Destination Moon/ Flight to Mars — Destination Moon/ Flight to Mars( Blu Ray)

Destination Moon is a 1950 science fiction movie directed by Irving Pichel (Dracula’s Daughter, The Most Dangerous Game and Tomorrow Is Forever) and based on the novel by scriptwriter Robert. A. Heinlein, Rocket Ship Galileo, which was originally released in 1947. The film stars John Archer (King of the Zombies, Blue Hawaii and I Saw What You Did), Warner Anderson (Blackboard Jungle, The Violent Men and Command Decision), Tom Powers (Double Indemnity, The Blue Dahlia and Angel and the Badman), Dick Wesson (Calamity Jane, The Desert Song and Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison), and Erin O’Brien Moore (Phantom of the Rue Morgue, Green Light and The Plough and the Stars).

Destination Moon is the first American sci-fi movie to deal with the possibilities of space travel. After suffering the failure of a rocket test and having government funding pulled, Dr Charles Cargraves (Anderson) and General Thayer (Powers) enlist the support of aircraft baron Jim Barnes (Archer). The three men, through private money they have raised, build a spaceship called Luna. However, when the launch is put under threat due to worries over radiation safety, they just move it forward and take off before the authorities can stop them. What follows is a tense and thrilling race to the moon featuring moon walks on the outside of the craft and the fear of not having enough fuel to return home.

Destination Moon is a really solid movie, loosely based on the aforementioned Heinlein novel, with a script co-written by him. It features some pretty sound scientific ideas and some not so sound ones too, however, it is an engaging and fascinating look at what people thought space travel would be like in the years before it happened. The cast are great, and it looks pretty fabulous for its age. The print itself is clear, and the colours are really vibrant. On top of that, you truly get sucked into the simple story of four men making the first manned flight to the moon and the dilemmas they face along the way.

Disc two features the bonus movie, Flight to Mars, a 1951 sci-fi movie directed by Lesley Selander (Traffic in Crime, The Pilgrim Lady and Ride ‘Em Cowboy). The film stars Marguerite Chapman (Seven Year Itch, Coroner Creek and Charlie Chan at the Wax Museum), Cameron Mitchell (High Chaparral, Night Train to Terror and Island of Mutations), Arthur Franz (The Caine Mutiny, Monster on the Campus and Abbot and Costello Meet the Invisible Man) and Virginia Huston (Out of the Past, Tarzan and the Jungle Queen and Flamingo Road).

This one is about the first manned mission to Mars. Five astronauts, led by physicist Dr Lane (Jim Litel), successfully manage to fly to Mars, where they are greeted by a seemingly peaceful and sophisticated population. The Earth crew are taken to a vast underground civilisation which is supported by life support systems fuelled by a mineral called Corium. However, Corium deposits are becoming depleted, and the Martians are trying to find a way off Mars, and our group of astronauts and their ship may well provide them with a way out.

Flight to Mars is a fun sci-fi movie, and while it is far more fantastical and silly than Destination Moon, it is still a good watch. Considering it was shot in just five days and used the sets from the previous year’s Rocketship X-M, it is a pretty spectacular achievement. The cast are solid, and the whole thing works so much better than it has any right to do so.

Overall, this package is very solid: two fun movies lovingly restored and drawn from 4k scans; both films feature a commentary with Justin Humphreys, and we get three documentaries, two from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures concerning the titles in question and one looking at the career of legendary producer Walter Mirisch. The discs come with a comprehensive booklet featuring an essay and production photos on Destination Moon. Fans of classic sci-fi will find lots to enjoy here watching these two early 50s classics. The new 4k scans of both movies really do make them look better than ever. If you check these out, you can expect plenty of fun, with some wild sci-fi frolics.