Destination Moon (film)
| Destination Moon | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Irving Pichel |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Produced by | George Pal Walter Lantz (uncredited) |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Lionel Lindon |
| Edited by | Duke Goldstone |
| Music by | Leith Stevens |
| Animation by | Laverne Harding |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production companies | George Pal Productions Walter Lantz Productions |
| Distributed by | Eagle-Lion Classics |
Release date |
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Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $592,000 |
| Box office | $5 million or $1.3 million (US) |
Destination Moon (a.k.a. Operation Moon) is a 1950 American Technicolor science fiction film, independently produced by George Pal and directed by Irving Pichel, that stars John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powers, Dick Wesson and Grace Stafford (voice). The film was distributed in the United States and the United Kingdom by Eagle-Lion Classics.
Destination Moon was the first major U.S. science fiction film to deal with the practical scientific and engineering challenges of space travel and to speculate on what a crewed expedition to the Moon would look like. Noted science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein contributed to the screenplay.
The film's premise is that private industry will mobilize, finance, and manufacture the first spacecraft to the Moon, and that the U.S. government will be forced to purchase or lease the technology to remain the dominant power in space. Different industrialists cooperate to support the private venture.