Project Moonbase

Last updated
Project Moonbase
Project moonbase.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Richard Talmadge
Screenplay by Robert A. Heinlein
Jack Seaman
Story byRobert A. Heinlein
Jack Seaman
Produced byJack Seaman
StarringRoss Ford
Donna Martell
Hayden Rorke
Larry Johns
Herb Jacobs
Barbara Morrison
Ernestine Barrier
CinematographyWilliam C. Thompson
Edited by Roland Gross
Music by Herschel Burke Gilbert
Production
company
Galaxy Pictures Inc.
Distributed by Lippert Pictures
Release date
  • September 4, 1953 (1953-09-04)(United States)
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Project Moonbase (a.k.a. Project Moon Base) is a 1953 independently made black-and-white science fiction film, produced by Jack Seaman, directed by Richard Talmadge, and starring Ross Ford, Donna Martell, and Hayden Rorke. It co-stars Larry Johns, Herb Jacobs, Barbara Morrison, and Ernestine Barrier. The film was distributed by Lippert Pictures and is based on a story by Robert A. Heinlein, who shares the screenwriting credit with producer Jack Seaman.

Contents

Project Moonbase is unusual for its time in attempting to portray space travel in a "realistic" manner and for depicting a future in which women hold positions of authority and responsibility equal to men; as an example, the President of the United States is a woman. [1] However, Colonel Breiteis, the female commander of the moon mission, is shown to be picked for her gender, generally shown as a member of a "weaker sex", and even threatened with a spanking by her commanding officer.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 featured the film in January 1990 as an episode during its first season on The Comedy Channel. It had been originally broadcast in 1986 as a syndicated television episode of the Canned Film Festival . [2] [3]

Plot

In a future 1970, the United States is considering building bases on the Moon. Colonel Briteis (pronounced "Bright Eyes", whose first name is never stated, played by Donna Martell), Major Bill Moore (Ross Ford), and Doctor Wernher (Larry Johns) are sent to orbit the Moon to survey landing sites for future lunar missions. However, Wernher is an impostor whose secret mission is to destroy the US's Earth-orbiting space station, which he plans to do by colliding the rocket with the station on the way back from the Moon. Col. Briteis, who made the first orbital flight around the Earth four years earlier, is arrogant and distrusting of Major Moore. Moore, in turn had a romantic interest in Briteis when they began in the United States Space Force, [4] but was rejected in favor of Briteis's ambition to be the first person on the Moon.

Moore realizes that the man claiming to be Wernher is actually a spy for an unnamed country, because the impostor has no knowledge of Wernher's expertise nor of the Brooklyn Dodgers, despite having supposedly taught in Brooklyn. In the ensuing struggle for control of the rocket, Colonel Briteis accidentally hits the boosters, which saves their lives but leaves the ship critically low on fuel. She takes unfair blame which Moore assures her is not her fault. Briteis then realizes she may not have all the answers and does need Moore's help on the mission. They are forced to make an emergency landing on the Moon, and with them all marooned the fake Wernher redeems himself by helping Moore establish communications with Earth, although an accident results in his untimely death.

In response to the unexpected turn of events, the US authorities decide to make the immobilized spaceship the core of a Moon base. Later General Greene has a man-to-man talk with Moore about his feelings for Briteis. Greene observes that Briteis and Moore will be isolated for weeks or months—perhaps even years—and public opinion, the USSF and the President would want them to be married. Moore expresses doubts about her feelings for him, and tells Green, "she has no use for me." Briteis, after overhearing this, secretly agrees to marry Moore and she cuts a deal with Greene to promote Moore to brigadier general and in command of Project Moonbase to make up for her earlier actions towards him.

After a video wedding officiated by a USSF chaplain, and witnessed by Greene, Briteis pins a paper star on Moore, thereby indicating his new rank of Brigadier General, one above her rank of Colonel. The couple then kisses, thereby signaling the beginning of their married life, and the end of the movie.

Cast

Production and release

Both Project Moonbase and Cat-Women of the Moon (also 1953) were made using some of the same sets and costumes. The two films were released within one day of each other, though from different distributors.

Project Moonbase was shot in 10 days.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

Project Moonbase was featured in episode #109 of Mystery Science Theater 3000 along with Chapters 7 and 8 of Radar Men from the Moon , a Commando Cody serial. The episode debuted January 6, 1990, on the Comedy Channel. [5] Kevin Murphy, who worked on the show and would become a cast member the next season, wrote, "The best thing I can say about it is that it was very very short," calling the film "openly and condescendingly hostile toward women as a gender". [6]

As with most first-season episodes of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Project Moonbase is not considered one of the series' better efforts; it did not make their Top 100 list, as voted upon by MST3K Season 11 Kickstarter backers. [7] Writer Jim Vogel ranked the episode #164 (out of 191 total MST3K episodes). Vogel said, "There's some glimmers of later-season MST3k goodness in there..." [8]

The MST3K version of Project Moonbase was included as part of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume XX DVD collection, released by Shout! Factory in March 2011. The other episodes in the four-disc set include Master Ninja I (episode #320), Master Ninja II (episode #324), and The Magic Voyage of Sinbad (episode #505). [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Mystery Science Theater 3000</i> American science fiction comedy television series

Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. It then moved to nationwide broadcast, first on The Comedy Channel/Comedy Central for seven seasons until its cancellation in 1996. Thereafter, it was picked up by The Sci-Fi Channel and aired for three more seasons until another cancellation in August 1999. A 60-episode syndication package titled The Mystery Science Theater Hour was produced in 1993 and broadcast on Comedy Central and syndicated to TV stations in 1995. In 2015, Hodgson led a crowdfunded revival of the series with 14 episodes in its eleventh season, first released on Netflix on April 14, 2017, with another six-episode season following on November 22, 2018. A second successful crowdfunding effort in 2021 produced 13 additional episodes shown on the Gizmoplex, an online platform that Hodgson developed which launched in March 2022. As of 2023, 230 episodes and a feature film have been produced as well as three live tours.

<i>Manos: The Hands of Fate</i> 1966 American film

Manos: The Hands of Fate is a 1966 American independent horror film written, directed, and produced by Harold P. Warren. It stars Tom Neyman, John Reynolds, Diane Mahree, and Warren. The film follows a family getting lost during their vacation road trip through the Texas desert and becoming stranded at the lodge of a polygynous pagan cult led by the Master who decides their fate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Hodgson</span> American writer, comedian and television actor

Joel Hodgson is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, MST3K was listed as "one of the top 100 television shows of all time" by Time.

<i>Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie</i> 1996 American film

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 American science fiction comedy film and a film adaptation of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, produced and set between the series' sixth and seventh seasons. It was distributed by Universal Pictures and Gramercy Pictures and produced by Best Brains.

<i>Girls Town</i> (1959 film) 1959 American film

Girls Town is a 1959 American drama film directed by Charles F. Haas and starring Mamie Van Doren, Mel Tormé, and Ray Anthony. Paul Anka also appears in his first acting role. Van Doren stars as a juvenile delinquent who is sent to a girls' school run by nuns, where she finds herself unable to help her sister. The film capitalizes on the 1950s rebellious-teen exploitation films, with catfights, car races, music from Anka and The Platters, and sexy outfits.

GPC (<i>Mystery Science Theater 3000</i>) Fictional character in the American comedic film review series

GPC, formerly Gypsy, is one of the fictional robot characters on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. She is larger and less talkative than the other robots. GPC normally only appears during the show's host segments and introduction, but briefly took a seat in the theater to watch the movie in episode #412. She only delivered a couple of "riffs" – partially because she took the movie and what the 'boys' were saying too literally, and left after realizing how bad the movie was. Along with the other robots, GPC was designed and built by series creator Joel Hodgson. She was named Gypsy after a pet turtle his brother once owned, as the robot's size and ponderousness reminded him of the turtle.

<i>Moon Zero Two</i> 1969 British film by Roy Ward Baker

Moon Zero Two is a 1969 British science fiction film from Hammer Films, directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring James Olson, Catherine Schell, Warren Mitchell, and Adrienne Corri. The screenplay was by Michael Carreras from an original story by Gavin Lyall, Frank Hardman, and Martin Davison.

<i>The Corpse Vanishes</i> 1942 film by Wallace Fox

The Corpse Vanishes is a 1942 American mystery horror film starring Bela Lugosi, directed by Wallace Fox, and written by Harvey Gates. Lugosi portrays a mad scientist who injects his aging wife with fluids from virginal young brides in order to preserve her beauty. Luana Walters as a journalist and Tristram Coffin as a small-town doctor investigate and solve the disappearances of the brides. The film was produced and distributed by Monogram Pictures, and was reissued in 1949 by Favorite Films Corporation.

<i>Time Walker</i> 1982 film by Tom Kennedy

Time Walker is a 1982 American science fiction horror film directed by Tom Kennedy.

<i>Warrior of the Lost World</i> 1983 film by David Worth

Warrior of the Lost World is a 1983 Italian-American post-apocalyptic science fiction film written and directed by David Worth and starring Robert Ginty, Persis Khambatta, and Donald Pleasence. It was created and first released in Italy under the title Il Giustiziere della terra perduta in 1983 during the wide popularity of the Mad Max films, and many subsequently created post-apocalyptic films of the 1980s. Later the film was given another Italian title for VHS and television markets, I predatori dell'anno Omega.

<i>The Starfighters</i> 1964 film by Will Zens

The Starfighters is a 1964 American Cold War film written, produced and directed by Will Zens, and starring Bob Dornan, Richard Jordahl and Richard Masters. In an unusual twist based on the storyline of a pilot and his congressman father, pilot and actor Dornan would seek and win election as a U.S. congressman in California.

Juan Piquer Simón was a Spanish film director best known for directing two cult classic horror exploitation films, Pieces (1982) and Slugs: The Movie (1988).

<i>Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars</i> 1981 American television film

Revenge of the Mysterons from Mars is a 1981 television film based on the 1960s British puppet TV series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons created by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Produced by the New York office of the series' distributor, ITC Entertainment, the film is a compilation of the Captain Scarlet episodes "Shadow of Fear", "Lunarville 7", "Crater 101" and "Dangerous Rendezvous".

<i>Canned Film Festival</i> American comedy television series

The Canned Film Festival is a comedy-based motion picture television series that was nationally syndicated during the late night hours in the United States for a single season in the summer of 1986. With only a one-letter difference in the spelling, the name is an intentional play on the name for the Cannes Film Festival, the annual world-renowned film-screening celebration in Cannes, France. Not to be confused with the latter, the Canned Film Festival featured B movies as the centerpiece for each television episode, and was composed of short vignettes interwoven throughout the films. Boasting the tagline "late night with the best of the worst", the series was promoted and sponsored by the Dr. Pepper Company, whose then-tagline "out-of-the-ordinary" echoed the show's collection of odd and strange movies. The series was created by Young & Rubicam, developed for television by Chelsea Communications, and distributed by LBS Communications.

<i>Outlaw of Gor</i> 1989 American film

Outlaw of Gor is a 1988 adventure fantasy science fiction film directed by John "Bud" Cardos. A sequel to Gor, it is loosely based on the Gor novel series by John Norman, but has strong plot and qualitative differences from the original 1967 book Outlaw of Gor.

<i>Radar Secret Service</i> 1950 film by Sam Newfield

Radar Secret Service is a 1950 action film starring John Howard, produced by Barney A. Sarecky and directed by Sam Newfield. The film was featured on the American television show Mystery Science Theater 3000.

<i>12 to the Moon</i> 1960 film

12 to the Moon is a 1960 independently made American black-and-white science fiction film, produced and written by Fred Gebhardt, directed by David Bradley and starring Ken Clark, Michi Kobi, Tom Conway and Anna-Lisa. The film was distributed in the U.S. by Columbia Pictures as a double feature with either Battle in Outer Space (1959) or 13 Ghosts (1960), depending on the local film market.

<i>Teen-Age Crime Wave</i> 1955 film by Fred F. Sears

Teen-Age Crime Wave is a 1955 American juvenile delinquency film noir crime film directed by Fred F. Sears and starring Tommy Cook and Molly McCart. It was released by Columbia Pictures. The plot concerns a pair of delinquent teens who go on a statewide shooting spree after escaping from reform school.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Martell</span> American actress (born 1927)

Donna Kay Martell is an American former actress who starred in film and television during the Golden Age Era in the 1950s and 1960s.

References

  1. ↑ Mansky, Jackie (25 July 2016). "The History of Women Presidents in Film". Smithsonian . Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  2. ↑ Project Moon Base at IMDb
  3. ↑ Margulies, Lee. Los Angeles Times , "Canned Film Festival on TV Worst of the Big Screen is on its Way", June 10, 1986. Last accessed: January 27, 2011.
  4. ↑ The 1953 concept of a USSF, not the post-20 December 2019 USSF
  5. ↑ Episode guide: 109- Project Moon Base (with shorts: Radar Men from the Moon, Chapter 7: ‘Camouflaged Destruction’ and Chapter 8: ‘The Enemy Planet’). Satellite News. Retrieved on 2018-06-20.
  6. ↑ Trace Beaulieu; et al. (1996). The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Amazing Colossal Episode Guide (1st ed.). New York: Bantam Books. p. 13. ISBN   9780553377835.
  7. ↑ Bring Back Mystery Science Theater 3000 Update #41. Kickstarter. Retrieved on 2017-11-18
  8. ↑ Ranking Every MST3K Episode, From Worst to Best. Vorel, Jim. Paste Magazine. April 13, 2017. Retrieved on 2018-06-20
  9. ↑ MST3K: Volume XX Shout! Factory. Retrieved on 2018-06-20.

Mystery Science Theater 3000

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.