''Man in the Moon'' is a 1960 comedy film directed by Basil Dearden. The film stars

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy '' Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this per ...

and

Shirley Anne Field Shirley Anne Field (born Shirley Broomfield; 27 June 1938) is an English actress who has performed on stage, film and television since 1955, prominent during the British New Wave. Early life Broomfield was born in Forest Gate, Essex (now in ...

Plot

William Blood ( More) is a man who appears to be immune to all known diseases, and possesses extraordinary resistance to heat and cold – a fact he puts down to his carefree, single life, never committing to any woman, and never being worried by anything. He makes a living working for medical researchers who are trying to find cures for various diseases and conditions (notably the common cold and seasickness). Blood is offered a job by Dr Davidson ( Hordern) to become the passenger of a high altitude test flight, but the real job is to become the first man to land on the Moon. The truth is kept from him because of the extreme danger involved, and because he is regarded as expendable. He undertakes training with three other potential astronauts, including Leo (

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

), all expensively trained and more qualified for the job but without Blood's extraordinary resistances. Blood never really fits in with the others and, when a £100,000 reward is posted for the first man to land on the Moon, they seek to sabotage his chances and have one of their number selected instead. When Blood meets and falls in love with an attractive stripper named Polly (

Field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

), he begins to lose his immunity. Spurred by the news of the reward, he decides to continue his training so that he and Polly will be able to afford a new home when he returns. Leo becomes insanely jealous and tries to sabotage Blood's training, but he manages to survive the attempt. When the scientists realise that Leo is the saboteur they use a session in a sensory deprivation chamber to

brainwash Brainwashing (also known as mind control, menticide, coercive persuasion, thought control, thought reform, and forced re-education) is the concept that the human mind can be altered or controlled by certain psychological techniques. Brainwashin ...

him into believing he is Blood's best friend. Later, when Polly falls into a river and is in danger of drowning, Leo saves her but allows Blood to take the credit. Once their training is complete, the astronauts are flown to the Woomera rocket base and Blood takes part in what appears to be a completely successful launch. Three days later he steps out of his capsule onto what appears to be the moon's surface. While exploring he is startled by what appears to be an extraterrestrial being, and then spots a used

baked beans Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white beans that are parboiled and then, in the US, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. In the United Kingdom, the dish is sometimes baked, but usually stewed in sauce. Canned ...

can. His capsule had ejected from the rocket prematurely, landing him in the Australian outback only a few miles from Woomera, and the "alien" turns out to be a man prospecting for

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

. Making his way back to the base, Blood tells the scientists "back to the drawing board". Back in England, he and Polly take part in a test for family planning; the three cots by their bed indicate that the test has been successful.

Cast

as William Blood *

as Polly *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Wi ...

as Herbert *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as Dr. Davidson *

John Glyn-Jones John Glyn-Jones (28 August 1908 – 21 January 1997) was a British stage, radio, television and film actor. His father, William Glyn-Jones, was a Member of Parliament and he was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and Oxford University. H ...

as Dr. Wilmot * John Phillips as Professor Stephens * Charles Gray as Leo * Bernard Horsfall as Rex *

Bruce Boa Andrew Bruce Boa (10 July 1930 – 17 April 2004) was a Canadian actor, who found success playing the token American in British films and television, usually playing military types. Boa's most recognizable film role is in ''The Empire St ...

as Roy * Noel Purcell as Prospector * Ed Devereaux as Storekeeper * Newton Blick as Dr. Hollis

Production

In order to make ''Man in the Moon'' appear authentic, the production company spent months "in scientific research" so that "those scenes in which the space men are trained for their trip to the moon" were credible. "With the consent of the British

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

, certain top-secret information – including experiments in rocket propulsion, conditions under tests, and the reactions of bodies to extreme pressure – was made available. More data came from America and, strangely, even more from Russian sources".

Reception

''Man in the Moon'' had a Royal Charity Premiere attended by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

on 31 October 1960 at the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

and entered general release on the Rank circuit (Odeons and Gaumonts) from mid-January 1961. On its United States release, film reviewer

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

described the plot as following a course of "appropriately wacky illogic". He further considered More the key to the "utterly slapdash film, which qualifies for attention because of its cheerfulness and Mr. More". Unexpectedly, considering the talents involved, ''Man in the Moon'' performed disappointingly at the box office. It has been called "More's first real flop" since he became a movie star.Shipman 1989, p. 415. By 1971, the film was still £37,000 short of breaking even.

DVD release

''Man in the Moon'' is available on Region 2 DVD.

Novelisation

A novelisation of the ''Man in the Moon'' screenplay was written by John Foley and published in the UK by Four Square Books, Ltd. The copyright date of 1960 would indicate that it was published slightly in advance of the film's general release. The book runs 160 pages and contains a four-page insert of black-and-white movie stills.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Shipman, David. ''The Great Movie Stars: The International Years''. London: Macdonald, 1989. . * Walker, Alexander. ''Hollywood, England: The British Film Industry in the Sixties''. New York: Stein and Day, 1974. .

External links

* * {{Basil Dearden 1960 films Films directed by Basil Dearden Films shot at Pinewood Studios British science fiction comedy films 1960s science fiction comedy films Films about astronauts 1960 comedy films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films