First Man Into Space – Movie Review
Director: Robert Day
Writer: John Croydon, Charles F Vetter (Screenplay)
Writer: Wyatt Ordung (Story)
Cast
- Marshall Thompson (Fiend Without a Face)
- Marla Landi (House of the Baskervilles)
- Bill Edwards (Floods of Fear)
- Robert Ayres (A Night to Remember)
- Bill Nagy (Goldfinger)
Plot: The first pilot to leave Earth’s atmosphere lands, then vanishes; but something with a craving for blood prowls the countryside…
Runtime: 1 Hour 17 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: First Man Into Space starts as Commander Charles Prescott (Thompson) is preparing the first pilot to get into space. LT Dan Prescott (Edwards) is selected for the mission and during the testing breaks the rules in his attempt to get into space. However, he reluctantly leaves Dan on the mission knowing he is the best pilot.
On the latest test, Dan disobeys orders to go further than planned and loses contact with the ground. However, his risk came at a price and he goes missing and the ship crash lands back on Earth. Over the next couple of days, strange events start happening in the area, which leads them to question what came back from space.
Verdict on First Man Into Space
First Man Into Space is a sci-fi horror movie following one of the first attempts to get into space. It follows the reckless pilot who goes against orders and goes missing. However, what returns has a hunger for blood and it becomes a race against time to discover what it is.
This movie dives into the paranoia of the 1950s and 60s in the space race. I say this is nearly every review of what came from space movies, and it is an effective tool for entertaining horror. It uses the idea to show how much of a cowboy people can be when following orders that could change history and the small changes the world would witness. The monster is frightening and its power brings plenty of danger to the locals. Even if it follows the more traditional idea that America can overcome the problems.
Final Thoughts – First Man Into Space is a fun creature feature for the era.