Cat-Women of the Moon [Rocket to the Moon] * (1953, Sonny Tufts, Victor Jory, Marie Windsor, William Phipps, Douglas Fowley, Susan Morrow) – Classic Movie Review 7112

The hilariously inept 1953 sci-fi B-movie Cat-Women of the Moon, filmed 3D, tells an endearingly silly story about spacemen finding the only life on the Moon comes from sexy, leotard-clad cat people.

Director Arthur Hilton’s hilariously inept and breathtakingly amateurish 1953 sci-fi adventure programmer B-movie Cat-Women of the Moon was filmed and originally released to cinemas in 3D. It tells an endearingly ridiculous silly story about spacemen discovering that the only life on the Moon comes from sexy, leotard-clad cat people (‘The Hollywood Cover Girls’) living in burrows that have a breathable atmosphere.

Sonny Tufts stars as Laird Grainger, who commands the space expedition of five astronauts to the moon; Carol Brewster plays the top cat Alpha and Suzanne Alexander is Beta. Also in the cast are Victor Jory as Kip Reissner, Marie Windsor as Helen Salinger, William Phipps [Bill Phipps] as Doug Smith, Douglas Fowley as Walt Walters, and Susan Morrow as Lambda. Bette Arlen, Roxann Delman, Ellye Marshall and Judy Walsh are Cat-Women.

It may even be a good/ bad cult movie in the making. You never know. There’s an idea going round that this is above average for this kind of thing, but that’s not so. It’s hard to detect any real quality anywhere. They might be trying hard but they just didn’t have the budget or talent for it. But, nevertheless, it’s quite campy fun, and very amusing.

There’s maybe a touch of class. Future Academy Award–winner Elmer Bernstein writes the score. They couldn’t even be bothered to spell his name right: it’s ‘Bernstien’ in the opening credits.

It is produced by Jack Rabin and Al Zimbalist, from their original story idea, and released by Astor Pictures.

It is remade in 1958 as Missile to the Moon, with an even lower budget and even less expertise, though the same monster Giant Spider puppet.

Cat-Women of the Moon (also known as Rocket to the Moon) is directed by Arthur Hilton, runs 65 minutes, is made by Three Dimensional and Z-M Productions, is released by Astor Pictures Corporation, is written by Roy Hamilton, based on an original story idea by Al Zimbalist and Jack Rabin, is shot in black and white by William P Whitley, is produced by Al Zimbalist and Jack Rabin, and is scored by Elmer Bernstein, with Art Direction by William Glasgow.

Release date: September 3, 1953.

Remembering William Phipps, who died on 1 June 2018, aged 96.

This may not be the best way to remember William Phipps, who died on 1 June 2018, aged 96, but he is in good company here, and work is work, all grist to the mill.

It is not really the best way to remember Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) either, best known as a femme fatale in the film noirs Force of Evil, The Narrow Margin and The Killing.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7,112

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com