The Brits in the 50s seemed to have a distinctly different idea of proper pacing for their movies compared to American output from the same period.(I think that's still true today). Most of the time, this makes British science fiction a refreshing change of pace (for example, in "World Without End".) Unfortunately, other times they somehow lose control of the rhythms and tempo of the screen play and the results slide into dullness and boredom now matter how good the actors are and no matter how hard they try (like "Immediate Disaster").
"Satellite In the Sky" falls into the "dull" category, at least for my taste.
There are some very nice touches here, of course. Most of the sets look great, costumes and props have weight and appeal, and most of the special effects are well conceived and executed (if you can overlook the "rocket exhaust" from the model that drifts upwards in a thoroughly illusion dispelling way.). And I liked most of the cast on principle - it was especially interesting to see "Miss Moneypenny" from the Bond Series here in a prominent pre-Bond role. And there's even a suitably moralistic plot complication in which a supposedly peaceful flight of exploration and adventure turns out to be financed by the military, who want to drop a super-bomb out in(for "test purposes".) But the screenplay doesn't have any real forward momentum, and there are too many scenes of characters going on and on about various issues without any tension, good blocking, or even plot advancement. People talk and talk and talk, but there's no real character development either - nothing anybody says will surprise you. And just when the final crisis is resolved and the super-bomb goes off, and you think the characters will reunite in a final scene to resolve their issues and relationships and settle various lingering threads, the movie just stops. "BANG", "The End".
Certainly an interesting artifact of 50's science fiction...I can't help but think this is what a movie based on a Robert Heinlein story would be like if he'd been bowdlerized by the Editorial board of the Ladies Home Journal.
"Satellite In the Sky" falls into the "dull" category, at least for my taste.
There are some very nice touches here, of course. Most of the sets look great, costumes and props have weight and appeal, and most of the special effects are well conceived and executed (if you can overlook the "rocket exhaust" from the model that drifts upwards in a thoroughly illusion dispelling way.). And I liked most of the cast on principle - it was especially interesting to see "Miss Moneypenny" from the Bond Series here in a prominent pre-Bond role. And there's even a suitably moralistic plot complication in which a supposedly peaceful flight of exploration and adventure turns out to be financed by the military, who want to drop a super-bomb out in(for "test purposes".) But the screenplay doesn't have any real forward momentum, and there are too many scenes of characters going on and on about various issues without any tension, good blocking, or even plot advancement. People talk and talk and talk, but there's no real character development either - nothing anybody says will surprise you. And just when the final crisis is resolved and the super-bomb goes off, and you think the characters will reunite in a final scene to resolve their issues and relationships and settle various lingering threads, the movie just stops. "BANG", "The End".
Certainly an interesting artifact of 50's science fiction...I can't help but think this is what a movie based on a Robert Heinlein story would be like if he'd been bowdlerized by the Editorial board of the Ladies Home Journal.