Spaceways

This movie was a lot better than I expected.While it was another short movie with extended periods of nothing and the plot wasn't the greatest, the acting is above average and the movie isn't boring.They do a good job of covering the bases and making sure there are no plot holes but the plot is so average that it doesn't help that much.A scientist is accused of killing his wife and another man and putting them in a rocket and sending it into space.Instead of telling them to look for the those people, he just jumps in a rocket to go get the other rocket and prove they aren't in it.The best thing about the movie is that their space program is realistic, it doesn't work.Four stars, give it a shot.

Much better than what the rating here suggests, "Spaceways" is a fine combination of science fiction, domestic melodrama, a show of force from the North, and Cold War intrigue (curiously in a quite discreet and elegant manner, without overt anti-Communist propaganda). It was skilfully directed by Terence Fisher, before his better known horror motion pictures were made, and as early as 1953 he handles the different elements in a very clever way, suggesting a darker subplot in the realm of horror cinema, than what the mystery finally turns out to be: secluded in a military-ruled modern fortress, a group of men and women carry on a space program, but things get complicated when an adulterous couple disappears as the launching of a rocket to the outer space fails. Visually attractive special effects in spite of its low budget, "Spaceways" is definitely worth a look.

American scientist Howard Duff goes to work on a British space program. The first launch is a failure.... and two of the scientists disappear. Suspicion flls on Duff. Did he murder them?

It's a rather desultory science fiction mystery based on a successful radio script by Charles Eric Maine. Born David McIlwaine, he was a science fiction fan who published his own 'zine before the Second World War. After the war, he became a writer, publishing sf as Maine, mysteries as Richard Rayne and Robert Wade. He died in 1981 at the age of 60.

This movie is not helped by the ham-handed technical terms tossed about in tones that insisted they were very meaningful, nor the flat pace of of the editing.

The title and the poster tend to set the viewer up for a large disappointment with this one, a less-than-gripping film from director Terence Fisher, laudable mostly for the fact that it was made so early in the 1950s. The story is based on a radio play by Charles Eric Maine, with a plot that smacks just a little of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.

Howard Duff plays an American scientist involved with the British space program (they actually had one of those, once). His wife is having an affair with another scientist (Andrew Osborn) who is also a spy. When both wife and lover disappear, an investigator (Alan Wheatley) suspects Duff of murdering them and disposing of the bodies by placing them in a new satellite which is sent into orbit!

There's only one way Duff can clear himself: blast off in a rocket, retrieve the satellite, and bring it back for inspection. He takes Eva Bartok (heroine of 'The Crimson Pirate') with him.

I won't divulge the ending, but it is a twist. The film's slow pace lessens the tension, and the special effects consist largely of stock footage and a few scenes cribbed from 'Rocketship X-M'. Definitely a case of the poster being far better than the movie -- but what a poster!

Many reviewers have unfairly criticised this film for lack of accuracy in the space portion of this yarn. Well, in 1953 we knew very little about space, so that must be forgiven.

As so little was known about space in those days, the writers had to fill out a good proportion of the film with a fairly standard love/mystery story, including a nice little plot twist.

I enjoyed this film as it had good performances from all the actors. It's definitely worth a view.