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First Man Into Space (1959 England)

 
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat Nov 15, 2014 11:07 pm    Post subject: First Man Into Space (1959 England) Reply with quote



A first-rate science fiction story, told on a modest budget.

Air Force officer Marshall Thompson is the Earth-bound brother of an undisciplined test pilot (Bill Edwards) who yearns to be the "first man into space". While testing a new rocket plane, the pilot kicks in all his reserve power and takes his ship right up out of the atmosphere.

In space he encounters a strange cloud of meteoric particles that smash through his canopy and envelope both his ship and his body in a flexible, asbestos-like coating. It alters his physiology, changing him into a creature that can survive in the vacuum of space but not in the suffocating atmosphere of Earth. He returns to Earth as a hideous monster (good makeup), gasping for each breath he takes.



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The tortured man plods along in a zombie-like state, breaking into hospitals to loot the blood banks, slaughtering everyone he encounters. The flexible coating has a razor-sharp outer surface, like broken glass embedded in tar, enabling the astronaut-monster to rip open the throats of his victims with a casual swipe. And the coating is tough enough to make him bullet proof.


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Meanwhile, Thompson and scientist Carl Jaffe discover that the metal of the wrecked spacecraft has been made brittle by the destructive effects of cosmic rays -- except the parts which were protected by the strange coating of space dust. The men conclude that the only hope for the space program is to synthesize the coating and apply it to the hull of all future spacecraft.


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The climax is a dramatic confrontation between Thompson and his hideously deformed brother. Don't miss this little gem, a thinking-man's science fiction film on a working-man's budget, from the same team that made "Fiend Without a Face". Directed by Robert Day from a screenplay by John C. Cooper and Lance Z. Hargreaves. Co-starring Robert Ayres, Marla Landi, Bill Nagy.
_________________
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Wed Jul 20, 2022 12:09 pm; edited 5 times in total
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jimbo Berkey's website, Free Classic Movies has this to say about First Man into Space.

Click on the title and watch it free! Cool
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Eleven years before Apollo 13 would begin its incredible journey that would become a motion picture thriller, rocket plane Y-13 would head into a motion picture outer space adventure that would thrill millions at the 1959 box office.

Chuck is the base commander in charge of developing airplanes that can enter outer space, and his kid brother Dan is the most heroic, fearless, dare-devil pilot with an impulsive curiosity that will cause him to disobey the orders of his older brother and journey where no man has gone before.

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As our adventure opens, Dan pilots mission Y-12, a space rocket plane that bumps the edges of outer space and then returns safely to earth in the New Mexico desert.

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During the test flight Dan ignores the orders from big brother Chuck and almost looses control of the space plane, but his great skills and reflexes enable him to regain control of the rocket plane and guide it gently back to the earth.

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A month later, mission Y-13 is scheduled to take a man to the very edge of outer space, dancing along the border between Earth's atmosphere and the great unknown galaxies beyond man's reach. Dan wants the assignment, but big brother Chuck thinks he is too impulsive and irresponsible for the job.

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Of course Dan is given the assignment, and on the fateful day he pilots the space plane to the edge of our known world.

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Suddenly, without warning, Dan punches the button for the emergency thrust, and the space plane zooms off of the radar screens and into outer space -- the First Man Into Space!
Back on earth Chuck sadly declares that Dan is now doomed to either crash into the moon or orbit the earth forever. As we watch, we understand that the worst thing that could ever happen to a brave explorer has now happened to Dan.

Or has it?

Maybe there is something even worse than his apparent fate . . . . something so frightening and horrifying that mere Earth people could never anticipate.

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Pop a big bowl of white kernel popcorn with plenty of warm melted butter drizzled over it and enjoy the ride into outer space!


____Jimbo Berkey
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Jan 01, 2022 4:28 pm; edited 4 times in total
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Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17020
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2016 6:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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I really hope we can watch this movie during one of All Sci-Fi's Friday Live Chat after the Summer Sci-Fi Series is over at the end of the July.

Meanwhile, here's the trailer, Jimbo's site will allow anyone to stream the movie if they don't have a DVD of it. And at the bottom of the screen, he includes a small download button and instructions on how to use it. The file size for this one is 1.4 GB — which is impressive.



_____________ First Man Into Space 1959 Trailer


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____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Bogmeister
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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_______________ First Man Into Space Trailer


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The man of the title is a somewhat arrogant ass. He's a hotshot pilot and has always striven to be first at everything. This cocky attitude puts him at odds with his older brother and commanding officer (Marshall Thompson), whom he derides for lacking the skills of a great pilot.

This conflict is all demonstrated during the first test flight we see. The pilot, Dan, brings the ship down damaged, walks away unharmed, but instead of going to a debriefing like he's supposed to, he goes to his girlfriend's (Marla Landi) apartment to smooch.

As we might expect, Dan gets his comeuppance during the next key test flight, when he takes the craft higher than anyone has before, disobeying orders. He and the ship are bombarded by an exotic space dust which coats them as a protective shield.

The ship is found on the ground and Dan is presumed dead. But instead he is marauding around the countryside, killing cows and people in his insatiable need for blood. The cosmic coating which covers him now makes him look like a monster.



This is fairly effective as a low budget suspense tale of a monster from outer space — though he happens to be from Earth, just transformed.

The story makes the most out of the tension involved when we're still not clear on just what this monster-like threat is or what it looks like. The reveal is also fairly horrific for this type of fare. Dan the ex-pilot is a frightening monster who makes short work of various victims. The coating covering him grants him invulnerability to bullets, and the outer surface is like glass shards embedded in rubber. When he swipes his arm at a victim, he slashing open their skin!

Dan's physiology has been altered as well. For reasons not made clear, he can no long breath well at normal air pressure — as if the air it too thick! So, all his scenes are accompanied by the disturbing sound of labored breathing.

The story is similar to the Quatermass films of a couple of years earlier, warning us all of the potential dangers of scientific progress. There is a tragic tone by the final act, when we realize that Dan, even with his faults, certainly did not deserve such a fate.

BoG's Score: 6.5 out of 10



BoG
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 12:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Hey, good news! YouTube has the full movie!


______________ FIRST MAN INTO SPACE 1959


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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