History Film / RocketshipXM

In 1949 Hollywood was abuzz with the news of Creator/GeorgePal's upcoming ''Film/DestinationMoon''. 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 [[XtremeKoolLetterz X-M]]'' (AKA ''Expedition Moon'' and ''Rocketship XM-1''), filmed in only eighteen days, and released in May 1950. It shows. While competently written and directed by Kurt Neumann (with an uncredited rewrite by Creator/DaltonTrumbo) and featuring a game cast led by Creator/LloydBridges, the movie contains moments of FridgeLogic, HollywoodScience and SpecialEffectsFailure that decades later were gleefully riffed by ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

* DeusExMachina: 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.
* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The press conference scene before the launch; takes less time than ''Destination Moon'', but ''they'' had WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker.

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 UsefulNotes/{{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.

* GoldFever: The Fifties version -- Dr Eckstrom notes "immense deposits of pitchblende", more valuable than gold at that early stage of the Atomic Age, though being surrounded by the consequences of nuclear proliferation gives him pause.

* [[SciFiWritersHave/NoSenseOfTime Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense Of Time]]:
** With only 16 minutes to launch, the crew begin a press conference. With 6 minutes to go, they are having a nice chat before being driven to the ship. 2 minutes are sufficient for the drive to the ship and leisurely climb to the control room. Anyone who has followed a real launch on TV will recognise how hopelessly compressed this is.
** What should be an eight month trip to Mars takes only days.

* WhatsAnXLikeYouDoingInAYLikeThis: Delivered entirely straight to TheChick, who chides the line-giver for thinking she should StayInTheKitchen.

* FiveManBand: Standard BMovie cast with a [[TheCaptain serious older guy]], a [[TheLancer cocky handsome]] AcePilot, a [[TheSmartGuy shy handsome guy]], the Broadly Accented PluckyComicRelief, and TheChick.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:(aka KillEmAll). Several expedition members are killed by the Martians. The remainder return to Earth only to have their rocketship crash because they've no fuel to land, or even put themselves into orbit.]]

In 1949 Hollywood was abuzz with the news of Creator/GeorgePal's upcoming ''Film/DestinationMoon''. 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 [[XtremeKoolLetterz X-M]]'' (AKA ''Expedition Moon'' and ''Rocketship XM-1''), filmed in only eighteen days. It shows. While competently written and directed by Kurt Neumann (with an uncredited rewrite by Creator/DaltonTrumbo) and featuring a game cast led by Creator/LloydBridges, the movie contains moments of FridgeLogic, HollywoodScience and SpecialEffectsFailure that decades later were gleefully riffed by ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

* SpaceDoesNotWorkThatWay: Apparently weightlessness occurs when you get far enough from Earth, and has nothing to do with whether or not the engines are firing or you are in orbit.

* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace: Warm coats and [[SpaceSuitsAreSCUBAGear oxygen masks]] are all that's needed on Mars.

In 1949 Hollywood was abuzz with the news of George Pal's upcoming ''Film/DestinationMoon''. 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 [[XtremeKoolLetterz X-M]]'' (AKA ''Expedition Moon'' and ''Rocketship XM-1'') filmed in only eighteen days. It shows. While competently written and directed by Kurt Neumann (with an uncredited rewrite by Creator/DaltonTrumbo), the movie contains moments of FridgeLogic, HollywoodScience and SpecialEffectsFailure that decades later were gleefully riffed by ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

Nevertheless the movie 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.

* {{Zeerust}}: Yeah, ''manually'' make calculations instead of having one of those electronic adding things, something called a "com-pyoo-tor."

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 ''Film/DestinationMoon''. 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 [[XtremeKoolLetterz X-M]]'' (AKA ''Expedition Moon'' and ''Rocketship XM-1'') filmed in only eighteen days. It shows. While competently written and directed by Kurt Neumann (with an uncredited rewrite by Creator/DaltonTrumbo), the movie contains moments of FridgeLogic, HollywoodScience and SpecialEffectsFailure that decades later were gleefuly riffed by ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

In 1949 Hollywood was abuzz with the news of George Pal's upcoming ''Film/DestinationMoon''. 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 [[XtremeKoolLetterz 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 FridgeLogic, HollywoodScience and SpecialEffectsFailure that decades later were gleefuly riffed by ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''.

* SpaceFriction: Apparently when the engines stop in space, you're stranded and can't move.
** Justified, since a moonship ''does'' move slowest at the crossover point between Earth and Lunar gravity, which appears to be what the dialogue describes.

** [[RealLifeWritesThePlot]] To avoid being sued by George Pal this Moon expedition goes to Mars instead. What the hell -- it's only 50 million miles away! The journey from Earth orbit to Mars takes days instead of months [[spoiler:and they still have enough fuel, water, oxygen and food to make it ''most'' of the way back]].

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

* CaliforniaDoubling: Death Valley for Mars.

** [[RealLifeWritesThePlot To avoid being sued by George Pal]] this Moon expedition goes to Mars instead. What the hell -- it's only 50 million miles away! The journey from Earth orbit to Mars takes days instead of months [[spoiler:and they still have enough fuel, water, oxygen and food to make it ''most'' of the way back]].

* HollywoodScience: Glaringly obvious when compared to its rival ''DestinationMoon''. Rather than using advisors of the calibre of Creator/RobertAHeinlein and Chesley Bonestell, scriptwriter Kurt Neumann took his information from a 1949 ''Life'' magazine article which itself contained several scientific errors.

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The press conference scene before the launch; takes less time than ''Destination Moon'', but ''they'' had WoodyWoodpecker.

* HandWave: To avoid expensive zero-G effects, the cabin rotates so the floor is always down (we are given a shot of the portholes being covered and uncovered in the process). They do lose gravity, [[HollywoodScience but only light objects are affected]].

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Even for a Golden Age RetroRocket, the RXM looks [[FreudWasRight unusually phallic]].

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Several expedition members are killed by the Martians. The remainder return to Earth only to have their rocketship crash because they've no fuel to land, or even put themselves into orbit.]]

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Even for a Golden Age RetroRocket, the RXM looks unusually phallic.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: [[spoiler:The only bright spot is that the Rocketship manages to contact Earth and tell the tale, and those on Earth decide to continue exploring in defiance to the tragedy.]]

* GoldFever: Dr Eckstrom notes "immense deposits of pitchblende", more valuable than gold at that early stage of the Atomic Age. You'd think being surrounded by the consequences of nuclear proliferation would give him pause.