User reviews

Included on the same disc as WORLD WITHOUT END (1956), this contemporaneous sci-effort from Britain takes a much more serious approach (down to the stiff-upper-lipped characters and stirring score) – with its documentary-like depiction of flights outside the Earth's atmosphere, the ultimate reason for which is the testing of a new type of bomb that's so powerful it can only be blown in outer space! While not uninteresting in itself, the treatment is so hackneyed as to render the whole dull instead of gripping, managing only a modicum of suspense during the last half-hour or so when the bomb, already timed to explode, remains attached to the back of the shuttle when dislodged! Casting is second-rate but adequate: Kieron Moore (as the stoic test pilot), Lois Maxwell (an intrepid reporter who, having lost her father and brother to science, feels a natural aversion to progress…but still can't help stowing away on the space vessel for the sake of a scoop!), Donald Wolfit (in the obligatory pompous physicist role, who then breaks into hysterics when the going gets tough!) as well as Bryan Forbes and Jimmy Hanley, playing other members of the flight each given a dreary romantic subplot fraught with complications.

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...

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.

A team of British astronauts on the first manned satellite into space encounter several problems. First, they're informed the satellite will be carrying a new "tritonium" bomb that is to be tested in space. Then, once they've left the atmosphere, they discover they have a reckless reporter as a stowaway. Then the bomb becomes stuck to the side of the ship and they have to find a way to defuse the bomb before it explodes and kills them all.

A mostly dull but not entirely uninteresting British sci-fi film shot in CinemaScope. It starts off with a quote from Nostradamus, which I found kind of odd for a science fiction film. It's a talky movie without much action. There's a bit of an anti-nuke message but not enough to give this any depth. Lois Maxwell's unlikable character has a bizarre anti-science stance because her brother and father were killed...or something like that. Anyway she basically turns out to be a huge hypocrite, on top of her other character flaws like carelessly endangering the lives of others. She's good at fetching coffee and sandwiches, though. And yes, that's literally what they do with the only female character on the satellite -- have her bring the men coffee and sandwiches. Most of the other characters are bland and forgettable, save for Donald Wolfit's Professor Merrity. It takes awhile before the ship gets off the ground and only then do things get a little exciting. The real saving grace of the movie comes from the special effects work of Wally Veevers, who would go on to work on such classics as Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Superman.

We can forgive them because it was 1956, but this is a real pedestrian space yarn with a lot of holes in it. It's in the middle of the Cold War and the development of a rocket to the stratosphere is commandeered to test a bomb-to-end-all-bombs. This will create what we in the late 20th Century called detente. Even the crew is ignorant of the whole process, but some government zealots go off half cocked with little regard for the dangers, in order to scare the world out of developing any further weapons, fighting any future wars. Of course, the whole thing has to go off just right, and we know it isn't. Once again we have the obligatory pushy female (a reporter who stows away on the rocket) who pushes everyone's buttons. Just to show you what a progressive time she lives in, she ends up making coffee and sandwiches for the guys. There is the idea that science is advancing too fast. In the end, this is a movie about dealing with the realities of miscalculation. The slipshod methods make this less than it could have been. It does have decent special effects or its time.

This well-made British science fiction story concerns the crew of a test rocket on which a lady reporter (Lois Maxwell) stows away. Kieron Moore plays the pilot of the rocket sent into orbit in connection with the test of a new "Tritonium bomb". Donald Wolfit plays the bomb's inventor.

After releasing he bomb, it's internal propulsion system fails and it becomes attached to the hull of the spacecraft. All attempts to dislodge it are unsuccessful, so the bomb's inventor takes drastic action to deal with the situation.

Director Paul Dickson presents an exciting and intelligent story. The special effects are both competent and exciting -- which is no surprise in view of the fact that their creator, Wally Veevars, later worked on "2001".

The special effects include the space scenes, an underground space complex, and a rocket which is launched from a horizontal track, similar to "When Worlds Collide". Well-designed sets and props (especially the ship's interior and the spacesuits) enhance this wonderful British entry.

Currently this exceptional film is not available on either VHS or DVD. Hopefully, Mr. Wade Williams will eventually offer it as part of his wonderful, high-quality collection.

Paul Dickson directed this British early Sci-Fi film about an experimental rocket ship sent to deploy and detonate a tritonium bomb meant to dissuade future wars and aggression. Unfortunately, the bomb becomes attached to the rear-end of the ship, forcing the crew to take emergency actions to detach it and send it off on its way into space, before they are all blown up. Lois Maxwell plays a reporter who stows away(!) on the ship, and Kieron Moore plays the lead astronaut. Despite the presence of a bomb, the film isn't that bad, but is a pretty dated and dull affair, much too talky and static to succeed. Though it does have a good cast, obscure film is forgettable.

The British crew on the first rocket to travel into space ("The Stardust") discover that in addition to advancing science, they are expected to take a vastly powerful American-made "tritonium" bomb into orbit, where it will be detonated as evidence that the U.S. has won the 'arms race', so everyone else might as well abandon their nuclear weapons programs. The inaptly named film (there are no satellites) attempts to be 'hard' science fiction with lots of talk about test flights and fuels but once the ship is in space, little attempt is made at realism (there is gravity in the rocket and the central plot-driver about the bomb and ship being magnetically/gravitationally mutually attractive is nonsense). The slim plot is pretty silly, especially the stowing-away of ostensibly pacifistic Luddite reporter Kim Hamilton (Miss Moneypenny to be, Lois Maxwell). The script and characters are banal with the exception of Merrity the bomb-designer (Donald Wolfit), who is just as stereotypical as the rest of the crew but is at least given a few interesting things to say or do. The special effects are oddly ambitious yet amateurish. Much of the 'exterior' Earthbound action takes place in front of unconvincing matte paintings, the rocket launches up a ramp (similar to 'When Worlds Collide' (1951) and 'Fireball XL5' (1962)) but doesn't seem to be going fast enough to get airborne, and once in flight, roaring flames pour out of the engines (even in the vacuum of space) and clouds of smoke float up. On the plus side, there is some great opening footage of 'state-of-the-art' aircraft, including a Folland Midge and some lingering, reverential shots of the iconic Avro Vulcan (accompanied by inspirational music). As Britain's first colour science fiction film, 'Satellite in the Sky' will be of interest to devotees of the genre and the plot (such as it is) will intrigue anyone interested in how militarisation of space was presented in '50s films, otherwise skip this limp space opera (and the equally weak 'Spaceways' (1953)) and hunt down the Quatermass films for good examples of British science-fiction cinema from the 50s.

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.

"Satellite in the Sky" is a sci-fi film from the UK and since it IS fantasy, you are expected to believe that the Brits were the first folks in space. The plot involves an enormous jet rocket (looking a lot like the one from the great film "When Worlds Collide") and it's carrying the T-1 into space. The T-1 is a bomb meant as a demonstration to the world about the futility of war. In other words, by the Brits demonstrating that they can weaponize space, other countries will just give up war! However, the project is jeopardizes after the launch because a Lois Lane-like female reporter stows away on the craft. No worry that it's Britain's #1 secret project...this feisty (and hot) woman just casually sneaks aboard! In fact, although it's a good film, she is a singularly annoying character...one that make women look really dumb. My wife saw the film with me and was quite annoyed with the way she was written...especially when she ended up being right, in a way, about the T-1 demonstration! What's next? See the film.

This war is a film meant to warn us about the effects of the militarization of space and is awfully good for its time. Today its special effects must seem very quaint but back in 1956 it was state of the art--and in full color. Clearly this was NOT a cheap British film and represented their best work. Now that doesn't mean it was a great film--the Professor and lady reporter were very silly and clichéd characters...as well as a bit campy. But it is enjoyable...especially for folks who love 50s sci-fi.

By the way, isn't it fortuitous that aboard the jet rocket they just happened to have a jumpsuit that fit the lady PERFECTLY!! Also, if any of you are aviation nuts, you'll get a chance to see some wonderful British planes--such as the Vulcan bomber and the Brits' first jet fighter, the Meteor.

The British are sending the world's first manned mission, Stardust, into orbit. At the last minute, the scientists are surprised to be carrying a new type of nuclear bomb from the Americans to be tested in space. They find stowaway reporter Kim Hamilton.

The best part is watching the old delta wing plane fly. All the back stories are boring. It's a lot of '50s white middle age men in stuffy suits and proper ladies in dresses. Non of the characters are compelling or memorable. I couldn't name any of them. There are space sets and interesting miniatures. In the end, it's too boring.

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.

This had to be a second feature when debuting in the mid-50s. It was a weak execution of an interesting plot. A crew of astronauts launch from England into outer space on a rocket which can serve as a satellite. Their mission is to test a new bomb, but after the bomb fails to repel itself from the ship, the crew has only a matter of hours to defuse or destroy the weapon before it explodes. A typical 50s movie with a little romance budding between the stowaway and one of the crew. A little morality and indignation thrown in regarding a nuclear weapon in outer space. A bit more conflict among the crew might have added some spice. Considering their circumstances they should have been at each other's throats more. Saw it on TCM. Unfortunately, it is not worthy of even being considered a classic. Forbidden Planet was filmed the same year and there is absolutely no comparison that can be made. Satellite in the Sky bombed way before the ending.

I first saw "Satellite in the Sky" more than 50 years ago while I was in high school. I don't recall being particularly impressed with it at the time, largely because the real space program was often featured in the news and what was shown in the film didn't correspond with reality.

A few years ago, I watched it again as it was included in a DVD collection of several science fiction movies. Since then, I've seen it on the channel Turner Classic Movies and my opinion hasn't changed.

The film was made in the mid-1950s, a time during which a genuine fear of nuclear war existed and the first spacecraft of any kind had yet to be launched into orbit. "Satellite in the Sky" (a misleading title as there is no actual satellite involved) depicts a fictional first spaceflight, though the real reason for it is revealed part-way through the film.

It might have been impressive when it was in theatres, but it hasn't aged well. Many of the special effects are unrealistic, particularly now that we've seen how people live and work in space. For example, the smoke coming out of the spacecraft's engine nozzles reminds me of what one could see in a Flash Gordon serial, though there isn't any electric buzzing sound and no Buster Crabbe. As well, how is it that there seems to be 1-g gravity on board?

That's enormously disappointing as only a few years earlier, the vastly superior "Destination Moon" was released and it gave an accurate depiction of what spaceflight would be like, including weightlessness and space adaptation syndrome (often referred to as space sickness). Perhaps much of that could be attributed to the fact that DM was based on a Robert Heinlein story and that Heinlein himself had worked on the film.

One problem with SITS is that it doesn't seem to know if it's supposed to be SF or make a political statement about technology and its military applications and it doesn't do either aspect particularly well.

The characters aren't particularly impressive, either. There's a fighter-jock commander (played by Kieron Moore), an intrepid reporter looking for a scoop (Lois Maxwell), a pompous know-it-all scientist (Donald Wolfit, who, at times, chews scenery in his performance), a cocky playboy radio operator (Bryan Forbes), and so on. Seen one movie with characters like that, you've seen 'em all.

But there may be reasons for watching this that have nothing directly to do with the film itself. For example, there are two or three connections to the future James Bond movies. The first one, of course, was seeing Lois Maxwell in a role before she played Miss Moneypenny. The second one can be seen soon after the opening credits. It's a Vulcan bomber and one of them is the main plot device in "Thunderball". The third one is somewhat obscure. A few years after this movie, Kieron Moore was in "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" and it featured Sean Connery in a pre-Bond role.

But there are also some connections between SITS and the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey". Wally Weevers was the special effects director for this one and he worked on the second film as well. Actor Alan Gifford plays an American military officer and he played Frank Poole's father in "2001". I'm also inclined to believe that Stanley Kubrick saw SITS and the spacecraft shown before we see the space clipper heading for the space station in "2001" might have been inspired by it.

"Satellite in the Sky" isn't bad enough to be considered a "golden turkey" but it certainly isn't a classic like, say, the aforementioned "Destination Moon" or "Forbidden Planet", which was made that same year.

Largely forgotten today, the use of CinemaScope and colour marked 'Satellite in the Sky' as an ambitious undertaking for usually modest production outfit the Danzigers.

That it was meant to be something special is already signalled by the casting of Donald Wolfit (although not generally known for his choosiness regarding film scripts). The rest of the casting is economical but lively with Bryan Forbes looking rather out of place in outer space while Lois Maxwell anticipates her role as Moneypenny as the inevitable lady reporter who (SLIGHT SPOILER COMING:) stows away.

Despite the title most of the preliminaries are talky and earthbound, but the exteriors when the action finally reaches outer space evidently impressed Stanley Kubrick - who was thorough enough to bother to view it - and went on to employ special effects technician Wally Veevers both on 'Strangelove' and '2001'.

This is a moderately entertaining but rather dry and slow-moving British Cold War sci-fi adventure/parable in color and CinemaScope, released in the U. S. by Warner Bros. It's about an experimental new space project whose participants find out at the last minute was financed by military funds so a new super-bomb could be tested in space.

A woman reporter (a young Lois Maxwell) who doesn't think any space exploration is worth the money stows away on board. When the bomb is ready to be released there is a malfunction and it sticks to the rocket ship, so the ground crew and rocket crew have to decide what to do next. It's okay as a sci-fi drama but more interesting as a symptom of 1950s nuclear war paranoia.

Humankind's first trip into space is perverted to test a superbomb. The mission becomes jeopardized when the rocket motor fails on the bomb and the bomb becomes attached to the ship due to (now scientifically discredited) the gravitational attraction between the two objects. Though the movie is talky, it is also quite thought provoking. The production values (particularly the cinematography and spaceship models) are excellent.

This is a movie which stands amongst the other classics from the 1950's like Day The Earth Stood Still, War Of The Worlds and This Island Earth. But unlike the others it still hasn't seen the light of video yet. Is this because it is a British film ? The story is tense and the special effects are quite good for the time. I hope to see this released on DVD soon.

First off, this Film has been around in Awful Pan & Scan and Black & White versions (if you can believe it) for quite a While. It is finally Available in all its Widescreen and Color Glory. It still Remains a relatively Unknown and Little Seen British Sci-Fi Entry from the Fifties.

Made before and released Prior to Sputnik it is a Curious and Slick looking Film. The SFX, while certainly Dated hold their own among others of its Type, including the George Pal Stuff. The Rocket Ship is Cool and there is some Attention to Detail and Overall the Movie looks Fifties Nifty.

The Story is very Slow Moving in the First Half, Talky and may rely a bit Heavy on Domestic Issues concerning Love Life and such and the Technical High-Light of the First Half are some Very Modern Jet Fighters Zipping About.

The Second Half, in Space, Things Tense up quite a bit and there's a lot of Talk about Bombs, and the End of War and Science's Responsibility, not to Mention Governments. Most of the Argument comes from a Female Reporter who Not Only is Philosophically Minded, but looks like a Model and makes Great Coffee and Sandwiches.

Overall, this is a Serious Adult-Oriented Space Adventure that is Definitely Worth a Watch and Despite its common Flaws Typical of others in the Genre, it has enough to Offer Sci-Fi Fans and others Interested in the Mindset of the Decade Concerning Space Travel and Nuclear Warfare. Underrated.