Satellite in the Sky (1956)

Sorry, this movie sucks

One of my all time favorites.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The acting in this movie is really good.

This is one of those 1950's serious science fiction space travel extravaganzas in color, but one of the only British ones. They predicted a lot of things right, got a few things wrong (we still have not militarized space, thank goodness), but still it is amazing that this film was made in 1956, even prior to Sputnik going up.The model work of the spaceship/rocket is top notch for 1956, even if it doesn't fool one living soul in 2013.We're all here for the action stuff about test flights and launching the rocket, and the (inevitable) Crisis In Outer Space (tm) that all serious science fiction efforts seem to gravitate (har har) toward.We're here less so for the political back story, machinations and intrigue, and philosophical battle about the value of taking risks and the sense of discovery that science provides contrasted with all those other issues that require money down here on li'l old Earth, which goes on between the Space Cadet commander and the Spunky Female Reporter (tm also). Did women have ANY profession other than reporter in a movie made prior to 1967? And we're definitely not here for the limp attempts at delving into some of the characters' love lives.But this is entertaining for its time. There are some slow bits, true, but ultimately they do not forget about what we are all there to see, and we get back to glamour shots of the spaceship eventually.If you're a fan of 1950's science fiction, and you haven't seen it, you could do a lot worse than Satellite in the Sky.

The Brits in the 50s seemed to have a distinctly different idea of proper pacing for their movies compared to American output from the same period.(I think that's still true today). Most of the time, this makes British science fiction a refreshing change of pace (for example, in "World Without End".) Unfortunately, other times they somehow lose control of the rhythms and tempo of the screen play and the results slide into dullness and boredom now matter how good the actors are and no matter how hard they try (like "Immediate Disaster")."Satellite In the Sky" falls into the "dull" category, at least for my taste.There are some very nice touches here, of course. Most of the sets look great, costumes and props have weight and appeal, and most of the special effects are well conceived and executed (if you can overlook the "rocket exhaust" from the model that drifts upwards in a thoroughly illusion dispelling way.). And I liked most of the cast on principle - it was especially interesting to see "Miss Moneypenny" from the Bond Series here in a prominent pre-Bond role. And there's even a suitably moralistic plot complication in which a supposedly peaceful flight of exploration and adventure turns out to be financed by the military, who want to drop a super-bomb out in(for "test purposes".) But the screenplay doesn't have any real forward momentum, and there are too many scenes of characters going on and on about various issues without any tension, good blocking, or even plot advancement. People talk and talk and talk, but there's no real character development either - nothing anybody says will surprise you. And just when the final crisis is resolved and the super-bomb goes off, and you think the characters will reunite in a final scene to resolve their issues and relationships and settle various lingering threads, the movie just stops. "BANG", "The End".Certainly an interesting artifact of 50's science fiction...I can't help but think this is what a movie based on a Robert Heinlein story would be like if he'd been bowdlerized by the Editorial board of the Ladies Home Journal.

This little seen film is definitely worth seeking out for fans of 50's sci-fi that concerns space travel. It has very nice production values, something along the lines of KRONOS, and is equally entertaining.Good acting, intelligent script, nice matte paintings and some pretty good effects using miniatures make this one an interesting watch throughout. Recommended mostly for fans of good, lost 50's sci-fi!Note: Satellite in the Sky was originally filmed in 2:35 widescreen, however the collectors copy in circulation is unfortunately a horrendous pan and scan version. Whoever put together this sloppy and choppy pan and scan transfer should be shot into space without a satellite...

Humankind's first trip into space is perverted to test a superbomb. The mission becomes jeopardized when the rocket motor fails on the bomb and the bomb becomes attached to the ship due to (now scientifically discredited) the gravitational attraction between the two objects. Though the movie is talky, it is also quite thought provoking. The production values (particularly the cinematography and spaceship models) are excellent.