Customer Reviews

First Man Into Space [VHS]

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This seemingly harmless, boilerplate fifties scifi "thriller" is of special significance to me, which is the reason I purchased the VHS version. When I was eight years old, I attended a double feature matinee at the Varsity Theater in Palo Alto, California. The main feature was Disney's "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," a decent, semi-comedic flick most well-known for being a showcase for a budding actor named Sean Connery. "Darby" included a few scary moments, however, in which an animated "banshee" was shown floating ominously in the evening sky. Perhaps because of these briefly frightening scenes, the geniuses in charge of putting together the double bill selected "First Man Into Space" as the second feature.

The results were nothing short of disastrous.

Although "First Man" seems cheesy and at times downright plodding by today's frenetic standards for scifi films, showing a movie that includes a mutated, cyclopic, blood-drinking murderous monster to a crowd of under-ten children resulted in pandemonium in the theater and countless youthful nightmares afterward. I was so scared by the "monster" (I was certain it was going to come bursting through my bedroom window) that I could not sleep alone for several nights.

Since I never forget to just what extent "First Man" scared the bejibbers out of me was back in 1959, I eagerly anticipated seeing the movie again some forty-plus years later. Needless to say, it was a very different experience the second time around. The "monster," who actually was the "first man into space" deformed by some mysterious variety of cosmic radiation, still appeared slightly scary (the one staring eye was an inspired effect, truly). But overall, the film seemed slow, dull, and oh, so cheesy. As other reviewers have indicated, the plot line of the movie has some admirable elements, with its "pride goeth before a fall" morality and the compassion showed by the authorities in the final scenes. But the film definitely qualifies as fodder for ridicule and wisecracks a la the late (and much missed) series, "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

In seeing the movie for the first time themselves, my own sons, far more jaded in terms of what qualifies as "frightening," politely commented that they "could see how the monster might be scary," but I confess they were so bored by the production overall that it was all they could do to keep from leaving the room prior to the conclusion.

I guess to appreciate some of the virtues of this not-bad-but-not-great fifties scifi "thriller," you hadda be there, in the dark, on a Saturday afternoon with a hundred other terrified suburban kids.

I rented this movie with low expectations. It looked like the typical Z-grade movie that, if it were not for Mystery Science Theater 3000, would be a chore to watch.

Boy, was I wrong!

While the picture was obviously made on a low budget, it comes off much better than you'd think. The special effects are surprisingly good, especially the scenes of the experimental rocket in flight.

There is some interesting stock footage of planes from the X-1 era, being launched from bombers (which at the time was how they thought they'd do rocketry).

I kept wondering when the picture would start to go bad, but it kept my interest throughout. Low budget 50's sci-fi, but a real gem!

I remember seeing this film a a young boy and it helped hook me on Sci Fi for life. 50s rockets and a space plane right out of the newsreels of the time coupled with a risk taking pilot, responsible older brother who is his superior officer and the beautiful scientist who they both want make for a great movie. The science and horror are blended into a believable tale of ambition gone wrong as a disobeyed order to stay below the threshold of space so the pilot can be the first man into space leads to a hideous fate. By doing so he passes thru a cosmic cloud that covers the ship and him in a protective reflective dust which insulates both him and the ship from the atmosphere. What follows is a mystery as to what happened to the pilot when the ship re enters the atmosphere and what is causing the mysterious slasher type murders that have their victims drained of blood leading to a typical 50s climax where a noble act ends in tragedy but gives future pilots a new safety element to continue into space.

a real gem of a film cheaply but professionally done. dont pass this one up.

I saw this movie when I was 8 years old. It was a double feature with "Old Yeller". I never had seen any scary movies before. Like some of the other reviewers, this movie scared the crap out of me. I had nightmares for several weeks and refused to walk alone down the long dark hallway to our bathroom at night. After all these years, the memory of what the monster looked like is still fresh. Now that I have seen the whole movie again, it was fun to relive all the chills it gave me so long ago.

the fiend without a face producers strike again with this somewhat less successful but stillpretty creepy sci-fi/ horror hybrid. like fiend this starts slow but builds to some really scary moments.

This film caused me nightmares when I was a child (after it was run on television). I have never forgotten seeing this movie -- nor have I forgotten sleeping with the lights on for a week -- even though I am now 50 years old. Several Internet movie database websites list this film as "suitable for children." I DON'T THINK SO; unless scaring the crap out of your children is your goal?

THIS MOVIE SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME WHEN I SAW IT IN THE MOVIES IN THE BRONX NY ,WHEN I WAS 10 YRS OLD.I HAD NIGHTMARES FOR A WEEK. THE PART WHEN HE COMES THRU THE BUSHES I FELL OFF MY SEAT.BLACK AN WHITE FILMING MADE IT EVEN BETTER.THIS IS A MUST HAVE.WHERE IS THE DVD FOR $11.99

Once you get past the schmaltzy beginning, this is an interesting bit of "mankind goes too far into the unknown and gets punished" sci-fi. It's hard not to feel for the poor guy, after you see what he becomes! The sequence with the "monster" being led through the corridors by the kindly scientist on the intercom, well, it moved me as a kid and it STILL gets me a bit misty! Also, the wacky pseudo-science is quite interesting... This isn't just nostalgia, it holds up pretty well... Like a good episode of DR. WHO, the conviction of the storytelling overcomes the low budget effects...

When the First Man Into Space gets a cosmic dusting it does some strange things to his mind and body. Pretty good monster and a very good leading man, Marshall Thompson make for a better than average 50's genre sci-fi story. Close to a classic. There was some light speckling in the transfer but all in all the DVD played well and the sound ( Mono ) was acceptable.

Let me first say,if not for the last ten minutes of this film I would have given this movie a five star rating and proclaimed it one of the all-time classics of 50's sci-fi.But because of poor execution in the finaly I am unable to give it my highest recommendation.

As for the rest of the picture,I was thoroughly pleased.From the cast to the spfx,it was apparent that the film-makers were doing there best to make a good film.

The cast is lead by Marshall Thompson;a veteran of 50's sci-fi;and other than a few moments of "gee whiz" delivery he turns in one of his best on-screen performances.The rest of the cast is solid as well.From the leads to the bit parts,everyone was adequate or better.

The spfx were effective and superior to what you would normally expect from this type of film.Also,the stock footage was seamlessly blended into the movie.As for the monster,it was actually very effective looking in the night time scenes.The first time you get a look at it coming through the bushes I was very impressed.Unfortanetly,it isnt nearly as frightening in the well-lit scenes.And who told the guy in the monster suit to walk around like he had ... in his pants?

Which brings me to the reason the ending disappointed me so much.In an effort to place their film above the pack,the movie makers attempted a more thoughtful ending rather than the typical "destroy the monster" ending.It just doesnt work because the monster looks so cheezy in the well-lit room its hard to forget your just seeing some actor in a rubber suit.Its also difficult to feel sorry for someone who killed so many innocent people,despite the extenuating circumstances.

Even though the ending was such a let down I still think this would be a solid addition to anyones sci-fi collection. ...you'll definetly be getting your moneys worth.