Missile to the Moon is a 1958 independently made that stars Richard Travis, Cathy Downs, and K. T. Stevens. The film was distributed by Astor Pictures and is a remake of an earlier Astor Pictures-distributed film, Cat-Women of the Moon (1953). Missile to the Moon was released in late 1958. It played theatrically on December 15, 1958 as a double feature with Cunha's Frankenstein's Daughter (1958).

A spaceship blasts off from Earth with five aboard, but one of them is secretly a Moon man returning home. He dies by accident during the trip to the Moon. What the remaining four find waiting for them when they arrive on the Moon is well beyond their expectations: huge rock creatures, giant lunar spiders, and a cave-dwelling civilization made up of beautiful women.

Plot

Two escaped convicts, Gary and Lon, are discovered hiding aboard a rocket by scientist Dirk Green, who then forces them to pilot the spaceship to the Moon. Dirk, who is secretly a Moon man, wants to return home. Dirk’s friend, Steve Dayton, and Steve’s fiancée, June Saxton, are aware that the vessel is getting ready to launch, so they go to the spacecraft to investigate. Unwittingly, they lock themselves in and become passengers when the ship takes off. During the flight, they encounter a meteor shower that results in Dirk receives a fatal head wound. Before he dies, Dirk asks Steve to remain on course, hands him a medallion, and tells him that upon landing he should seek forgiveness from “the Lido."

Cast

  • Richard Travis as Steve Dayton
  • Cathy Downs as June Saxton
  • K. T. Stevens as the Lido
  • Tommy Cook as Gary Fennell
  • Gary Clarke as Lon
  • Michael Whalen as Dirk Green
  • Nina Bara as Alpha
  • Laurie Mitchell as Lambda
  • Marjorie Hellen (Leslie Parrish) as Zema
  • Henry Hunter as Colonel Wickers
  • Lee Roberts as Sheriff Cramer
  • Pat Mowry as Moon girl
  • Tania Velia as Moon girl
  • Sanita Pelkey as Moon girl
  • Lisa Simone as Moon girl
  • Mary Ford as Moon girl
  • Marianne Gaba as Moon girl
  • Sandra Wirth as Moon girl

Production

Missile to the Moon was an even lower-budget remake of the low-budget science fiction film drama Cat-Women of the Moon (1953) and closely follows the plot details of that earlier feature.

The giant spider prop was wire-controlled from above; it is exactly the same "Moon spider" used five years earlier in Cat-Women of the Moon.

Nina Bara, in the role of the evil, scheming, back-stabbing Alpha, was familiar to genre audiences from her role as Tonga on the television series Space Patrol (1950-1955). Popular 1960s/1970s television and film star Leslie Parrish also co-stars, billed under her real name Marjorie Hellen.

Reception and legacy

The film is regarded as a drive-in camp classic. Film reviewer Glenn Erickson commented on DVD Talk that the film "is nobody's idea of a good movie ... a hoot, a real knee-slapper," but added "how can the worst space movie ever made, be the worst space movie ever made, if it's such a delight?" Writing in AllMovie, critic Paula Gaita described the film as "woefully cheap and naïve," but noted that it "offers a wealth of juvenile delights, with its improbable monsters, wonky science, and serial-style hidden civilization." A review of the film in TV Guide described it as "a third-rate science fiction picture" that is "bad enough for a laugh."

The film was twice spoofed on RiffTrax (first by Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater and Fred Willard, then by Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy who were also MST3K alumni).

See also

  • List of American films of 1958
  • List of killer arachnid films
  • B movie

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

  • Holston, Kim R. and Tom Winchester. Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Film Sequels, Series and Remakes: An Illustrated Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1997. .
  • Jalufka, Dona A., Christian Koeber, Cesare Barbieri and Francesca Rampazzi, eds. "Moonstruck: How Realistic Is The Moon Depicted In Classic Science Fiction Films?""Proceedings, Earth-Moon Relationships Padova, Italy: Springer, 2001. .
  • Johnson, John. Cheap Tricks and Class Acts: Special Effects, Makeup, and Stunts from the Films of the Fantastic Fifties. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1996. .
  • Strick, Philip. Science Fiction Movies. New York: Octopus Books Limited, 1976..
  • Warren, Bill. Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties, 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009. .
  • Original soundtrack for Missile to the Moon