it were true. I was 4 and already was a spaceman but by the time I entered the public school system and experienced racism full on my dreams dashed because I was just glad to make it home every day everyday.
They got one thing right - 12 people went to the Moon.
And the name of the spacecraft too!!
Pool side chairs and all.... what a budget!!!!....the Japanese scientist is/ was hot!!!!
God - sorry about all the typos below - I need new glasses - but I think you can figure out what I was trying to say.
Smoke a blunt,go to the moon now!😅😅😅
25:32 One of the greatest B-movie science handwaves of all time.
it was amazing thnx
Space travel was much more refined 63 years ago. Where did we go wrong?
Leaving 🌎.
How many Gs can those lawn chairs withstand?
The lawn chairs cracked me up! 😂
Evidently all of 'em.
Using atomic power but there is still an exhaust spluttering like a skyrocket. What next.
Did that doctor learn to take blood pressure when she was on the moon?
The dog, cat, monkeys etc....their natural bodily functions could be problematic in zero G. And their helmets seems to be open to the vacuum of space....that could also be a problem.
Science FICTION, NOT a documentary.
Well, now I'm going to go and have a really great time watching some paint dry.
Why would Columbia Pictures produce such a crumby film?
They didn't, they bought it for distribution from independent because of public interest in the space race, Columbia began as Poverty Row with notoriously awful studio head, NO studio produced all classics, 1 reason Hollywood is called dream FACTORY.
Wow what a lame movie filled with one absurdity after another.
Thank goodness for USAF surplus.........