[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cat_women_of_the_moon_xlg.png]]

Mankinds' first expedition to the Moon courts disaster by including a woman in the crew.

Well there's more to it than that, but not much. Part of the LadyLand subgenre of sci-fi cheapies (see also ''Film/QueenOfOuterSpace'' and ''Film/FireMaidensOfOuterSpace'') in which an InterplanetaryVoyage leads to the discovery of an all-female society on another world. Rather than using this premise to explore gender politics of [[TheFifties the time]], we instead get {{fanservice}} and the restoration of a reassuring sense of male patriarchy by the end.

What were you expecting -- [[ThisAintRocketSurgery rocket science]]?

It received a 1959 remake titled ''Film/MissileToTheMoon''.

Was covered by Podcast/{{Rifftrax}}
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!!''Cat-Women of the Moon'' provides examples of:

* AliensSpeakingEnglish
-->'''Helen:''' I still can't be sure whether you're speaking my language, or I yours.\\
'''Alpha:''' We need no language, Helen. We can [[{{Telepathy}} project our thoughts]] long distances, as you well know. Some day we will teach you. In the meantime we will speak your tongue, just as [[{{omniglot}} we speak all of Earth's tongues]].
* ArtificialGravity: Used in the cave to hold an atmosphere. Presumably on the rocketship too, as we're spared the obligatory zero-g sequence. Also Laird says their [[SpaceX space boots]] won't weigh as much once they're out on the moon's surface.
* BrainyBrunette: Supposedly Helen, but it turns out her skill in navigation was provided by the evil cat-women! No wonder she doesn't have to ask for directions in space.
* DeathByMaterialism: Walt Walters is constantly pulling cheap stunts to get money (postcards from the Moon, [[EnforcedPlug advertisement plugs]] on the radio). He gets stabbed InTheBack in a [[GoldFever cave of gold]].
* DejaVu: Helen has the strangest feeling that all this has happened before. And worse, [[Film/MissileToTheMoon it will all happen again.]]
* DyingRace: Why the cat-women are desperate to TakeOverTheWorld. The Moon is running out of oxygen.
* ChekhovsGun: When they first go exploring on the Moon, Kip takes along a firearm, and Helen takes cigarettes and matches, even though there's no logical reason to do so. Both come in useful.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** [[TheHero Kip]] is the first on deck, checks on the well-being of his captain and [[NumberTwo rouses the others on his orders]], making a point of helping Helen unstrap from her hammock.
** [[GirlyGirl Helen]] does her hair and relies on women's intuition instead of checking her instruments.
** [[RulesLawyer Captain Laird]] barks at the others to check their instruments instead of taking a moment to [[YouHadUsWorriedThere answer the desperate calls from White Sands]], so the people back on Earth will know they're not dead. When he does answer, he just gives a status report and only reluctantly allows the others to say a few words to their expectant audience.
** Walt jokes of the money he'll collect from a SideBet.
** [[EnsignNewbie Doug]] marvels at the fact that they [[BoldExplorer finally made it into Outer Space]].
* ExactTimeToFailure: There's a nitric acid leak in the engine room, so Kip gets into a HazmatSuit to fix it, despite being told that it will only last a minute flat. (Kip: "I'll just be fifty-nine seconds...I hope!") The crew are even shown looking at their watches during this scene.
* {{Fanservice Extra}}s: The Hollywood Cover Girls (whoever they are) play the (non-speaking) cat-women.
* FauxlosophicNarration: The OpeningMonologue, but at least they cut straight to the action.
-->'''Narrator:''' The eternal wonders of space and time. The far away dreams and mysteries of other worlds. Other life. The stars. The planets. Man has been face to face with them for centuries, yet is barely able to penetrate their unknown secrets. Sometime, someday, the barrier will be pierced. Why must we wait? Why not... now?
-->''SmashCut to rocketship blasting into space!''
* FishbowlHelmet: Worn by the crew, though with a flat face-piece for an undistorted view.
* FutureSpandex: The [[NonIndicativeName cat-women]] at least wear catsuits.
* GiantSpider: Our heroes are attacked by giant [[SpecialEffectsFailure puppet]] spiders, reducing Helen to a ScreamingWoman.
* GoldFever: As usual, the moon has [[WorthlessYellowRocks plenty of gold]]. [[Film/{{Moon}} Helium 3, what's that?]]
* GratuitousGreek: Alpha and her CoDragons, Beta and [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Lambda]].
* HumanAliens: They're not even [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe green!]]
* HazmatSuit: Kip dons a hooded suit to fix a coolant leak, after the obligatory meteor shower damages their nuclear-powered RetroRocket. [[FridgeLogic Shouldn't the engineer be doing that?]]
* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Averted; the cat-women decided to use Helen for their schemes because they have no control over men.
* InterspeciesRomance: Lambda and Doug. It doesn't take them long to discuss what boys and girls get up to on Earth and fall in love.
* TheLancer: Kip, who is more informal compared to the by-the-book Laird, and doesn't hesitate to voice his suspicions about Helen or take action on his own behalf whenever he thinks it's necessary.
* LetsSplitUpGang:
** Even though they've just been attacked by {{Giant Spider}}s that dropped from the roof of the cave, the men walk off in two different directions, leaving an exhausted Helen alone. A cat-woman sneaks up and puts a mind-controlling disc on her.
** Averted when Helen is abducted by the cat-women. Kip points out they only have one gun, so it makes more sense to stick together and wait to see if she's returned. She is.
* LoveTriangle: Helen loves Kip, but the evil cat-women have made Helen turn her attentions to Laird because it's more suitable for their purpose.
* {{Lunarians}}: Somehow a society of women who match contemporary Earth standards of beauty has arisen on the Moon.
* MindControl: WeakWilled Helen
* MustHaveNicotine: Helen insists on bringing cigarettes even though she can't smoke them in a spacesuit. [[ChekhovsGun They just happen to come in handy]] for demonstrating the dangers of the Light Side, or testing if there is oxygen.
* NeutralFemale: Helen stands by as Doug is attacked; justified as she is being mind-controlled.
* NeverTrustATrailer: The poster above has snarling, clawed cat-women who don't appear in the movie.
* NonIndicativeName: Warning -- this movie does not contain {{Catgirl}}s.
* NoSeatbelts: Averted; when the crew have to put their RetroRocket in a spin to dislodge a FlamingMeteor that's become lodged in their tail section, they buckle up the seatbelts on their swivel chairs... [[NoOshaCompliance Swivel chairs?]]
* NotHerself: Helen whenever she's channeling the Alpha. She either speaks in a CreepyMonotone or gets a lot more assertive.
* PermissionToSpeakFreely: Kip voices his increasing suspicions when Helen leads them to a cave into the interior.
-->'''Kip:''' I wonder if the commander would permit an observation?\\
'''Laird:''' Ah come on Kip, we don't have to get that formal.\\
'''Kip:''' Well I only wanted to point out, that from the angle the ship entered the crater, it would have been impossible for Miss Salanger to see that cave.
* ThePowerOfLove: Kip breaks Alpha's MindControl just by [[HoldingHands holding Helen's hand]].
* ThePowerOfTheSun: If you put a cigarette over the dividing line between the light and dark sides of the moon, it will burst into flame! [[FridgeLogic In that case, why was Captain Laird surprised that Helen chose a landing site on the Dark Side?]]
* ProperlyParanoid: Kip insists on taking a revolver with him, even though they have no reason to believe there is anything or anyone living on the Moon. It comes in handy defending them against cat-women and giant spider-puppets.
* ReentryScare: Inverted as the movie opens with White Sands Missile Base desperately calling the crew of Moon Rocket 4 because they've [[ScienceMarchesOn blacked out from the terrible G-forces of takeoff]].
* RetroRocket: Moon Rocket 4
* SinisterSilhouettes: Difficult to achieve when the subject is a woman with a BeehiveHairdo. Except for the HandOfDeath when Walt gets killed.
* SpaceIsCold
-->'''Laird:''' I want everyone to check each other's heaters. It must be set on Number Two, because of the absolute cold of the dark side.
* SpaceMadness: Laird puts down Helen's call to Alpha (which she doesn't remember) as "a touch of space madness". Despite this temporary insanity he's not concerned when she picks a landing ground on the unsurveyed dark side of the Moon.
* StockFootage: The 1949 film taken from an A4 rocket launched into the upper atmosphere is played in a constant loop for the takeoff scene. However a model is used for Moon Rocket 4 instead of the usual V2 launch footage.
* TakeOurWordForIt: At least ''Film/{{Missile to the Moon}}'' has an explosive climax. This movie ends with Rip running offscreen firing his gun after Alpha and Beta. We then hear him shouting back, "The cat-women are dead! Helen's all right!"
* TakeOverTheWorld: Alpha's evil plan.
-->'''Alpha:''' [[EconomyCast Four of us will be enough.]] We will get their women under our power, and [[BehindEveryGreatMan soon we shall rule the whole Earth]].
* [[TelepathicSpacemen Telepathic Spacewomen]]
-->'''Alpha:''' We need no language. We can project our thoughts long distances.
* TripToTheMoonPlot: We choose to go to the Moon not because it is easy, but because it's full of hot babes!
* VanityIsFeminine: The first thing that Helen does on getting out of the acceleration couch is open a [[NoBudget wooden desk drawer]], take out a comb and mirror and start doing her hair. Walt apparently made a SideBet that she would.
* VillainTeleportation: Lambda teleports herself via a bad JumpCut. Leads to a FridgeLogic moment -- if the cat-women can do this, why do they need the spacesuits to get to the rocketship?
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