This landmark in sci-fi cinema is scheduled to be screened
on the grounds of another once-futuristic midcentury landmark, the David Wright House. Should provide
just the right atmosphere.
For the uninitiated, Destination
Moon (1950) is a fairly serious-minded attempt, co-scripted by Robert A. Heinlein,
to depict a scientifically plausible lunar expedition. It’s a little too
serious-minded, really. The director was the memorable character actor Irving
Pichel, and his presence could have been used onscreen; the astronauts, led by
John Archer (Anne’s Dad) are painfully one-dimensional. Woody Woodpecker turns up to explain the problems of space travel near the beginning, and he’s probably
the richest and most complex character in the movie.
Having said that, Destination
Moon ought to be seen, not only as a highly influential piece of pop
culture but also for its visual beauty. The lunar surface, cracked like a dry
river bed, the craggy mountains in the background, and the starscapes, designed
by the great astronomical painter Chesley Bonestall, still have the power to stir
the imagination even now, decades after we decided the Moon wasn’t all that
worthwhile of a destination.
There’s nothing as vulgar and unrealistic (or as fun) as a monster
in Destination Moon, so…
Monster-of-the-Week: …in its honor this week the nod goes to
“Moon Monster…”
…offered in countless comic books of the ‘60s and ‘70s—one of
several premiums you’d get FREE, that is, for your one dollar registration fee,
when you joined the Horror Fan Club. It was just a big poster, but notice how,
as with the “Polaris Nuclear Sub” ads of the same period, the copy allows for the
interpretation that you’ll actually be sent a giant life-sized 3-dimensional figure
of a Moon Monster...
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