Pre-1961 depictions of human spaceflight
Screen depictions of human spaceflight which predate Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space on April 12, 1961.
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- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsVictor AndréBleuette BernonA group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.
- DirectorSegundo de ChomónProving adept at every possible camera trick, Segundo de Chomón was brought by Charles Pathé to his studio at Vincennes, near Paris, to make trick films in imitation of Jules Verne (such as this one, inspired by A Trip to the Moon (1902)).
- DirectorAshley MillerA scientist discovers reverse gravity and goes to Mars in the process.
- DirectorHolger-MadsenStarsGunnar TolnæsZanny PetersenNicolai NeiiendamA group of researchers from Earth travel in a spaceship to Mars, where, to big surprise, they find a peaceful vegetarian and pacifist civilization.
- DirectorBruce GordonJ.L.V. LeighStarsBruce GordonHeather ThatcherHector AbbasThe inventor of a space sphere flies to the moon and is marooned by a crooked financier.
- DirectorBud Fisher
- DirectorYakov ProtazanovStarsYuliya SolntsevaIgor IlyinskyNikolai TsereteliEngineer Mstislav Sergeyevich Los travels to Mars where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group of Elders with the support of Queen Aelita who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope.
- DirectorDave FleischerStarsMax FleischerMax sends Ko-Ko on a rocket toward the moon, but Ko-Ko crash lands on Mars, where he encounters bizarre creatures and contraptions. Meanwhile, Max himself is blasted into outer space.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsWilly FritschGerda MaurusKlaus PohlA tenacious scientist blasts off for the moon in hopes of riches that may be found there.
- DirectorDavid ButlerStarsEl BrendelMaureen O'SullivanJohn GarrickNew York, 1980: airplanes have replaced cars, numbers have replaced names, pills have replaced food, government-arranged marriages have replaced love, and test tube babies have replaced ... well, you get the idea. Scientists revive a man struck by lightning in 1930; he is rechristened "Single O". He is befriended by J-21, who can't marry the girl of his dreams because he isn't "distinguished" enough -- until he is chosen for a 4-month expedition to Mars by a renegade scientist. The Mars J-21, his friend, and stowaway Single O visit is full of scantily clad women doing Busby Berkeley-style dance numbers and worshiping a fat middle-aged man.
- DirectorFrederick StephaniRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles MiddletonFlash Gordon, Dale Arden and Dr. Alexis Zarkov visit the planet Mongo to thwart the evil schemes of Emperor Ming the Merciless, who has set his planet on a collision course with Earth.
- DirectorWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsRaymond MasseyEdward ChapmanRalph RichardsonThe story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
- DirectorVasily ZhuravlyovStarsSergey KomarovKsenia MoskalenkoVassili GaponenkoIn 1946, the Soviet space program is undergoing turmoil. Professor Sedikh, who is planning to lead the first manned exploration to the moon, is denounced by his rival Professor Karin as being too old and too mentally unstable for the mission. Professor Sedikh, aided by his assistant Marina and a youth named Andryusha, disregard Prof. Karin's authority and make a successful landing on the moon. Although a few problems occur at the moon, including the discovery of a damaged oxygen tank and Professor Sedikh's becoming trapped under a fallen boulder, the expedition is a success and the cosmonauts return to Moscow.
- DirectorFord BeebeRobert F. HillFrederick StephaniStarsBuster CrabbeJean RogersCharles MiddletonWhen a deadly Nitron ray strikes Earth, Flash Gordon and his friends travel to Mars to battle Ming the Merciless and his new ally Queen Azura.
- DirectorFord BeebeSaul A. GoodkindStarsBuster CrabbeConstance MooreJackie MoranA 20th Century pilot named Buck Rogers and his young friend Buddy Wade awake from 500 years in suspended animation to find that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane.
- DirectorFord BeebeRay TaylorStarsBuster CrabbeCarol HughesCharles MiddletonA ravaging plague has struck the Earth threatening no less than global extinction. This alien disease is believed to be the evil spawn of Ming, the merciless Emperor of Planet Mongo. The world's only hope now rests with Flash Gordon.
- DirectorJosef von BákyStarsHans AlbersWilhelm BendowMichael BohnenThis lavish, impudent, adult fairy tale takes the viewer from 18th-century Braunschweig to St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Venice, and then to the moon using ingenious special effects, stunning location shooting.
- DirectorAnton KutterStarsFritz ReiffRolf WernickeCarl WeryBefore television crews and thousands of spectators, Spaceship-1, commanded by Commodore Hardt inventor of the powerful rocket fuel "Neotan-X", blasts off on the first flight to the Moon.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetThomas CarrStarsKane RichmondRick VallinLinda LeightonAn adventurer travels to the moon to stop a madman from getting hold of the Interceptor Ray, a weapon that could destroy Earth.
- DirectorClyde GeronimiWilfred JacksonJack KinneyStarsRoy RogersTriggerDennis DayAn anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancStan FrebergThe Sportsmen QuartetBugs is tricked into being the first rabbit shot into space. When he lands on the moon he finds Commander X-2 (later known as Marvin Martian) set to blow up planet Earth.
- StarsDon HastingsAl HodgeHal Conklin"Guardian of the Safety of the World", private citizen-scientist Captain Video, assisted by his teenage helper The Ranger and an army of Video Rangers, preserves the peace in the far-off future, fighting the evil Dr. Pauli of the Astroidal Society and a bunch of other baddies (Nargola, Mook, Kul, Clysmok). The show appeared nightly Mon-Fri, featured many outlandish weapons and techno-gimmicks, and was run on a minuscule prop budget.
- DirectorIrving PichelStarsJohn ArcherWarner AndersonTom Powers"Destination Moon", tells the tale of when Doctor Charles Cargraves and retired General Thayer approach Jim Barnes, the head of his own aviation construction firms to help build a rocket that will take them to the moon.
- DirectorKurt NeumannStarsLloyd BridgesOsa MassenJohn EmeryAn astronaut crew on their way to the Moon are unexpectedly propelled by gravitational forces and end up on Mars instead.
- StarsHarry KingstonRobert PasteneLucy PrentisA twentieth century football player is swept to the twenty-fifth century and joins the battle against the local despot.