"Everything in the realm of imagination is also in the realm of possibility."
Twelve qualified experts in various areas, all single, are recruited for a top secret project. They are given rigorous tests both physical and psychological. During the testing Dr. Richard Stanton (William Lundigan) becomes attracted to Dr. Jane Flynn (Martha Hyer) one of testers. Ultimately four are found qualified. The four are gathered together to be told of the mission. Only three accept the mission. The three that decide to take the mission are Dr. Richard Stanton Dr. Jerry Lockwood (Richard Carlson) and Walter Gordon (Robert Karnes)
The head of the project is Dr. Donald Stanton (Herbert Marshall). He is Richard Stanton’s father. Donald Stanton’s team is working on manned space travel. They are having problems with finding a metal alloy that will handle the harsh environment of space without turning brittle. They know that metal based meteors are not subject to the stress that causes metal fatigue. The scientists want to recover samples of meteors before they hit the Earth’s atmosphere to determine how the meteor’s outer shell protects it. To do that they need to send someone into space to receive a meteor before it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.
They have built three single manned rockets. One for each of the three remaining recruits. The mission will be for each man to attempt to scoop up a small piece of meteor in its nose cone and return to Earth with it. Since this has never been done before there are no guarantees that any of the three will accomplish their mission let alone return to Earth safely.
“Riders to the Stars” was released in 1954 and directed by Richard Carlson. It was written by Curt Siodmak and Ivan Tors. It Stars Richard Carlson, William Lundigan, Herbert Marshall and Martha Hyer. This is the second of the three Ivan Tors films that features the OSI or the Office of Scientific Information. The first being “The Magnetic Monster” and the third being “Gog”. Although both Richard Carlson and King Donovan are in both “Riders to the Stars” and “The Magnetic Monster” they are different characters in each. So are Herbert Marshall and Michael Fox who were also in “Gog”.
“Riders” is a fun movie despite the fact that the science is, well, basically imaginary. The basic premise is that cosmic radiation crystallizes metal when passing from space through the atmosphere. That would be the fiction in the science fiction. Something that was already known by scientists in 1954 as being incorrect. Of course as with most science fiction stories of the 50’s there are quite a few science boo boos. It doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the movie. In fact footage of real rockets and scientific equipment gave the film a sense of documentary reality despite the lack of real science in the movie plot.
It’s a basic 50’s science fiction. Lots of gadgets and quite entertaining. You will feel like a kid watching a Saturday matinee.