First Man into Space
| First Man into Space | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Directed by | Robert Day |
| Produced by | John Croydon Charles F. Vetter Richard Gordon |
| Written by | Wyott Ordung John Croydon Charles F. Vetter |
| Starring |
Marshall Thompson Marla Landi Bill Edwards Robert Ayres |
|
Production
company |
Amalgamated Productions
|
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
78 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $131,000 |
| Box office | $635,000 |
First Man into Space (working title: Satellite of Blood) is an independently made 1959 UK black-and-white science fiction horror film from Amalgamated Films, directed by Robert Day and produced by John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter, and Richard Gordon. It was based on a story by Wyott Ordung.
The film starred Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Bill Edwards and Robert Ayres, and was distributed by MGM. It was developed from a script that had been pitched to and rejected by AIP.
First Man into Space was directly influenced by The Quatermass Xperiment.
U. S. Navy Cmdr. Charles "Chuck" Prescott (Thompson) is not sure if his brother, Lt. Dan Prescott (Edwards), is the right choice for piloting the rocket powered Y-13 to very high altitude. Capt. Ben Richards (Ayres) of the Air Force Space Command insists that Dan is their best pilot, even though when piloting the Y-12 into the ionosphere, he began experiencing flight difficulties. Upon landing, Dan broke flight regulations by going to see his girlfriend (Landi), rather than immediately filing his flight report. Despite these concerns, Capt. Richards insists that Dan pilot the Y-13 after a thorough check-out and briefing by Dr. Paul von Essen (Jaffe).
The Y-13 takes off, and at 600,000 feet, Dan is supposed to level off and begin his descent. But he continues to climb, firing his rocket emergency boost for more speed. He climbs to 1,320,000 feet (250 miles) and suddenly loses control of the Y-13 while passing through a dense cloud of unknown material, which forces him to eject.
The New Mexico State Police later send a report that a Mexican farmer spotted a parachute, attached to some sort of aircraft, land near his farm, 10 miles south of Alvarado, New Mexico. Chief Wilson (Bill Nagy) meets with Cmdr. Prescott, showing him the wreckage. Tests later show that the automatic escape mechanism and braking chute operated perfectly. The tests also reveal an unknown rock-like material encased on the aircraft's hull; further testing shows this material is completely impervious to X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet light.
...
Wikipedia