This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

The detractors of this movie have obviously taken it far too seriously. It's supposed to be just a bit of fun. And it's interesting for connoisseurs because it's one of the very few movies directed by the famed 2nd unit man, Richard Talmadge. I will admit that this otherwise very agreeable, dime store science fiction hokum, is a bit slow to get under way, but with the entrance of the delightful, bright-eyed Donna Martell – a fetching player, if ever there was one – and the attractive walking-on-the-walls sequence in the space station, it probes an unexpected, if minor delight. It was a mistake, however, to kill off the villains three quarters of the way through, in order to make room for a romantic cliché, but the Saturday matinée kids and I would have preferred an old-fashioned derring-do climax. Still, the special effects are quite well done, and that's something in the movie's favor as well.

At face value there's no reason why you should notice "Project Moon Base". It's as old-school as any 1950s sci-fi flick can be, with a really corny plot. But it does catch my eye. The general is played by none other than Hayden Rorke, best known as Dr. Bellows on "I Dream of Jeannie". Yes, the man who spent eternity trying to figure out the unusual behavior of the small screen's most famous astronaut plays another character involved in sending people on space missions. And this time there's an impostor out to sabotage the mission. What's really confusing is how the movie contains a mixture of dated scenes (the last scene) and progressive ideas (a female president). What gives? It's mostly a hokey movie. Nonetheless, that scene where the spaceship docks with the space station must've caused a lot of snickering when the movie first got released. As for Hayden Rorke, Barbara Eden noted that he was open about his homosexuality with the "I Dream of Jeannie" cast, and that they all got to meet his partner.I understand that "Project Moon Base" got riffed on "Mystery Science Theater 3000", but I've never seen that episode.

In the early '50s when real space travel was yet another 8 years in the future, this was average view of space travel for most people. In that paradigm, movie like this was a pretty standard format as a space rocket based stories. Story's premise sound's ridiculous now that a rocket goes off course and can land on moon as an alternate plan and become the first people to land on the moon, but movie like this was never intended to be a serious science fiction. Some things were predicted accurately such as giant screen TV monitor, and forward thinking concept such as woman president of the country.But let's get to the bottom line here. The only thing that's worth watching in this movie in my opinion is the beautiful Donna Martel. She looks great as the female astronaut. This movie would not be worth a watch without her.Movie is a bit of cheese, but I find decent entertainment, and not a terrible movie to watch. I like this movie better than many of the rocket movies from this era such as Cat Woman of the Moon.So, I wouldn't give a high rating, but it's an okay movie for this category.

What you would think of this film depends entirely upon your own sense of humor. As pointed out ad nauseum by other reviewers, this was the subject of a skewering by "Mystery Science Theater 3000", and there is no reason why you can't watch and enjoy it just as much supplying your own wisecracks in place of those of the MST3K's writers. A true campfest, it clearly wasn't intended to be taken entirely seriously even when it was first released in 1953. It is certainly as amusing as anything you are likely to see on "David Letterman." It is also interesting for what it reveals about 1950's conceptions of the future and the science and technology of space travel (this four years before ANY satellite had ever been launched) in comparison with what we now take for granted at this late date of 2008, as well as the way in which science fiction was expected to be portrayed at that time (when technical theorizing and "gee-whiz" gadgetry were about mandatory in the genre -- just check out the cordless telephones!), even apart from the more obvious social commentary it provides.Thus, while judging it as a serious effort might rate two stars or so, for more lighthearted viewers you can probably bump that up to as high as a six, if not even higher if this kind of thing is just what you are in the mood for. In that regard, I have to wonder how many people under 40 would really appreciate it.