Trivia for 12 to the Moon
Memorable Movie Quotes
Dr. Feodor Orloff: I should have known, what… what a stupid unthinking fool. I deserve this.
Trivia
The spaceship’s communication device is a modified film editing machine (Movieola).
The astronauts’ acceleration couches were common tube-lined poolside recliners.
The spaceship’s navigation device is a Norden bomb sight, minus the stabilizer base.
Despite the overall low budget nature of this film, the producers obtained the services of the highly regarded cinematographer John Alton. This became one of two features shot by Alton during the final year of his active career. This did not indicate a decline in Alton’s professional reputation; the other film shot that year was the far more upscale Elmer Gantry (1960).
Goofs
As the first astronaut is exiting the ship’s hatch for the first time, a reverse angle shows someone already walking on the moon.
During the countdown, the launch vehicle Lunar Eagle switches from an Atlas to a Juno rocket, and then back again.
The “Oriental picture writing” that the moon people send to the ship is obviously just random shapes and designs, and doesn’t resemble Japanese writing in the slightest.
On several occasions the ship’s rocket/engine produces sparks that fall and smoke that rises. Neither of these would or could occur in space which has no atmosphere or field of gravity.
The dashboard on the spaceship has a magnetic compass, which would be useless in space.
In the Credits
The “starring” cast credits are shown against a background of stars. Each name seems to zoom outward from the center of the screen, like meteors in a shower; but as each one appears it stops and remains onscreen until all 12 names are visible simultaneously. Ken Clark’s name is the first shown, followed in order by Michi Kobi, Tom Conway, Tony Dexter, John Wengraf, Bob Montgomery Jr., Phillip Baird, Richard Weber, Tema Bey, Roger Til, Cory Devlin, and “and Anna-Lisa”; but when they have all settled in their places, the first row of names has Clark, Baird, Dexter, Til, Conway; the second row has Devlin, Bey, Montgomery, Wengraf; and the third row has Kobi, Anna-Lisa, Weber. Francis X. Bushman’s name appears on a second screen as a “guest star”.
Box Office Info In USA
Budget $150,000
Opening Weekend:
Gross
Filming Locations