Some careful thought and preparation is evident in this production but overall it is made in a non-dynamic manner, very deliberate and you might say too slow. The direction seems primitive. Once this director sets his camera for a scene it is seemingly planted in concrete- it ain't gonna move. In some scenes maybe coffee or caffeine would have helped the director. Military personnel just stand around, and even scenes beside a Monet-esque lily pond are flat and unromantic.
The British actors are really good, especially the grey haired doctor and young Marigold Russell who portrays "Gretchen". Helmut Dantine is very focused and is riveting in the lead role. In contrast, Patricia Neal looks as if she would rather be somewhere else and is not effective in her role.
The music is mostly of the orchestrated "English pastoral" style popular in the early to mid 20th century but other than providing a classy sound is not lively enough for a sci-fi film. There is a huge early-50's Packard auto that is loaded with chrome and very noticeable but is thoroughly ugly- its too bad because the earlier post-WWII Packard designs were generally more elegant and graceful. I always enjoy looking for mid-century ambiance and trappings in films from the era such as I found in this movie.
Some interesting science can be found here such as a proposed landing in a magnetic field area and concepts of interplanetary gravitation.
An advanced being lectures us on how stupid and crude we are in routine fashion that has been done in films numerous times before and since, so this aspect of the theme seems rather redundant.
The British actors are really good, especially the grey haired doctor and young Marigold Russell who portrays "Gretchen". Helmut Dantine is very focused and is riveting in the lead role. In contrast, Patricia Neal looks as if she would rather be somewhere else and is not effective in her role.
The music is mostly of the orchestrated "English pastoral" style popular in the early to mid 20th century but other than providing a classy sound is not lively enough for a sci-fi film. There is a huge early-50's Packard auto that is loaded with chrome and very noticeable but is thoroughly ugly- its too bad because the earlier post-WWII Packard designs were generally more elegant and graceful. I always enjoy looking for mid-century ambiance and trappings in films from the era such as I found in this movie.
Some interesting science can be found here such as a proposed landing in a magnetic field area and concepts of interplanetary gravitation.
An advanced being lectures us on how stupid and crude we are in routine fashion that has been done in films numerous times before and since, so this aspect of the theme seems rather redundant.