Although there is about an hour of intrigue, leading up to the actual launch, this is a masterwork. To be honest, I had never heard of this film, but, of course, was very aware of the great Fritz Lang. This is a very long film and begins with a visit by a man named Heilius to a wacko old professor who has come up with a way to travel to the moon. He is incredibly poor and his motives are a bit suspect (he is interested in gold on the moon). His colleagues laugh at him and ridicule his ideas. But Helius has faith in him and, being independently wealthy, has a rocket in production. He also loves a woman (Thea von Harbaugh) who is engaged to marry his business partner, a self centered jerk named Hans. Soon, a sort of consortium of evil businessmen send a strange man (with the weirdest hair style I've ever seen) to steal the documentation for the flight. He plans on taking the moon trip, also interested in the gold. Soon Helius must get in league with these guys or risk the safety of his rocket and his friends. Eventually, the rocket is launched with the young woman. Someone did a masterful job of anticipating the scientific realities of space flight (remember, this is 1929). What the did not do well was have the people dress the part (they are wearing clothes that look like they are going to the tennis club). They also have made assumptions about the atmosphere on the far side. When they get to the mood, the old guy uses a divining rod to find water (with all the positives, this is real clunker). Couldn't they have come up with a drill or a sensor of some kind? On the way, they find a stowaway. A boy who lives near Helius. He has studied moon travel by reading John Carter stories in tabloids. He turns out to be quite helpful. But the whole gang has trouble from the start. Hans goes along in order to impress his fiancée, but soon regrets his reasoning and demands they turn back. He becomes a really sore point and quite dangerous to all, as is the greedy bad-hair guy. The romance with the young woman wanes and things fall apart. All these negatives aside, this two-and-a-half hour film really grabs one. The music, added later, is wonderful and contributes immensely to the action of the movie. See this if you can.
Review of Woman in the Moon
