Les premiers passagers du satellite

This was the first 1950's British science fiction intended to be a major item. The film is in color and cinemascope, has decent special effects and production values and the film takes its subject matter seriously; space travel and nuclear testing. When this film was released in the United States by Warner Brothers in 1956, it was marketed as a major item with a big ad campaign. However, most reviews at the time were not favorable, and the film did not do as well at the box office as Warner Brothers had anticipated. The film rarely turned up on television and remains largely unknown to all but 1950's science fiction completests.

It is no wonder really. Despite good production values, a good budget, some interesting art direction and a serious attitude taken by the films makers, SATELLITE IN THE SKY is mostly too talky and static to interest most mainstream movie viewers. The film is overall not bad, but it fails to generate little more than mild interest and at best moderate enthusiasm.

Note: When this film first came out, several reviewers remarked favorably about the films color process and use of cinemascope. I missed this film when it used turn up occasionally on late night T.V. back in seventies. I only recently saw this film for the first time on video, and wouldn't you know it, all video copies are in black and white and in incorrect aspect ratio!! I would really would like to see a color and letter boxed video version.

Wowzers! A fun movie if you can stand the British pacing of the movie. The opening shots of the A.V. Roe Vulcan and the Fallon Swift are first rate aerial photography.

Special effects are on par with some of the best 50s era Sci-fi films. A real pointy nosed space ship. Space suits are pretty good for the era. The story line is the usual Hollywood anti-bomb drivel. Interpersonal relationships are stiff and two-dimensional.

Big clunky gages, pipes and levers in the Stardust (name of the space rocket) will remind you of the Golden Age of Steam in Brittan.

This picture is an excellent example of just how limited our knowledge of outer space and space flight. Real kick the tires and light the fires space flying All in all, if you are a 50s Sci-Fi movies you will want to add Satellite in the Sky to your collection. Real Science fiction before it was spoiled by real science facts...

Satellite in the Sky was part of a double feature DVD from Warner Home Video. A B-Movie two-fer.... The second movie on the DVD is another 1956 Sci-Fi pic, World Without End.

No doubt due to the fact that a big American distributor (Warner Brothers) helped to bankroll its production, the British film "Satellite In The Sky" does look better than many other British productions of the time. It's filmed in color, and there is money for things ranging from extras to elaborate set design. Some (not all, but some) of the special effects are also not bad for this time period. Still, there are some big problems, problems that are more evident to a modern audience than audiences in 1956. The script suffers from the problem of many other British movies, that being that it's very talky and reluctant to get to the action. It takes more than half of the movie before the rocket takes off into space. Another problem is that there is a remarkable lack of tension once the space mission gets into trouble. It's too casual of a feeling. While the movie is never aggressively bad, it feels kind of flat. Still, those who are fans of '50 sci-fi and who also are interested in seeing a British perspective of more realistic space travel story might find the movie has enough interest to make it worth tracking down.

This little seen film is definitely worth seeking out for fans of 50's sci-fi that concerns space travel. It has very nice production values, something along the lines of KRONOS, and is equally entertaining.

Good acting, intelligent script, nice matte paintings and some pretty good effects using miniatures make this one an interesting watch throughout. Recommended mostly for fans of good, lost 50's sci-fi!

Note:

Satellite in the Sky was originally filmed in 2:35 widescreen, however the collectors copy in circulation is unfortunately a horrendous pan and scan version. Whoever put together this sloppy and choppy pan and scan transfer should be shot into space without a satellite...

When I was a child of about 4-5, the local Los Angeles station where we lived broadcast The Million Dollar Movie each weeknight. It was usually the same movie, night after night. On occasion, even though it was past my bedtime (much!), my mom would let me watch a movie if she felt it would hold my interest. THIS ONE DID, as I recall, and I specifically remember being able to talk her into letting me see it several times (a record, never again achieved!).

Other reviewers have given the plotline and it seems accurate, to the best of my recollection. However, regardless of how "talky" the film was, the dialog and visuals definitely made their impact, even on my fledgling brain. I have, more or less, remembered the story for 40 years. I'd like to write a script or make a film that someone else would find so memorable!

Maybe it was just that I was so young, but I remember loving this film and I would absolutely love to see it again. Maybe I'd be disappointed, maybe I'd smile at my young self, maybe I'd really like it. Who knows?