While Arnold thought of the prosperousness of selling the invention to the army for use on boots, Cavor was preoccupied with journeying to the moon (where nuggets of gold dot the craggy orb like raisins in a fruitcake). Agitated, bumbling, flighty scientist Joseph Cavor (Lionel Jeffries) was conducting rather dangerous experiments at the neighboring estate, involving the production of Cavorite, a metallic paste that can cut off the force of gravity from objects coated in the goop. He was an aspiring playwright hoping to escape his numerous creditors by hiding out in the picturesque, isolated family property, Cherry Cottage. When the agents show him photos of the moon items, he retells his tale of space travel so many years ago (turning the meat of the story into an epic flashback). Space Agency sends several researchers to Dymchurch, England in the pursuit of Katherine’s information, which in turn leads them to Arnold Bedford (Edward Judd), an elderly, senile man in a nursing home. But when one of the crew members finds a tattered British flag and a bit of paper (a legal summons) with the year 1899 and the name Katherine Callendor (Martha Hyer), they’re stumped as to how such an artifact could have been placed on the previously unreachable rock. Sergeant Andrew Martin is the first man on the moon and the feat is celebrated all across the world. Mothership UN-1 sends its survey team, inside the tiny shuttle Only Child, to explore the surface of the moon. And it takes even longer before special visual effects mastermind Ray Harryhausen’s monsters show up … and the prevalent moon denizens, called Selenites, don’t count, since they’re just smallish actors in rubbery costumes and masks. The film commences immediately with astronauts walking on the crater-filled satellite – before revealing that the real story actually begins long ago, not only taking place in earthbound England but also refraining from revisiting lunar locations until approximately one hour later. Lthough the landing of the initial moon shuttle is drawn out, no time is wasted on governmental agents spouting mission jargon back on Earth. Release Date: November 20th, 1964 MPAA Rating: Not Ratedĭirector: Nathan Juran Actors: Edward Judd, Martha Hyer, Lionel Jeffries, Miles Malleson, Norman Bird, Betty McDowall A Genre: Sci-Fi Adventure Running Time: 1 hr.