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Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon"

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I first saw Jules Verne's From The Earth to the Moon on the Turner Classic Movie channel and sorry but I liked it and found it good and entertaining. No, it's not the best sci-fi movie ever made but it is good and I recommend it!

A few folks here are being overly hard on this movie. I find it to be a wonderful B sci fi flick. Don't worry about the original book, enjoy this movie for what it is, good acting, good plot, nice sets, overall a very strong B flick that I really hope makes it to DVD soon.

I can't help thinking that Jules Verne would not be pleased, as 1958's From the Earth to the Moon is as far from his original story as, well, the earth is from the moon. A sudden cameo by "Jules Verne" to praise the power of imagination at the very end does little to return this story to its original, visionary framework. Verne's story is hijacked from the very start, a significant part of the novel is glossed over in mere seconds, a female stowaway is added to the crew of space travelers, and the flight to the moon has almost nothing to do with Verne's original vision. The film also has more forgivable problems. From the Earth to the Moon was one of the last RKO Pictures; as production commenced, the budget dried up; as a result, some scenes (including one on the moon) had to be scrapped, and the film suffered noticeably in the special effects department. In fact, the film had to be distributed by Warner because RKO was defunct by the time From the Earth to the Moon was released.

Rather than present Verne's tale as it was written, the moviemakers decided that they had to turn it into some modern-day morality play. Thus, Victor Barbicane is turned into a greedy warmonger heralding the dangers of a powerful new weapon; his original purpose in the film is to launch an armed projectile at the moon in order to show the world how deadly powerful his new explosive is, and his defensive-minded nemesis Stuyvesant Nicholl becomes the voice of reason in a mad world - although the film later decides that Barbicane is definitely the better man with the grander vision for the future. The story takes place in the aftermath of the American War Between the States, but here we see Barbicane's explosive takes upon itself the potential dangers of nuclear war in Cold War America. Eventually, Barbicane is forced to change his plan, and only then, finally, do we prepare for a voyage to the moon in a projectile launched by a humongous cannon.

Forget all of Verne's well-thought-out science, his tedious designs for the cannon and projectile, even his innovative means for providing the space travelers with air to breathe. In the film, our explorers basically inhabit a gigantic mansion complete with carpeting, fancy furniture, and all the luxuries of life. In the film, oxygen is not even a concern, and that is an affront I know Jules Verne would never have stomached. The whole voyage could not possibly have been more different (or less plausible) than Verne's conception. The addition of a stowaway, an act of sabotage, and a ponderous debate over the modern arms movement each vie for the right of being called "the final straw" that would have broken Verne's back.

Judged on its own terms, though, the movie manages to be rather interesting, Joseph Cotten makes for a most engaging Barbicane, and man's first attempt to travel to the moon was and is inherently fascinating. On the whole, though, there are just too many problems weighing this film down (which is ironic, given the extent to which gravity is ignored during the flight to the moon) - in addition to all of the unwelcome changes it makes to Verne's original vision. You would think the sabotage of a projectile in outer space would make for riveting action - not here, though. Even though the crew expects to die at any minute, the final scenes drag on interminably, filled with too much romantic melodrama and moralizing. The big payoff you might expect at the end never happens because of the budgetary constraints placed upon production. As a result, what should be an exciting, visionary film leaves one rather nonplussed (and, in the case of this Jules Verne enthusiast, a tad bit disgusted).

Item was just as descibed,fast shipping. I would order again from this ventor and would recommend them highly. Thanks ever so much I have been looking for this movie for a long time. "From the Earth to the Moon" 1958 Classic.

If you are into "steampunk" you might like this. You might like it also if you are into Mystery Theater 3000. But whatever this film is ... and I suggest steampunk ... it is NOT an adaptation of Jules Verne's novel. It simply has been changed too much, and in an illogical manner. The result might be best described as a farrago of "From the Earth to the Moon", "20,000 Leagues under the Sea", and "Frankenstein." The clues suggesting this are: 1) the protagonist's name has been changed from Impey Barbicane to Victor Barbicane ... as in Victor Frankenstein; 2) Victor Barbicane uncovers a fantastic secret which gives him access to unlimited energy; 3) this frightens the world so much that he is prohibited from conducting experiments with his power source; 4) however he finds an alternative demonstration.
The illogical elements of this film are many ... even given the basic premises. Just as an example: the spaceship Victor builds is rocket powered, yet he builds the huge Verne-style gun to shoot it. Another: he has a complicated way of neutralizing the tremendous acceleration produced by the gun. Yet a girl stowaway survives the blastoff without the aid of this device ... and apparently suffers no harm.
Oh, yes ... you might also like it if you are into the history of science fiction. Unfortunately, copies are hard to get and expensive!

Victor Barbicane (Joseph Cotton) discovers the power of "X". It can be used for good or evil. A demonstration is to carry one to the moon. Naturally we have top have the standard character mix. There is the seemingly rules Victor; he is one of those money grubbing capitalists. Will money blind him to his duty to humanity? There is the local young follower Ben Sharpe (Don Dubbins); he does not think but acts as loyalty should. Will the project blind him? There is the girl, there of course has to be a girl, Virginia Nicholl (Debra Paget) who naturally stows away until decision making is too late; will love blind her? There is the self richest do-gooder Stuyvesant Nicholl (George Sanders) for humanity at any cost; will altruism case the loss of his daughter? Will he be blind to the fact you can not hide "x" forever?

One fun thing about the movie is when they are in space the background (electronic tonalities) sounds are the sound effects from the movie "Forbidden Planet" (1956) by Bebe Barron and Louis Barron.

This movie is a period piece, long after period pieces went out of style. My suggestion is take two aspirin and read the book.

This 1959 movie adaptation of Jules Verne's "From the Earth to the Moon" is the graveyard of declining actors. Joseph Cotton and George Sanders were at the end of fairly successful film careers and about to be relegated to guest appearances on a variety of television shows; the most notable being Sander's Mr. Freeze on "Batman". Debra Paget was in her late twenties; she had lost her glow and was used up by Hollywood standards. The change to an unflattering "strawberry" blonde look exacerbated the problem as few actresses have ever been less suited to a light hair color.

On the plus side, the movie itself is a fairly accurate adaptation of Verne's story; at least the book's illustrations appear to have been used as models for the rocket and the cannon. Verne's 19th century take on space travel turned out to be more accurate than most of the speculation during the first half of the 20th century.

The adaptation's biggest problem was altering Verne's story by inserting a topical theme about the post WWII arms race. In Verne's 1865 novel, the Baltimore Gun Club itself set about building a rocket to go to the Moon. In the adaptation a munitions manufacturer (think "Destination Moon") concocts the scheme to demonstrate his powerful new explosive. With a lot of discussion about science, weapons, and peace the movie dances around the subject extensively yet never makes a coherent point about its position (regarding the nuclear arms race), as if simply inserting the theme is somehow sufficient.

The movie is a cross between "Destination Moon" and "Rocketship X-1", combining the former's good science and bad political message with the latter's dismal sets and comical special effects. The acting in all three films is equally sad.

The premise has munitions manufacturer Victor Barbicane (Cotton) discovering an explosive (Power X) capable of firing a shell-like projectile to the moon. His plan is opposed for philosophical/religious reasons by Stuyvesant Nicholl (Sanders), another manufacturer. Although these philosophical differences play an important part in the story, they are never convincingly elaborated on, which undermines the basic storyline.

President Grant orders Barbicane to abandon the project because it is considered an act of war by other nations. While this is unconvincing it does serve as Barbicane's inspiration to change the project to a manned space flight. Nicholl then agrees to manufacture the ceramic coating needed for re-entry and to accompany Barbicane on a flight to the moon. Paget plays Nicholl's daughter who hides inside the rocket just prior to take-off.

"From the Earth to the Moon" is often confused with "First Men in the Moon" which was made five years later. Probably because both are set in the 19th century and both feature a female stowaway (played by Martha Hyer in the later film). "First Men in the Moon" (while not a great film) is superior in virtually every detail to "From the Earth to the Moon". Rather ironically it was adapted from a story by "H.G. Wells", an early science fiction writer often compared to Verne.

Movie adaptations of Verne's books were a big thing in the 1950's and early 1960's. Among the good ones were "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1954), "Around the World in 80 Days" (1956), "Journey to the Center of the Earth"(1959), "Mysterious Island" (1961), and "Master of the World" (1961). Unfortunately "From the Earth to the Moon" is simply not in the same league as these examples.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.