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Space Travelers (film)

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For the episode, see MST3K 401 - Space Travelers.

Space Travelers is a 1969 space travel film directed by John Sturges and written by Mayo Simon (based on the novel by Martin Caidin).

Plot[]

SpacetravelFilm

Gregory Peck in Space Travelers

Three American astronauts returning from a long space station mission suddenly face imminent death when their spacecraft malfunctions and they are stuck in orbit with a very limited oxygen supply.

On the ground, Chief astronaut Ted Dougherty breaks all the rules to implement a mission to rescue the seemingly doomed travelers. Charles Keith is the ground commander in Houston who must decide whether or not to approve the dangerous rescue mission as the astronauts' wives wait for news.

Cast[]

Notes[]

  • Film Ventures International was able to acquire and release this film while its copyright status was unclear, thus explaining the different title and the Film Ventures International-style title sequence used for sale to the cable television market. There do not seem to be any readily-available posters or other promotional materials that identify this film as Space Travelers.
  • There is no musical score for this film. Instead, each spacecraft has its own ambient noise when it is shown in space. The Apollo shots feature a low hum; the XRV, a hollow ringing; the Nimbus Weather Satellite, a rapid series of beeps ascending in pitch; and the Russian Voshkhod, a constant pitch series of beeps. The only exceptions to this is are a very slight, muted bit of music played under the Apollo ambient soundtrack during Pruett's final EVA, and a single tone (with some ambient effects that could be called music) during the opening credits.
  • In the film, the astronauts are seen using what appears to be the early concept of the Manned Maneuvering Unit - during the real-life Skylab missions, the Astronaut Maneuvering Unit (the AMU) was tested inside the space station and never tested in the vacuum of space. The first use of the MMU was during STS-41-B (the fourth flight of the Challenger) on February 7, 1984.
  • Frank Capra began work on the film. Inspired by his work on the Martin-Marietta Corp.-commissioned faux documentary Rendezvous in Space for the 1964 World's Fair in New York, Capra (a chemical engineer by education) worked to make the picture for Columbia, but finally abandoned the project in pre-production in May of 1966 when he couldn't bring the budget down to the $3-million required by Columbia worldwide production chief M.J. Frankovich. The eventual budget for the finished film (directed by John Sturges) was $8 million. Capra never made another film.
  • According to Sue Butler Hannifin, a space program reporter at Cape Canaveral at the time, the Cape Canaveral press corps portrayed themselves in the scene of the launch of the rescue craft during a hurricane, though they are virtually unrecognizable in rain slickers and other gear.

MST3K Connections[]

Critical Response[]

  • Leonard Maltin wrote: "Two stars ... Glossy but disappointing ... Alternately boring and excruciating; climactic scenes in space produce agony, not excitement. Oscar-winning special effects are chief asset. Originally shown with an intermission."[1]

References[]

  1. ↑ Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide, 2015 Edition
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