Project Moon Base (1953)

"Anymore guff out of you and I'll turn you over my knee and spank you.", 4 December 2008

The plot of Project Moon Base is fairly simple – Colonel Briteis is selected to pilot a rocket on a lunar orbit in preparation of an upcoming lunar landing. It's simple enough until it is discovered that an enemy agent is on board with intentions of sabotaging the mission. So whether their superiors like it or not, Colonel Briteis and Major Moore aren't going to be able to complete their mission. They're going to have to try to land on the moon.

Many of the comments you'll see on Project Moon Base focus a lot of attention on the movie's treatment or portrayal of women. Is the movie sexist? Those who argue against it mention Colonel Briteis' (Briteis is a female) position on the space voyage or the fact that the President is a woman. Well so what? Project Moon Base is as sexist as they come. I pointed out some of the sexist comments in Rocketship X-M and that movie's got nothing on Project Moon Base. From the intentional mispronunciation of Colonel Briteis name (Bright Eyes – yeah, right) to General Greene's threat to give Briteis a spanking to Briteis' incapability of fixing the radio after several hours of trying when Major Moore is able to do it in mere seconds – it's about as sexist as I've seen. Sure, it was made in a different time, so don't take my comments as a slam. I'm just pointing out the facts as I see them.

Two things I'm glad to have discovered about Project Moon Base. First, the movie was originally meant to be a television serial. That goes a long way to explaining some of the disjointed scenes and fragmented story lines. Second, many of the props and costumes were also used in Cat Women of the Moon. I thought they seemed awfully familiar. Glad to know I'm not going crazy. Overall, Project Moon Base is a fairly dull programmer with little to hold the attention of the viewer. There aren't any real action scenes and any suspense or drama never materializes. Even by 1953 standards, the special effects had to feel weak and not awfully convincing. Finally, much of the plot is handled rather awkwardly. The notion of an enemy agent infiltration the space program might have been interesting, but here it comes off as just too stupid for words.

As is the case with many of the films I watch, there is another hand. So, on the other hand, Project Moon Base is too enjoyable despite the numerous flaws for me to rate it as a stinker. Donna Martell gives Colonel Briteis an infectious nature that's hard not to enjoy. She's a pleasure to watch. Some of the goofy sight gags are almost charming in their naïveté. Take the scenes on the space station where people walk on the ceiling or the chairs on the wall. Stupid, sure – but fun nonetheless. Finally, there's a real innocence to most everything in Project Moon Base that's often sorely missing from today's movies that I can appreciate. Take the ending of the film where Colonel Briteis is forced to marry Major Bill Moore so people won't talk. And, even though the attitudes of the filmmakers may have been chauvinistic, most of it is harmless enough. Maybe I'm living in the past, but I sort of enjoyed Project Moon Base.

5/10