Science Fiction · Adventure
American
1956 · Directed by Fred M. Wilcox · 98 min
In the twenty-third century, a United Planets cruiser travels to the distant planet Altair 4 to learn what became of a colony expedition that stopped reporting twenty years earlier. The one survivor they find does not want them there, and the planet does not feel empty. A grand, earnest space adventure with a streak of dread.
Why it matters in cinema history
A landmark of 1950s science fiction and the clearest bridge between pulp-magazine adventure and the more ambitious, idea-driven space films of the 1960s and after.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a film inventing the look and sound of the future from scratch, so notice every design and sound choice that now feels familiar.
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