Rocketship X-M
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''Rocketship X-M'' (a.k.a. ''Expedition Moon'' and originally ''Rocketship Expedition Moon'') is a 1950 American
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
from
Lippert Pictures Lippert Pictures was an American film production and distribution company controlled by Robert L. Lippert. History Robert L. Lippert (1909-1976) was a successful exhibitor, owning a chain of movie theaters in California and Oregon. He was frustrat ...
, the first
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
adventure of the post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era. The film was produced and directed by Kurt Neumann and stars
Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...
,
Osa Massen Osa Massen (born Aase Madsen Iversen, 13 January 1914 – 2 January 2006) was a Danish actress who became a successful movie actress in Hollywood. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941. Background and early career Bo ...
, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr.,
Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–196 ...
, and
Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville, Illinois, Danville in Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County in eastern ...
. ''Rocketship X-M'' tells the story of a
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
expedition gone awry. Through a series of unseen events, the expedition's crew find themselve on the infamous red plant,
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
. During their time on the planet they go on to discover the remnants of a Martian civilization destroyed long ago by atomic war and now reverted to barbarism.


Plot

Four men and a woman blast into outer space from the
White Sands Proving Ground White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established as the White Sands Proving Ground on 9July 1945. White Sands National Pa ...
aboard the RX-M (Rocketship Expedition-Moon) on humanity's first expedition to the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
. Halfway there, after surviving their jettisoned and runaway first stage and a
meteoroid A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...
storm, their engines suddenly quit. Recalculating fuel ratios and swapping around their multiple, different fuels finally corrects the problem. When the engines are reignited, the RX-M careens out of control on a rapid heading beyond the Moon. The increased acceleration lowers their cabin oxygen pressure, and the crew pass out. Reviving days later, they quickly discover that they have traveled some 50,000,000 miles; the RX-M is now just 50,000 miles away from Mars. Dr. Karl Eckstrom is forced to "pause and observe respectfully while something infinitely greater assumes control". The RX-M safely passes through the Martian atmosphere and lands. The next morning the crew, clad in aviation
oxygen mask An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. Oxygen masks may cover only the nose and mouth (oral nasal mask) or the entire face (full-face mask). They may be made of plastic, silicone, or r ...
s due to the low atmospheric pressure, begin exploring the desolate surface. They come across physical evidence of a now dead advanced Martian
civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...
: a partially buried-in-the-sand, stylized,
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
(or
Tiki culture Tiki culture is an American-originated art, music, and entertainment movement inspired by Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian cultures. Inspired by Oceanian art, influential cultures to Tiki culture include Australasia, Melanesia, Micrones ...
) like metal face sculpture and in the distance
Moderne architecture Moderne architecture, also sometimes referred to as Style Moderne or simply Moderne, Jazz Age, Moderne, jazz modern or jazz style, describes certain styles of architecture popular from 1925 through the 1940s. closely allied to Art Deco. Origina ...
-like ruins. Their
Geiger counter A Geiger counter (also known as a Geiger–Müller counter) is an electronic instrument used for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. It is widely used in applications such as radiation dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental ph ...
registers dangerous radiation levels, keeping them well away. These dangerous levels make it clear that there was once an
atomic war Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear w ...
on Mars in the distant past. Finding cave refuge, the crew notice in the distance the primitive human descendants of that civilization emerging from behind boulders and creeping toward them. Amazed, Dr. Eckstrom comments "From
Atomic Age The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, The Gadget at the ''Trinity'' test in New Mexico, on July 16, 1945, during World War II. Although nuclear chain reactio ...
to
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
". Soon after leaving, two of the explorers encounter a dark-haired woman who has lost her footing and rolled down a hill toward them; she is blind, with thick, milky
cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...
s on both eyes. She screams upon hearing their oxygen mask-distorted voices. The
radiation burn A radiation burn is a damage to the skin or other biological tissue and organs as an effect of radiation. The radiation types of greatest concern are thermal radiation, radio frequency energy, ultraviolet light and ionizing radiation. The most ...
ed tribesmen attack, throwing large rocks and stone axes. Armed with only a revolver and a bolt-action rifle, the explorers defend themselves, purposely missing the primitives. Major Corrigan is killed by a large rock thrown by the primitives. Moments later, Dr. Eckstrom is killed by a stone axe. Navigator Chamberlain is badly injured by a large thrown rock. Colonel Graham, Dr. Van Horn, and Chamberlain finally make their way back to the ship. As the RX-M nears Earth, the three survivors (Graham, Van Horn, with the unconscious Chamberlain) calculate that they have no fuel to make a landing. Col. Graham contacts their base and reports their dire status to Dr. Fleming, who listens intently and wordlessly over headphones. Col. Graham's report is not heard, but Fleming's subtle reactions tells of the crew's odyssey, their discovery of a once advanced civilization destroyed long ago by atomic war, and of the crew fatalities at the hands of Martian descendants reverted to barbarism. Col. Graham and Dr. Van Horn embrace as the RX-M begins its uncontrolled descent, consoling one another in the moments left to them. Through a porthole, they bravely watch their rapid descent into the wilds of
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
. The press is later informed by a shaken Dr. Fleming that the entire crew has perished. When they ask if the mission was a failure, he confidently responds with conviction, stating that all theories about crewed spaceflight and exploration have now been proven. He continues, underscoring the point that a dire warning has been received from the crew that could very well mean the salvation of humanity, "A new spaceship, the RX-M-2, begins construction tomorrow". The pioneering exploration continues.


Cast

*
Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...
as Col. Floyd Graham (Pilot) *
Osa Massen Osa Massen (born Aase Madsen Iversen, 13 January 1914 – 2 January 2006) was a Danish actress who became a successful movie actress in Hollywood. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941. Background and early career Bo ...
as Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Ph.D. in Chemistry) * John Emery as Dr. Karl Eckstrom (Physicist and RX-M designer) * Noah Beery, Jr. as Maj. William Corrigan (Flight engineer) *
Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the ABC Western television series ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' (1955–196 ...
as Harry Chamberlain (Astronomer and navigator) *
Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville, Illinois, Danville in Vermilion County, Illinois, Vermilion County in eastern ...
as Dr. Ralph Fleming (Project Director) * Sherry Moreland as blind Martian woman *
Judd Holdren Judd Clifton Holdren (October 16, 1915 – March 11, 1974) was an American film actor best known for his starring roles in the serials '' Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere'' (1951), '' Zombies of the Stratosphere'' (1952), '' The Lost Pl ...
as Reporter (Uncredited) *
Stuart Holmes Stuart Holmes (born Joseph Liebchen; March 10, 1884 – December 29, 1971) was an American actor and sculptor whose career spanned seven decades. He appeared in almost 450 films between 1909 and 1964, sometimes credited as Stewart Holmes. Biog ...
as Reporter (Uncredited) * Bert Stevens as Reporter (Uncredited) * Cosmo Sardo as Reporter (Uncredited) *
Barry Norton Barry Norton (born Alfredo Carlos Birabén; June 16, 1905 – August 24, 1956) was an Argentine-American actor. He appeared in over 90 films, starting in silent films from 1925 until his death in 1956. He is perhaps best known for his role a ...
as Reporter (Uncredited)


Film score

The evocative
soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
was written by American composer
Ferde Grofé Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, known as Ferde Grofé (March 27, 1892 April 3, 1972) (pronounced FUR-dee GROW-fay) was an American composer, arrangement, arranger, pianist and instrumentalist. He is best known for his 1931 five-movement tone poem, ...
, who used a
theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...
in portions of the score. This was the first use of an electronic musical instrument in a science fiction film. The theremin would later become strongly identified with the genre in the years to come. During the film's post-production, Grofé's score was conducted by film and TV composer/arranger Albert Glasser. Later on, the soundtrack would have its first release in 1977 on LP (runtime 37:16) from Starlog Records (SR-1000). The album contains a bonus track not used in the film.Williams, Wade. "Re-making Rocketship X-M". ''CineMagic'' magazine #1, 1979. The CD version of the soundtrack was released in 2012 and was produced by Monstrous Movie Music (MMM-1965) in an edition limited to 1000 copies. The CD's 16-page illustrated booklet contains extensive information about the film score, which includes pages from Grofé's original hand-written score and photos related to the film production. 1: Main Title (1:21) 2: Good Luck (1:53) 3: Stand by to Turn (:50) 4: The Motors Conk Out (2:55) 5: Palomar Observatory (1:11) 6: Floyd Whispers (1:57) 7: Floyd and Lisa at Window (2:56) 8: We See Mars (2:06) 9: The Landing on Mars (3:17) 10: The Ruins (3:10) 11: I Saw the Martians (1:02) 12: The Atomic Age to Stone Age/The Chase (4:59) 13: The Tanks Are Empty (3:37) 14: The Crash (3:22) 15: End Title (:59) ''Bonus Track'': 16: Noodling on the Theremin (1:35)


Production

Because production issues had delayed the release of
George Pal George Pal (born György Pál Marczincsak; ; February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) was a Hungarian-American animator, film director and producer, principally associated with the fantasy and science-fiction genres. He became an American citizen after ...
's high-profile '' Destination Moon'', ''Rocketship X-M'' was quickly shot in just 18 days on a $94,000 budget; it was then rushed into theaters 25 days before the Pal film, while taking full advantage of ''Destination Moon''s high-profile national publicity.Warren 1982. Given the film's minimal special effects budget and limited shooting days, the surface of Mars was much easier to simulate using remote
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
locations than creating the airless and cratered surface of the Moon. The location where the crew exits the spacecraft and begins to explore is Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. The film's original 1950 theatrical release prints had all Mars scenes tinted a pinkish-sepia color. All other scenes are in
black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
. The RX-M's design was taken from rocket illustrations that appeared in an article in the January 17, 1949 issue of ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine. The interior structure of the spaceship's larger second stage is shown as having a long ladder that the crew must climb; it runs "up" through the RX-M's fuel compartment, which has on all sides a series of narrow fuel tanks filled with various propulsion chemicals. By selecting and mixing them together in various proportions, different levels of thrust are attainable from the RX-M's engines. The crew ladder ends at a round pressure hatch in the middle of a bulkhead floor that leads to the crew's upper living and control compartment. Instruments and technical equipment were supplied by Allied Aircraft Company of North Hollywood.


Historical and factual accuracy

The five Mars explorers wear U.S. military surplus clothing, including overalls and aviator's leather jackets. It has been noted in other film reviews that the explorers are wearing gas masks, but gas masks would include goggles to protect the eyes. Due to the thin Martian atmosphere, the explorers are actually wearing military "Oxygen Breathing Apparatuses" (OBA) like those used by military firefighters. Various scientific curiosities and errors are seen during the film: With less than 15 minutes to go until launch, the RX-M's crew are still in the midst of a leisurely press conference being held at a base building. From its launch pad, the RX-M blasts straight up, and once it leaves the Earth's atmosphere, the ship makes a hard ''90-degree turn'' to place the RX-M into Earth orbit. Its speed at an altitude of 360 miles is stated to be ; in fact at that height orbital velocity is (though escape velocity is approximately correctly stated to be ). Simultaneously with that turn, the crew cabin rotates within the RX-M's hull, around its lateral axis, so the ship's cabin deck is always facing "down", orienting the audience. Though objects are purposely shown to float free to demonstrate a lack of
gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
, none of the five crew members float, apparently unaffected by
weightlessness Weightlessness is the complete or near-complete absence of the sensation of weight. It is also termed zero gravity, zero G-force, or zero-G. Weight is a measurement of the force on an object at rest in a relatively strong gravitational fi ...
. The RX-M's jettisoned first stage, with its engine still firing, and a later
meteoroid A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as micr ...
storm (inaccurately referred to in dialog as
meteorites A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or moon. When the original object en ...
) both make audible roaring sounds in the soundless vacuum of space that can be heard inside the crew compartment. The clusters of those fast moving meteoroids appear identical in shape and detail (actually, the same prop meteoroids were shot from different angles and positions, then optically printed in tandem, at different sizes, on the film's master negative). A point is made in dialog that the RX-M is carrying more than "double" the amount of rocket fuel and oxygen needed to make a successful round trip and landing on the Moon; while impractical for various reasons, this detail becomes a convenient, then necessary plot device in making the later Mars story line more believable. Several scenes in ''Rocketship X-M'' involving the interaction between the RX-M's sole female crew member, scientist Dr. Lisa Van Horn, her male crew, the launch site staff, and the press corps provide cultural insights into early 1950s sexist attitudes toward women. One notable scene involves Van Horn and expedition leader (and fellow scientist) Dr. Karl Eckstrom rushing to recalculate fuel mixtures after their initial propulsion problems. When they come up with different figures, expedition leader Eckstrom insists they must proceed using his numbers. Van Horn objects to this arbitrary decision, but submits, and Eckstrom forgives her for "momentarily being a woman". Subsequent events prove Eckstrom's "arbitrary decision" to be wrong, placing them all in jeopardy. Lippert's feature was the first film drama to explore the dangers of
nuclear warfare Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...
and
atomic radiation Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...
through the lens of science fiction; these became recurrent themes in many 1950s science fiction films that followed.
Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...
, black-listed during the
McCarthy era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...
,
script doctor A script doctor is a writer or playwright hired by a film, television, or theatre production company to rewrite an existing script or improve specific aspects of it, including structure, characterization, dialogue, pacing, themes, and other elemen ...
ed the film's Red Planet sequence, adding the horror of an atomic war having occurred on Mars; his name does not appear in the film credits.


New footage added

''Rocketship X-M'' was rushed to market to be in theaters before the more lavishly produced but delayed ''Destination Moon'' that was finally released 25 days later. A lack of both time and budget forced ''RX-M''s producers to omit special effects scenes and substitute
stock footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
of American
V-2 rocket The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...
launches and flight to complete some sequences that otherwise would have been made using the ''Rocketship X-M'' special effects miniature. These V-2 inserts created very noticeable continuity issues. In the 1970s the rights to ''Rocketship X-M'' were acquired by
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
film exhibitor, movie theater owner (and later video distributor) Wade Williams, who set about having some of ''RX-M''s
special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
scenes reshot in order to improve the film's overall continuity. The VHS tape,
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
, and
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
releases incorporate this re-shot footage. Williams funded the production of new footage to replace the stock V-2 shots and a few missing scenes. All new footage was produced for Wade Williams Productions by
Bob Burns III Bob Burns (born May 12, 1935) is an American actor, consultant, producer, archivist and historian of props, costumes, and other paraphernalia from science fiction, fantasy, and horror motion pictures. He is best known for his work with and collect ...
, his wife Kathy Burns, former Disney designer/artist Tom Scherman,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winner
Dennis Muren Dennis Muren, A.S.C (born November 1, 1946) is an American film visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked on the films of George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and James Cameron, among others, and has won nine Oscars in total: eight for Bes ...
,
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
nominee Michael Minor, and
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winner Robert Skotak. Costumes were re-made that closely replicated those worn by the film's explorers, and a new, screen accurate Rocketship X-M effects miniature was built. The new replacement shots consist of the RX-M flying through space; it landing tail first on the Red Planet; a different shot of the crew heading away from the RX-M to explore the stark Martian surface; the surviving explorers quickly returning to their nearby spaceship, and the RX-M later blasting off from Mars into space. These six replacement shots were filmed near
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
in color, then converted to black-and-white and re-tinted where necessary to match the original film footage. (Unlike the DVD release, the earlier LaserdDisc of ''Rocketship X-M'' contains extra bonus material documenting the making of the film and the creation of this new footage.) The film's production and the making of these new scenes were also presented in ''RX-M'' feature articles in both ''
Starlog ''Starlog'' was a monthly science fiction magazine that was created in 1976 and focused primarily on '' Star Trek'' at its inception. Kerry O'Quinn and Norman Jacobs were its creators and it was published by Starlog Group, Inc. in August 1976. ...
'' magazine and later expanded in the first issue (1979) of ''Starlog''s spin-off magazine ''CineMagic''. Prints of the original theatrical release version of ''RX-M'' are still stored in Williams' Kansas City film vaults. They have not been converted to a home video format. Image's 50th Anniversary DVD release (2000), under license from Williams, is oddly missing two of his re-filmed Mars scenes: Lippert's original
matte painting A matte painting is a painting, painted representation of a landscape, set (film and TV scenery), set, or distant location that allows filmmaking, filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that is not present at the filming location. H ...
scene, which has tiny matted-in figures leaving an obviously painted RX-M, is retained instead of the Williams' re-shot replacement scene that has the five explorers heading away from a convincing RX-M effects miniature standing on a barren Martian plain. A new bridging scene, set at the end of the Mars sequence, showing the surviving explorers hurriedly returning to the RX-M, is also missing from Image's DVD.


Award nomination

Retro Hugo Award: ''Rocketship X-M'' was nominated in 2001 for the 1951 Retro
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation The Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation is given each year for theatrical films, television episodes, or other dramatized works related to science fiction or fantasy released in the previous calendar year. Originally the award covered both ...
, being one of the science fiction films eligible during calendar year 1950, exactly 50 years after the film's first release. (50 years, 75 years, or 100 years prior is the eligibility requirement governing the awarding of Retro Hugos.)


''Mystery Science Theater 3000''

The film was featured in the second-season premiere episode of the cult film-lampooning television series ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''. ''Rocketship X-M'' stands as an important episode in that show's history, showcasing iconic set redesigns as well as the introduction of Kevin Murphy and
Frank Conniff Frank Conniff Jr. ( ;) is an American writer, actor, comedian and producer, who is best known for his portrayal of TV's Frank on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K''). He is the son of journalist and editor Frank Conniff. Early work Al ...
to their long-running performance roles as Tom Servo and TV's Frank, respectively. "'Episode guide: 201- Rocketship X-M'"
''Satellite News''. Retrieved: May 26, 2016.


See also

*
1950 in film The year 1950 in film involved some significant events. __TOC__ Top-grossing films (U.S.) The top ten 1950 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows: Events * January 13 – Three weeks after its world premiere at t ...
*
List of films set on Mars There is a body of films that are set on the planet Mars. In the late 19th century, people erroneously believed that there were canals on Mars. Into the early 20th century, additional observations of Mars fed people's interest in what was called " ...
* List of science fiction films of the 1950s


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Hanson, Peter. ''Dalton Trumbo, Hollywood Rebel: A Critical Survey and Filmography''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. 2015. . * Miller, Thomas Kent. ''Mars in the Movies: A History''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2016. . * Parish, James Robert and Michael R. Pitts. ''The Great Science Fiction Pictures''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1977. . * 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 (greatly expanded and revised second printing, now a large and heavy volume of 1040 oversize pages). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009, First Edition 1982. .


External links

* * * * Trailer for *
Original soundtrack for ''Rocketship X-M''


Mystery Science Theater 3000

*
Episode guide: 201- Rocketship X-M
{{Kurt Neumann 1950 films 1950s science fiction films American black-and-white films American science fiction films American space adventure films Films about astronauts Films about nuclear war and weapons Films about extraterrestrial life Films directed by Kurt Neumann Films set in New Mexico Mars in film American post-apocalyptic films Articles containing video clips Lippert Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films