Could you believe, they put a man on the Moon - that early!?
Directed by Nathan Juran, First Men In The Moon is an adaptation of the H. G. Wells novel "The First Men in the Moon". Nigel Kneale (creator of Quatermass) and Jan Read write the screenplay, Ray Harryhausen provides the stop-motion effects, and the cast is made up of Lionel Jeffries, Edward Judd & Martha Hyer.
The story sees a UN rocket flight to the Moon land in 1964 thinking it is the first landing in history. However, they discover a British Union Flag and a notice written by a Katherine Callender (Hyer) stating that the Moon has already been claimed in the name of Queen Victoria. This starts off a search by the UN to locate Katherine so as to get to the bottom of the story. They soon find that she has passed away but locate her husband Arnold Bedford (Judd) in an old people's home. Arnold has over the years been dismissed as being "not right" for his claims of having once been to the Moon. But now the authorities are very keen to listen to what Arnold has to say. He tells a fantastical story of the time in 1899 when Professor Joseph Cavor (Jeffries), Katharine and himself, went to the Moon and met an alien race known as the Selenites.
Nathan Juran's movie opens with a booming piece of music by Laurie Johnson, the sort of score opening that promises either end of the world like dramatics, or something resembling the onset of War. We then open with astronauts on the Moon finding the Union Flag of Great Britain - the tone is set for some H. G. Wells sci-fi dalliances. Only what follows for the next 45 minutes is a sedate comedy like piece featuring three over the top Victorian caricatures. It's such as shame that the first two thirds of the movie is actually flat, given that the last third and the production in general really gathers pace and hits the spot.
It's a distracting contrast, and one that begs the question on who is responsible for this silly misstep?. Still, the bonkers plot is fine, even if it's some way away from Wells' social commentary tinged novel, while the actors, possibly in preparation for playing second fiddle to Harryhausen's work, just about keep it watchable till the pace and drama kicks in. As is the case with most Harryhausen led pictures, it's the appearance of his creations and his Dynnamation work that considerably lifts proceedings. Once our dynamic trio land on the Moon the theme considerably changes and we finally get the film that that opening hinted at.
Selenite aliens (a kind of winged beetle race), a giant Caterpillar thingy and the Grand Lunar leader showcase some, what is admittedly, second tier Harryhausen work. However, it's enough to entertain with charm whilst giving the piece some dramatic thrust. Best of all, though, is the art work on show from John Blezard and his team, where terrific sets (and the ever gorgeous in her 40s, Martha Hyer) are enhanced by Wilkie Cooper's excellent colour photography (in LunarColor noless). One can't help thinking that the craft on show deserves a much better film than we, as a whole, get. So this is one for nostalgists like me, who as a youth looked forward to a Saturday afternoon viewing of something Harryhausen inspired, for completists of the great man's work and of course for lovers of "B" movie sci-fi schlock. 7/10
