Moonwalk One (1970)

If you are interested in any part of U.S. history, then you will probably want to check out the collection FedFlix. It is a huge selection of films produced by the U.S. government, in many different genres. I have previously reviewed a number of them, not least the Why We Fight series.

This week I take a look at a documentary that was made after the Apollo 11 moon landing, Moonwalk One, a slow-moving, almost meditational, film that may have been the first feature-length documentary about the event.

Moonwalk One covers selected aspects of development and preparation before the flight. It also features some interesting historical background to the space race, including clips from the Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers movie serieals. But the focus of the film is, of course, on the mission itself. The lift-off, the landing, and the trip back. In order to explain things, there are some simple, but adequate, pedagogical animations.

The film is, in many ways, similar to The History of Apollo series of short documentaries that I have previously written about. That series covers the entire Apollo program, whereas Moonwalk One goes more in depth about one single mission. Both are good, and which one you choose is a matter of preference.

This film is best enjoyed as a reflection of its time. I was born in the same year that this documentary was released, yet I can almost understand the immense feeling of accomplishment and belief in the future that the moon landing nurtured. It is definitely a good documentary if you happen to be interested in the space race, in particular the scenes depicting the impressive Saturn V lift-off. But it lacks the perspective that a few decades tend to lend to historical events.

Moonwalk One
Download link
Year: 1970
Running time: 1 h 35 min
Director: Theo Kamecke
Image quality: Good
Resolution: Medium (720×540)
Sound quality: Good
Best file format: MPEG2 (4.2 G)

Radar Men from the Moon (1952)

Star Wars has reclaimed the position as the hottest franchise in the movie business, and fans will endlessly debate who is the best character or the pros and cons of various plotlines. Somewhat in the shadow of all the hype, you will sometimes find some discussion about George Lucas’ sources of inspiration.

A handful of Lucas’ sources can be found at the Internet Archive; I have previously written about the serials The Phantom Empire (1935) and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940). A third serial which inspired him was Radar Men from the Moon (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), as can be seen in the character Commander Cody (Star Wars Episode III), from the serial’s hero Commando Cody.

Cody in the serial, who was also one of the inspirations for the 1980s movie and comic hero The Rocketeer, constructed his own backpack rocket and helmet, which help him fly, so that he can better fight the bad guys. In this particular serial (Cody was to appear in one more), he learns that moon men plan to invade earth, so he goes there to fight them. Most of the serial, however, is set on earth where Cody and his associates do battle against the infiltrators from the moon.

Radar Men from the Moon was produced one or two decades after the other serials I have reviewed here, and in some ways it shows. In the 1950s, the serials had passed their peak, both in terms of popularity and quality. There is still plenty of action, excitement and adventure, but beyond the first episode, which has some interesting points, the story feels a bit tired.

Like most serials after the early 1930s, Radar Men from the Moon is stuck in some rather stale gender roles. Take the matter of women on board spaceships, for instance. “You will be very glad to have someone on board who can cook your meals,” is just too typical a comment. This delivered by the woman in question, incidentally.

This serial is best enjoyed by Star Wars fans who want to explore George Lucas’ sources of inspiration. For serial fans, or those who want an introduction to serials, there are several better options, such as the eleven years older Adventures of Captain Marvel.

Radar Men from the Moon
Downlad links: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Year: 1952
Running time: 2 h 47 min
Director: Fred C. Brannon
Stars: George Wallace
Image quality: Acceptable
Resolution: Medium (720×480)
Sound quality: Acceptable
Best file format: MPEG2

Quatermass II (1955)

In my review of Quatermass and the Pit, I wrote about the scientist Professor Quatermass, who was the hero of a trilogy of excellent British made-for-TV science fiction series. Professor Q. is a very well developed character, and if you are only slightly interested in well-written sci-fi, you should not miss the two preserved series (only two episodes of the original series, The Quatermass Experiment (1953), still exist, though all episodes were remade in 2005). In addition, Hammer films remade the entire trilogy a few years after the originals in good but somewhat different movie renditions.

The second series was aptly named Quatermass II (episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), and was originally broadcast exactly 60 years ago (the final episode was televised sixty years ago this Thursday). The title was the first time the number two was appended to the title of a sequel, though the roman numeral refers not to the series as such, but to the spaceship Quatermass II, which is an important plot object. It has been suggested that it inspired others to use similar numbering for sequels in later film series. It has even been suggested that the spaceship name was just made up as an excuse to smack the “II” label on the title, though that explanation feels a bit far-fetched.

In Quatermass II, Professor Q. battles invading aliens who are jettisoned from an asteroid orbiting earth, and upon landing take control of human bodies. This idea was not new in literature. See for example The Puppet Masters by Robert Heinlein, available (parts 1, 2, 3) from the Internet Archive. But as far as I know, it had not previously been used on screen. The following year, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers was released, which is one of the most famous examples in the movies.

This film is best enjoyed for the story (brilliant throughout) and actors (uneven, but mostly very good). Frankly, though, other aspects of the production, such as sets, special effects and camera work, feel very cheap and sometimes amateurish by modern standards. Even so, the positive aspects weigh so heavily that I can only recommend watching it.

Quatermass II
Download links: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Year: 1955
Running time: 3 h 6 min
Director: Rudolph Cartier
Stars: John Robinson
Image quality: Acceptable
Resolution: Medium (512×384)
Sound quality: Acceptable
Best file format: Cinepack

The History of Apollo (1968 – 1973)

The United States’ moon program, the Apollo program, has often been mentioned as the peak of the big Space Race between the US and the Soviet Union. While the program was still going on, NASA produced a series of very interesting documentaries, one for each mission. The majority of these are available at the Internet Archive.

As far as I know, there was never an official title for this series. Each part was produced as a stand-alone piece to be released after the respective mission. The title The History of Apollo was used as the subtitle of a DVD compilation of these films, and I thought it made for a nice umbrella title.

The editing and narration are fairly low-key. There is some focus on the technical aspects of the missions, and compared to many later Apollo documentaries, there is little about the astronauts’ feelings and practically nothing about their private lives. There is also nothing about the politics behind the missions. For my own part, I find this to be a refreshing change. We get to focus on the process of getting men on the moon, and that is as it should be.

Here is a list of all the parts, and links to the Internet Archive for each.

• The Apollo 4 Mission & The Apollo 5 Mission
• (not sure if an Apollo 6 episode exists)
• The Flight of Apollo 7
• Apollo 8 – Go for TLI
• Apollo 9 – Three to Make Ready
• Apollo 10 – Green Light for Lunar Landing (not available at the Internet Archive)
• Apollo 11 – The Eagle Has Landed
• Apollo 12 – Pinpoint for Science
• Apollo 13 – Houston, We Have a Problem
• Apollo 14 – Mission to Fra Mauro
• Apollo 15 – In the Mountains of the Moon
• Apollo 16 – Nothing so Hidden
• Apollo 17 – On the Shoulders of Giants

The “missing” Apollo 10 episode can probably be found on other Internet sites.

This series is best enjoyed if you are interested in a specific mission – or if you are really into the big Space Race and the Cold War. The documentaries are very good, and a nice document of a historically important period. At between 15 and 30 minutes of length for most they are quick watches, but the entire series, especially in one sitting, is a bit over the top.

The History of Apollo
Download link (Apollo 11 episode)
Year: 1968 – 1973
Running time: 4 h 49 min
Director: Ted Lowry
Image quality: Acceptable
Sound quality: Good