Rocketship X-M: Difference between revisions

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Four men and one woman hold a hasty press conference before blasting off into space in the ''RXM'' (Rocketship Expedition Moon). But a miscalculation in the fuel mixture sends the RXM hurtling off at tremendous velocity, knocking the crew unconscious. Upon waking they discover they're near the planet Mars. Deciding they might as well explore that planet instead, the crew land to discover the remnants of an alien culture literally "bombed back to the Stone Age" after a nuclear war.

In 1949 Hollywood was abuzz with the news of George Pal's upcoming ''[[Destination Moon]]''. Taking advantage of the movie's long production time (due to its extensive special effects), exploitation studio Lippert Productions decided to beat them to the cinemas. The result was ''Rocketship [[Xtreme Kool Letterz|X-M]]'' (AKA ''Expedition Moon'' and ''Rocketship XM-1'') filmed in only eighteen days. It shows. While competently written and directed by Kurt Neumann, the movie contains moments of [[Fridge Logic]], [[Hollywood Science]] and [[Special Effects Failure]].

 

 

Nevertheless ''Rocketship X-M'' was a great success at the box office and has garnered some staunch fans over the years. One of them -- producer Wade Williams -- spent six years tracking down a fine grain print of the film which he then restored, even reshooting some of the scenes with special effects models and doubles of the original actors.

 

* [[After the End]]: Mars

* [[All Planets Are Earthlike]]: Averted in that [[California Doubling|California's Death Valley doubles for Mars]], which is actually quite similar (NASA tested some of its Mars equipment there). But apparently war-surplus jumpsuits and oxygen masks are all you need to walk around on the surface.

* [[Defrosting Ice Queen]]: Dr Lisa Van Horn eventually falls into the arms of handsome pilot Floyd Graham, though [[Anguished Declaration of Love|only at the point of imminent death]].

* [[Deus Ex Machina]]: None of the plot contrivances would work otherwise. Heavily lampshaded, as various characters question whether God actually ''is'' interfering in the mission.

** Averted at the return attempt, however.

* [[Developing Doomed Characters]]: The press conference scene before the launch; takes less time than ''Destination Moon'', but ''they'' had [[Woody Woodpecker]].

[[Category:Films of the 1950s]]

[[Category:Rocketship X-M]]