DESTINATION SPACE (1959)

This hour-long oddity was apparently a TV pilot from CBS that didn't get picked up and was unseen until its recent release on DVD. Actually, because the narrative seems to split down the middle, it feels more like the first two episodes of a show that never was. We begin with a lot of narrated exposition about the existence of a space station 500 miles from earth. Jim Benedict, who has helped financed the station (hence its nickname BB for Benedict's Billions) is about to launch a rocket ship to orbit the moon, but during the countdown, a meteoroid hits the station and the launch is called off. The Senate, concerned about the amount of money being spent on the project, calls Benedict down to earth for some meetings. At dinner one night with Jane, his girlfriend, and Kim, the wife of Benedict's chief commander Dave Reynolds, Kim has a meltdown, berating him for treating her husband like a guinea pig. But later, she admits to Jim that she's in love with him (this feels like it was being set up for a future full series plotline). Jim is sent back to the station with Dr. Easton from the Senate oversight committee, and Easton is suitably impressed with what he sees. But then a second launch is imperiled when a crucial part of the ship ices up, leading to the threat of an atomic explosion. The movie (episode?) is talky with a few short bursts of mild action, but I can see that the situation might have made a good base for a continuing story. The two biggest names in the film, John Agar and Cecil Kellaway, are wasted in small roles. Harry Townes (Jim) is colorless, Charles Aidman (Dave) a little less so. (Pictured is John Clarke as a crew member). It was fun to see Edward C. Platt (the Chief in the 60s spy comedy Get Smart) in a small role. The issue of the usefulness and cost of space missions, brought up by the Senate committee, is fairly prescient. The best of the special effects (maybe the only effects) are borrowed from CONQUEST OF SPACE. Fun viewing as a novelty. [YouTube]