Moonshot Realism and McCarthyite Conspiratorialism

Often credited with launching Hollywood's sci-fi golden age, "Destination Moon" is a fascinating artifact in two respects. First and most-frequently mentioned is the realistic depiction of space travel--so much so that post July 1969, the trip to the Moon here is mostly just science rather than fiction. With a few exceptions, "Destination Moon" probably hasn't been very influential in this regard; the sci-fi film output in its immediate wake is generally of a fantastical nature involving aliens, babes, fools and monsters. There had been at least a couple relatively realistic depictions of Moon landings in film before (see "Woman in the Moon" (1929) and "Cosmic Voyage" (1936)), but for the most part, "Destination Moon" was years ahead of its time and such faithful renderings of space travel wouldn't be seen again until the real-world Space Race heated up. The second interesting part about this, however, is very much a product of the time it was produced and has been cited by many as a major theme of and influence upon Cold War sci-fi in general, which is the undercurrent McCarthyism. Thus, "Destination Moon," on the one hand, is steeped in the explicit verification of science and, on the other hand, implicitly strays into Red Scare conspiracy theories.

The actual surface narrative is quite dull, as many have remarked. Characters are poorly fleshed out; the acting, with one regrettable exception, is straightforward; and there's very little in the way of emotional engagement beyond two particularly suspenseful sequences. The notion here of private industrialists leading the way in the Space Race may've seemed far fetched only a few years ago, but now since billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are heavily investing in private spaceflight, "Destination Moon" once again seems prescient. That the film's General turns to private industry to build a spaceship also supports its Red Scare politics. They blame sabotage for a failed military rocket test, and the General seeks out a manufacturer not only because he has the resources but also because private business can supposedly keep out meddlers, of which the government has allegedly proved incapable. Regardless, this private enterprise is nearly prevented by supposed organized propagandist fear-mongers whipping up (again, supposedly) unwarranted concerns over atomic radiation and by a court order--if not for the speedy defiance of our capitalist heroes, who throw caution to the wind by traveling to the Moon themselves, as well as recruiting a reluctant everyman, instead of training astronauts and by moving up their launch schedule. Even when they reach the Moon, it's the free press that calls and not the apparently commie-infested state. Ironically, director Irving Pichel was later blacklisted from Hollywood as a result of The House Un-American Activities Committee.

While the film offers no evidence behind this Red Scare, it's remarkably faithful to the science of space travel. Sure, it got a couple things wrong--such as the cracks in the lunar surface that suggests the presence of water and such an atomic-powered spacecraft has yet to be employed--but, remember, nobody had actually gone to the Moon yet in 1950. Considering it would be nearly two more decades before Apollo 11, "Destination Moon" deserves plenty of slack for only containing a few modest errors. Plus, the spacewalk sequence and the climactic tension over landing on and taking off from the Moon are outstanding scenes merely for the suspense--especially given that they could've easily regressed into trite sentimentality had the narrative been more character focused. The visual effects here deserved the Oscar, as did the art direction its nomination. Chesley Bonestell's matte paintings particularly make the picture worth the Technicolor. And the design of the Luna rocket is impressively sleek.

Unfortunately, while the filmmakers demonstrated confidence that the audience would grasp the political implications of its scenario, to the point that not once is "communism" or the "USSR" called out by name amid all of the narrative's paranoia over sabotage and Space Race rivalry, they were evidently extremely skeptical of spectators' understanding of science. While I can get on board with the Woody Woodpecker cartoon film-within-the-film, which is admittedly amusing for its self-reflexivity (the cartoon even features animation of real magazine marketing for "Destination Moon" within it) and does a decent job at explaining the moonshot in layman terms, the addition to the crew of everyman comic-relief Joe Sweeney--read the surrogate for the filmmakers' assumption of its slack-jawed audience--is insulting. Although, even as obnoxious as Joe is, what with his values of the three B's of "babes, beer and baseball," and that he's entirely a stereotype--a regular Joe from Brooklyn and all--he's the most developed character of the bunch. After him, only the scientist of the group, after all, even has an outline of a life of domesticity outside of the main patriotic lunacy.

When it comes to characterizations and story, "Destination Moon" is mostly a dud, but as a realization of ideas, both scientific and political, it's intriguing.