LeonLouisRicci Historically Important in the History of Film. Also, NASA, for Obvious Reasons, Loved this Movie and to this Day give it Credit for Influencing the Government and the Public. It was Prescient and did Prognosticate the Space Race and America's Need to get with the Program.For Hollywood it was the First Movie with a Few Odd Exceptions like Metropolis (1927), and Things to Come (1936), to Utilize Science-Fiction as a Theme in a Big-Budget, Production that wasn't a Serial Aimed at the Kids. This was a Gallant Effort and not at all a Safe Venture, both Financially and Artistically.Released in 1950 it Virtually Created the Sci-Fi Genre in Films as we Know it Today. It Strived for Accuracy Foremost and its Imagination was in the Concept more than the Execution. if it wasn't Scientifically Feasible, or at Least Theoretical it wasn't Shown. The Result was a Strain on Entertainment Value, but it made up for it with a Grandiose Vision Firmly Grounded in Political Reality and the Emergence, mostly because of the War, in the Acceleration of Industrial and Scientific Technology. Producer George Pal's Vision, Robert Heinlein's Literary Skills, and Chesley Bonestell's Paintings (influenced by His Sci-Fi Pulp Cover Creations), with Help from a Fine Musical Score and some Hollywood Trickery, make this a Seminal Creation. A Must See for those Interested in Hollywood History along with its Influence on Public Perceptions. Woody Woodpecker Adds some Cartoon Flare along with the Movie's Greatest Shortcoming, the Ever Present Skirt Chaser, Joe Six-Pack. "Wow, look at that, can you see Brooklyn?...I wonder who's Pitching."

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- Destination Moon 1950, Private companies pull together to build a spaceship to go to the moon to advance Man's technology and science knowledge.*Special Stars- Jim Archer, Warner Aderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson.*Theme- Taking chances with space travel makes for good drama.*Trivia/location/goofs- woody woodpecker cartoon used to explain space travel by rocket, This expensive G. Pal film confused with low budget film, Rocketship X-M released around the same time purposely. Watch for rocket acceleration facial distortion to be accomplished by small flesh colored adhesive strips placed on actors faces attached to clear fishing line and pulled of camera by film crew members. Watch for obvious studio set lights reflected in spacesuit helmet visors, and film crew shadow near open hatch door to help push cast onto the spaceship's outer surface.*Emotion- One of the earliest expensive classic space travel films made on the 50's. become the prototype for film space travel, ships, and knowledge of the public. George Pal's production tastes and films have been the hallmark of good films for decades. This film is not only a classic but is exciting to view no matter how the science of space travel has changed and become more sophisticated. This film is still a treat.

dougdoepke In 1950, Destination Moon was in a battle with Rocketship X-M for the earliest release date. There had been little like them before. You'd probably have to go back to the 30's and Flash Gordon for prior space travel films and a time when rocketships were considered kids' fare because space travel seemed such a far off reality.Moon missed out by a couple months in the release battle, but together with the more fictional Rocketship, helped usher in a whole decade of mainly teenage sci-fi. Actually, Moon is in a different sub-category since it tried to be more reality based, though its concessions to commercial values are all too obvious.Nonetheless, Moon managed to convey basic principles of space travel, including a look at a Technicolor lunar landscape, both within a popular entertainment context. For this 11-year old, the 90-minutes proved genuinely fascinating; at the same time, it introduced me to a whole new arena of movie imagination, and I expect it did the same for thousands of others, both young and old.In that sense, the movie represents a milestone in post-war film fare, and just as importantly, served as a popular introduction to the so-called space race of the 1960's. Note too, the allusions to Cold War competition for space supremacy and its military value, another timely aspect then on the national horizon.Too bad the film has become so obscure. Sure, the effects have dated in the meantime, while much of the byplay with Sweeney (Wesson) now seems a silly concession to commercialism. Nonetheless, the movie remains a milestone in the evolution of modern science-fiction, and for many of us oldsters, a striking introduction to the space age.

sddavis63 The problem I have with a lot of the early science fiction stories is that they were more often than not heavy on the fiction and light on the science. I have to give credit, therefore, to "Destination Moon." It completely reverses that. It's actually quite heavy on science and the fiction element is pretty light - at least in the sense that it treats the story very seriously. The title sums it up perfectly. A group of scientists and industrialists team up to build a rocket to travel to the moon. As it turned out those who made this movie weren't accurate prognosticators - the method of space travel portrayed (atomic powered engines) turned out not to be what eventually propelled humans to the moon - but the thoughtfulness was there, and I appreciated it. I liked the fact that the effort didn't involve the U.S. Government - in fact, the government wasn't completely supportive. It was all American (and in the context of the very early years of the Cold War the point was made that "we have to get there first or else we're in trouble") but still, it was private citizens doing this. I appreciated that. For 1950, I thought most of the effects were pretty good; the movie rarely seemed dated at all. It had a fresh look and feel pretty much the whole way through, with perhaps only the animated scenes (which were long distance views of the "astronauts" outside the rocket while in flight) looking a bit primitive. Even the Woody Woodpecker cartoon seemed appropriately placed.This isn't especially dramatic. There are a few attempts to introduce drama and excitement, but for the most part I didn't feel any real tension until the very end, when it did seem as though someone was going to have to be left behind on the moon's surface. Aside from that, it was the technical quality and the serious nature of the movie that really appealed to me. The cast (largely unknown, at least to me) was decent enough. Until seeing this, I would probably have dated "Forbidden Planet" as perhaps the earliest truly "serious" sci-fi movie made that I had seen. This was made 6 years earlier, though, and so now takes that prize. Well done, indeed! (7/10)