"You know the consequences of a body moving without checked velocity in free space."
The spaceship RX-M is sent to explore the moon. On board are Colonel Floyd Graham (Lloyd Bridges), Dr. Lisa Van Horn (Osa Massen), Dr. Karl Ecksrrom (John Emery) and Major William Corrigan (Noah Beery Jr.). The crew encounters meteors that cause a problem with the ship. Fuel tanks need to be swapped and the resulting engine firing causes the ship to go out of control. Lack of oxygen in the ship makes the crew pass out. When they awake they find that due to the series of unforeseen events the ship is diverted and ends up on Mars.
Once the crew lands on Mars they explore the area. On Mars the crew finds the ruins of a dead civilization that had been destroyed long ago by atomic war. The savages that are the remnants of the fallen society attack the astronauts and force them back into the spaceship.
“Rocketship X-M” AKA "Expedition Moon" AKA "Rocketship Expedition Moon" was released in June of 1950. Due to delays surrounding George Pal’s release of “Destination Moon” the producers of “Rocketship X-M” took advantage of “Destination Moon’s” publicity and expedited the production of “Rocketship X-M”. It was then released to theaters 25 days before “Destination Moon”. The movie also stars Hugh O’Brian and Morris Ankrum and was produced by Lippert Pictures.
Due to the closeness of the two movie's release dates comparison's have been made between "Rocketship X-M and "Destination Moon". Once you really look at them, however, the two are quite different. “Rocketship X-M” is in black and white (the Mars scenes are tinted red) and the budget for it is a lot smaller (approx. $94,000 as opposed to Destinations $592,000), therefore, the special effects are not as good. Although “Destination Moon” is an attempt to show space flight as accurate as possible, no such attempt was done for “Rocketship X-M”. The crew of “Rocketship X-M” is comprised of four men and one woman. This allows for an additional layer of human emotion to the plot. The mood of “Rocketship X-M” is darker, even bleak. A warning of what the future could bring for Earth should we not stop our destructive course.
Despite all the differences and comparisons both movies are good in their own right. Entertaining and fun for any sci-fi fan. Two stories that are actually totally different. The only things they have in common are 25 days in 1950.