The 1950 film "Destination Moon" is based on two of science-fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein works, the novel Rocket Ship Galileo and the short novel The Man Who Sold the Moon, both about rocketship flights to the Moon. The film was designed to be the first scientifically accurate science-fiction film. Rocket Ship Galileo was written for juvenile boys and the story is about a scientist who takes three boys to the Moon in a rocket where they encounter Nazis and the remains of an ancient civilization. The Man Who Sold the Moon is about a businessman who promotes a flight to the Moon as a money-making venture. Part of his scheme is to take postage stamps to the Moon and then sell them to collectors after the ship returns to Earth. A retired general and scientist convince a group of businessmen and industrialists to finance the building of a rocketship. The general uses the threat that "someone else may get there first" and use the Moon as a military base. The ship is constructed but has to launch before the planned time to avoid legal injunctions filed by opponents of the launch. The ship lands a four-man crew on the moon, they do a small amount of scientific research along with prospecting, and then attempt to return to Earth. The crew finds that they have to lighten the weight of the ship in order to take off, first they throw out just about everything and there is a mention of coins having been brought which were thrown out. Why coins were brought to the Moon is not mentioned, but the novel The Man Who Sold the Moon describes similar items (stamps) which could be sold to collectors. They still need to lighten the ship more and that means leaving one of the crewmen. No actual coins appear in the film and the coins which were brought are not described.

The film opens with a shot of the Moon and then a rocket launching.

A German V2 rocket is launched but crashes. Then the Barnes aircraft plant is shown.

Jim Barnes, the head of the company, is approached by General Thayer, a retired general, and Dr. Charles Cargraves, a scientist, and asked to join a massive civilian project to launch a rocketship to the Moon and return it to Earth. Barnes calls a meeting of businessmen and shows them a short film with a known celebrity.

Barnes shows a Woody Woodpecker cartoon describing the planned rocket and how it would work. Walter Lantz, the creator of the character, was a friend of producer George Pal. Barnes then describes the problem and the foreign threats to the United States.

There are some scenes of factory work incuding this early device. The large painting behind Barnes is of Johann Gutenberg and his printing press.

This was an early mechanical computer and later computers are mentioned in the film. Work begins on the spaceship which is given the name "Luna."

The ship is assembled in a desert area from which it will launch. It has an atomic-powered engine and there are worries about radiation.

The project is the subject of magazine and newspaper stories, including stories about the dangers of nuclear energy.

The headline reads "Mass Meeting Protests Radioactive Rocket." A man arrives with a court order and Barnes decides to launch the ship immediately. The crew consists of Jim Barnes himself, Dr. Cargraves, General Thayer, and a last minute addition of Joe Sweeney, a radio operator and "ordinary guy" from Brooklyn who likes baseball.

Top left Barnes, top right Thayer, bottom left Sweeney, bottom right Cargraves. There is a countdown and the ship launches. The launch month is June but the year is not given.

Earth is seen through a porthole. Artist Chesley Bonestell did the astronomical art for the film.

The concept of weightlessness is explored in some comedy about floating pills and Sweeney becoming ill after watching the other crew members walk upside down. A radar antenna is discovered to be stuck and the crew members have to put on spacesuits, exit the ship, and then repair the antenna.

One crew member drifts off into space but is rescued by another.

The ship makes the landing in the Harpalus Crater but uses up more fuel than planned.

The Earth is shown over the lunar mountains.

Dr. Cargraves and Jim Barnes climb down the Lunar surface.

Cargraves:

The men unload some equipment including a telescope.

There is another scene of a larger Earth.

The men do some practical and financially rewarding work.

Uranium is a valuable mineral and the men prospect for it using a radiation detecting Geiger Counter. Barnes is in contact with people at the launch base and is told of a serious problem.

The ship used too much fuel to land and the ship weight has to be reduced severely to take off.

A pile of tanks and equipment appear below the ship. Another message from Earth states that more weight has to be removed. The three men all volunteer to stay.

Sweeney makes a suggestion:

"Anyone have some paper, matches, coins?" "Everything's overboard." The reason why the crew members would have brought coins is not stated. While the three men argue, Sweeney leaves the ship.

Sweeney plans to sacrifice his life but the three other men come up with a solution. Sweeney rejoins the ship and a rope is used to lower his spacesuit to the ground.

The ship heads for the Earth looming large.

The film ends before the men actually reach Earth.

This Is THE END of the Beginning

John Archer as Jim Barnes
Warner Anderson as Dr. Charles Cargraves
Tom Powers as General Thayer
Dick Wesson as Joe Sweeney
Producer: George Pal
Director: Irving Pichel
Writers: Rip Van Ronkel, James O'Hanlon, Robert A. Heinlein