12 To The Moon (1960)

Starring Ken Clark, Michi Kobi, Tom Conway, Tony Dexter, John Wengraf
Directed by David Bradley
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

An international crew of scientists take off on a rocket ship to land on and investigate the moon, which they discover is a dangerous world with a hidden civilization.

Writer/producer Fred Gebhardt offers a science fiction tale with low-grade special effects, but the quality of the actors and some excitement in the script made this an enjoyable programmer for me.  Starring Ken Clark as the American commander, Tom Conway as a Russian geologist, John Wengraf as the German designer of the spacecraft, and Michi Kobi and Anna-Lisa as the ladies aboard, there's a number of interesting personalities to pay attention to.  Cory Devlin, as the Nigerian navigator, was especially interesting to me, allowed to showcase his intelligence and spirituality, without a sign of stereotype, and treated by his shipmates and the screenplay with respect.  A subplot involving Wengraf's shame of his father, and Richard Weber's hatred of that man, seems unnecessary but makes up what little conflict there is among the crew.  As our crew traipses out upon the moon, the perils are low-tech but believable enough, and Michael Andersen's score brings some eeriness and tension to those scenes.  The film is far from a great science fiction entry, and may not even be as good as Gebhardt's followup, The Phantom Planet, which reuses some of the costumes and opticals.  I found it to be enjoyable enough however, and worth my time.

The Phantom Planet (1961)

Starring Dean Fredericks, Coleen Gray, Anthony Dexter, Francis X. Bushman, Richard Weber
Directed by William Marshall
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

In the distant future, an Earth astronaut is stranded on a mobile asteroid, home to a tiny race with advanced technology who are in a war with the fearsome Solarites.

An independent science fiction film impressively mounted on a limited budget, the picture presents some unique visuals against the background of an eerie and otherworldly musical score.  Although per IMDB the score was assembled from stock music, it seems integrated and well-suited to the picture.  The visuals include rocket ships, Fredericks shrinking within his space suit, an unusual alien makeup for giant actor Richard Kiel in one of his earlier roles, spaceships encased in a fiery exterior, a pre-Star Trek detention cell with a powerful forcefield, gravity plates that disintegrate whatever touches them, and more.  Fredericks makes a fine leading man for this adventure, and Bushman, a prolific actor with work going back to the silent era, is distinguished as Sessom, the leader of the tiny aliens.  It may not stand on the same level with the more polished sci-fi productions of the era, but it does bring a unique new tale to the screen and one that's entertainingly presented.

Fire Maidens Of Outer Space (1956)

Starring Anthony Dexter, Susan Shaw, Paul Carpenter, Harry Fowler, Sydney Tafler
Directed by Cy Roth
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

After Earth scientists discover a previously unknown 13th moon orbiting Jupiter, they send a crew through space to investigate, who find beautiful women on the moon, and a fearsome monster.

This British effort has a similar plot line to the American Cat-Women Of The Moon, and seems to be aping that film in trying to capture outer space thrills on a low budget.  However, it's much slower-paced, and doesn't have the somewhat sleazy charm of the American picture.  It's not without some merits- the music score does lend some eeriness and suspense to the background when needed, Shaw is beautiful and probably gives the best performance in the movie, and some of the camerawork is striking.  However, the special effects are less than serviceable with one set of levers seeming to control the entire spaceship, and a meteor shower resembling footage from earlier sci-fi productions.  The most interesting elements of the screenplay, written by director Roth, including the claim that the moon's residents came from the lost city of Atlantis, are largely not followed up on.  We also never really get a good look at the monster, nor have a clue to his origins.  Still for 1950's sci-fi completists, it's worth at least checking out, but it will never be one of the better films in the genre or era.