H.G. WELLS' FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1964)

Cast

Plot

A strange adaptation of H G Wells' account of the sights we might have seen had mankind managed to get to the moon in 1899. The movie has a dated 'modern' take on the story, involving a UN mission to the moon to investigate the claims of the eccentric fin de siecle astronauts, which duly encounters the aliens they were warned about: the Selenites. The main attraction is still Ray Harryhausen's animated beasties, although the effects are somewhat clumsy, even for the day. Lionel Jeffries gives animated support as the manic scientist Cavol (reminiscent of Christopher Lloyd in 'Back to the Future') and inevitably feels massively lightweight to an audience brought up on a diet of 'Alien', '2001' and 'Blade Runner'.