Spaceways (1953)

Perfectly adorable

An unexpected masterpiece

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This movie was a lot better than I expected.While it was another short movie with extended periods of nothing and the plot wasn't the greatest, the acting is above average and the movie isn't boring.They do a good job of covering the bases and making sure there are no plot holes but the plot is so average that it doesn't help that much.A scientist is accused of killing his wife and another man and putting them in a rocket and sending it into space.Instead of telling them to look for the those people, he just jumps in a rocket to go get the other rocket and prove they aren't in it.The best thing about the movie is that their space program is realistic, it doesn't work.Four stars, give it a shot.

Made in 1953, this is more of a cold war spy yarn than a real movie of science. Howard Duff is part of the space program, designing rockets that will crack the atmosphere. He is in a terrible marriage and his selfish wife can't stand that he makes so little money as an engineer. He has fallen in love with a beautiful technician but can't act on it. When a rocket goes haywire, he is accused of putting his wife and her lover, once a friend of his, in the final capsule. There is no way to check for the bodies and Duff is going to be brought up on murder charges by an obsessed spy chaser. This leads to a pretty ridiculous conclusion which pushes the limits of juris prudence. Duff also acts in a silly, irrational way, risking his life to prove his innocence. It has good moments along the way but fizzles in the final analysis.

Weird amalgam of too many genres ends up being an okay time killer but not much beyond that. The plot has an American working in England on the British rocket program getting involved in infidelity, murder and espionage. "Loosely" based on a radio program, which I'm guessing had more than 75 minutes to get its tale across this is a film that simply has too much going on. The thing that everyone seem to remember is that this film speculates that the first people launched into space will be not for scientific discovery, but to determine if two missing people were launched into space as means of disposing of their bodies.Its a clever idea and probably the only thing that sticks with you about the film. The cast, headed by Howard Duff is quite good and they make the most over full script. Worth a look if you run a cross it or are a fan of director Terrence Fisher, but not really worth searching out.

Despite the disclaimers from both the director and producer, this is a fairly entertaining little movie. True, the space stuff struck me as dated, dull and not particularly interesting (aside from a shipboard explosion which is very deftly contrived), and the action is further handicapped by the colorless presence of Eva Bartok who, aside from her very last scene, does little to engage the viewer's attention. Admittedly, the script is weak in this respect and often gave me the feeling the heroine's role had been needlessly expanded simply to give Miss Bartok more screen time.However, once the murder sub-plot rears its head and the talented Alan Wheatley makes his presence felt, interest picks up considerably. Andrew Osborn and Cecile Chevreau also deliver charismatic portrayals which help to counterbalance disappointing characterizations by Michael Medwin and (to a lesser extent) Philip Leaver. As for the hero, Howard Duff seems adequate enough, though he doesn't really pull a great deal of weight.I must admit that, despite his cult following, I've never regarded Terence Fisher as one of the giants of the British film industry, but I thought he actually handled parts of this movie with a fair amount of savvy. Wheatley's scenes are directed (and edited) at a such an agreeably smart pace, one wishes that the Duff-Bartok-Medwin episodes were handled with at least an equal degree of expedition and dispatch.And, despite the tight budget, I thought production values were more than adequate by "B"-picture standards.So, all in all, I disagree with the claims of both producer Carreras and director Fisher that Spaceways has little or nothing to offer.