In the early 50s, the idea of rockets carrying mankind into space began to look attainable and practical. Space was not just for fantasy anymore. Some of the best movies to first explore and pioneer the science fiction of space travel were classics like Destination Moon, When Worlds Collide, and of course Rocketship X-M.
Genre conventions quickly emerged, which today are enjoyable to watch for as the movie plays. Overarching elements like benevolent governments (or UN), committees, scientists and industrialists are integral to the venture. Experts hold conferences, and if you are really lucky, they will show off a blueprint of the rocketship. The rocketship will usually be a cigar-shaped variant of a German V-2, and will almost always be silver in color. There will also be some semi-solid science mixed in with some really loopy notions about space travel.
The crew of the rocketship is usually a blend of scientists, military types, hot-shot alpha males (one or two), and for reasons that probably only made sense in the 50s, a 'regular Joe' kind of character for comic relief (but oh boy is it painful to watch now). Usually an attractive and single woman scientist is present, but no matter what credentials she carries she will be patronized or upstaged by a male at some point, and almost always she will serve coffee to the men (with a smile). Oh yeah, and in the end, one of the alpha males will want to marry her.
Other conventions to watch for include the blast-off and its effects on the crew, a few odds and ends become weightless (much to the surprise and delight of the crew), a meteor shower will threaten the ship, and often there will be a space walk along the hull of the ship (with the camera rotated 90 degrees of course).
If you enjoy watching for the above elements, congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of science fiction movies, circa 1950s. I love this stuff.
In Rocketship X-M the rocket is based on a 1949 Life magazine moonship design. We get to see the blueprint of the rocket, we learn that it is two stage (as was Life's proposed rocket). Look for bits of V-2 footage on the takeoff and landing of the rocket, but otherwise the special effects look okay. In this movie, great attention is paid to the fuel mixture (from several types of fuel carried on board) and calculations involving that mixture. We learn that these calculations require several hours, and are done by pencil and paper! At one point the crew has to physically alter fuel connections in the fuel bay, which is kind of a cool scene.
Rocketship X-M is clearly a classic. As such, it contains many of the genre elements. But in all honesty, the movie drags somewhat because it tries to be so serious and as a 21st century audience member, you just about fall off your chair at the really bizarre and messed up notions of science. But hang in there, it has a great story. The rocket is attempting a flight to the moon, but it goes off course and ends up at Mars (OMG). The crew explores Mars all decked out in obsolete Army surplus gear from WWII (including gas masks), they make an important discovery (Mars looks very cool with the red tone), and attempt to head back to earth to tell the world the crucial lessons they learned to benefit mankind. But do they have enough fuel to get back? Will Lloyd Bridges break down the scientist woman's icy professionalism and get her to fall in love with him?
Genre conventions quickly emerged, which today are enjoyable to watch for as the movie plays. Overarching elements like benevolent governments (or UN), committees, scientists and industrialists are integral to the venture. Experts hold conferences, and if you are really lucky, they will show off a blueprint of the rocketship. The rocketship will usually be a cigar-shaped variant of a German V-2, and will almost always be silver in color. There will also be some semi-solid science mixed in with some really loopy notions about space travel.
The crew of the rocketship is usually a blend of scientists, military types, hot-shot alpha males (one or two), and for reasons that probably only made sense in the 50s, a 'regular Joe' kind of character for comic relief (but oh boy is it painful to watch now). Usually an attractive and single woman scientist is present, but no matter what credentials she carries she will be patronized or upstaged by a male at some point, and almost always she will serve coffee to the men (with a smile). Oh yeah, and in the end, one of the alpha males will want to marry her.
Other conventions to watch for include the blast-off and its effects on the crew, a few odds and ends become weightless (much to the surprise and delight of the crew), a meteor shower will threaten the ship, and often there will be a space walk along the hull of the ship (with the camera rotated 90 degrees of course).
If you enjoy watching for the above elements, congratulations and welcome to the wonderful world of science fiction movies, circa 1950s. I love this stuff.
In Rocketship X-M the rocket is based on a 1949 Life magazine moonship design. We get to see the blueprint of the rocket, we learn that it is two stage (as was Life's proposed rocket). Look for bits of V-2 footage on the takeoff and landing of the rocket, but otherwise the special effects look okay. In this movie, great attention is paid to the fuel mixture (from several types of fuel carried on board) and calculations involving that mixture. We learn that these calculations require several hours, and are done by pencil and paper! At one point the crew has to physically alter fuel connections in the fuel bay, which is kind of a cool scene.
Rocketship X-M is clearly a classic. As such, it contains many of the genre elements. But in all honesty, the movie drags somewhat because it tries to be so serious and as a 21st century audience member, you just about fall off your chair at the really bizarre and messed up notions of science. But hang in there, it has a great story. The rocket is attempting a flight to the moon, but it goes off course and ends up at Mars (OMG). The crew explores Mars all decked out in obsolete Army surplus gear from WWII (including gas masks), they make an important discovery (Mars looks very cool with the red tone), and attempt to head back to earth to tell the world the crucial lessons they learned to benefit mankind. But do they have enough fuel to get back? Will Lloyd Bridges break down the scientist woman's icy professionalism and get her to fall in love with him?