Spaceways

Amazon.com

A strange mix of space-age rocketry and old-fashioned murder mystery, the 1953 Spaceways is notable as the first British science fiction film since the legendary Things to Come. Howard Duff stars as the strapping American physicist working on a top-secret British base; Eva Bartok is the European mathematician who pines for the married Duff. She gets to prove her love when he's accused of murdering his philandering wife and her lover, a fellow scientist, after they suddenly disappear from the high-security compound. Where did they go? A coldly logical detective (Alan Wheatley) suggests their bodies have been stuffed on an experimental satellite and shot into space, so Duff suits up for a space flight to prove his innocence. This early Hammer thriller is a cut-rate production with functional special effects and a talky, often ludicrous script. Duff is an amiable hunk who would look more at home on a football field than a laboratory and Bartok is all goo-goo eyes, but Wheatley is excellent as the cunning investigator driven by pure reason and deduction, a role Peter Cushing would make his specialty in the coming decade. It's pure B-movie hokum, but director Terence Fisher does it up in smart style, creating a thick atmosphere of tension on the tiny sets and keeping the story moving with interesting camera work. The Image DVD is beautifully mastered from a gorgeous, sharp print. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Space is a cold place to die! At a secret rocket base in England, Scientist Howard Duff (Brute Force, The Naked City) is accused of committing the perfect crime--murdering his adulterous wife and her Russian spy lover and disposing of their bodies by firing them into space aboard a satellite. To prove his innocence, he must go into space and retrieve the orbiter with fellow scientist, lovely Eva Bartok (The Crimson Pirate, Blood and Black Lace), who insists on accompanying him, possibly never to return! Historically the first British space adventure since "Things to Come" in 1936. Also of note, "Spaceways" in the first science fiction film produced by famed British film studio, Hammer Films. Early Atomic Age science fiction complete with murder, commies and the promise of exciting futuristic space exploration!

Customer Reviews:

Review of the Spaceways film........2007-03-09

I thought that the science regarding what we now know as the space station was interesting. I did not think that the movie lived up to the description on the outside of the DVD case. I know that the actors have done much better work in other films and were not used to the best of their abilities.

MISLEADING TITLE.......2004-05-03

This is a quality Image DVD. The image is sharp and crisp. There are a few trailers and a chapter index.

This movie is not science fiction. This movie was marketed wrong and still is. The Amazon reviewer writes, "it's a strange mix..." There really is no mix. There's no space station and very little of the rocket. This is a murder-mystery plain and simple and I think a pretty good one. The acting is good and the story good.

It`s a triller, not a sci fi movie........2002-11-14

In general it`s a little bit bouring, it`s not a scifi movie like others in his time. It`s more like a police suspence and triller.

Just if you do`n`t have any more to do......

Hammer's first venture into sci-fi!.......2001-12-16

This tidy little murder mystery with a sci-fi setting features tough,
gruff Howard Duff and beautiful, exotic Eva Bartok as star crossed
lovers working together on the first attempt to put a satellite into
orbit above the Earth. Duff and Bartok becomes the first man and
woman into space when they have to rocket off to the satellite to
prove his innocence in the murder of his wife and her lover, whose
bodies are thought to be hidden on the satellite.

The story is from a radio play by novelist Charles Eric Maine, who
had two of his other works turned into movies--The Isotope Man
became The Atomic Man and Escapement became The
Electronic Monster. He had a penchant for writing Alfred
Hitchcock-like murder mysteries with a science fiction flavor.
And like Hitchcock's movies, Spaceways is rather slow paced and
tedious at times, before the payoff comes, such as it is.

Director Terence Fisher, in his pre-Frankenstein and Dracula
efforts for Hammer Films, does a good job with what little he has--
a low budget and stock footage of German V-2 rocket launches,
plastic spacesuits, and sparsely designed control room sets. It all
works pretty well, though, because of the fine cast.

This DVD features excellent image quality and sound, a chapter
index, and the theatrical trailer, and that's it. Recommended
mostly for fans of Eva Bartok and early British sci-fi.

Mainly for "Hammer" completists.......2001-05-15

Inspired by the success of the American science fiction movie "Rocketship X-R", Hammer Films decided to produce the first British science fiction film since "Things to Come" (1936). "Spaceways" is in no way comparable to those two films. After a heavy-handed exposition the film unravels to be only a modest little crime story with a space sequence as special twist. It seems that the budget was very small. The film-makers opted to combine real footage with F/X-shots, which is quite problematic. During the climactic spaceflight the camera stays within the interior of the capsule all the time. Fisher did not even attempt to solve the problem of showing zero gravity. You even get to see more in "Nude on the Moon" (Hey, I mean special effects!). The script is quite slow and far too talkative. It was based on a radio play and it clearly shows. Director Fisher displays a fairly good craftsmanship, but this film is not in the least as effective as his later gothic horror movies that became the trademark of Hammer. Nevertheless, I think he made the film as effective as the screenplay and the budget allowed. Moreover, the supporting cast is quite well. Combined with Fishers skills they prevent this film from being campy.

Average customer rating:

Underrated 50's sci-fi

Kronos/Spaceways
Starring: Image 2pak
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000TAZHE
Release Date: 2003-12-30

Customer Reviews:

Underrated 50's sci-fi.......2004-03-16

First off, I'm delighted that Image is releasing many of its genre titles from the "Wade Williams Collection" in very affordable 2-packs. I've said it before, but here it comes again...it's just a GREAT time to be a fan of 50's sci-fi flicks.

Now, on to the films. KRONOS is easily the better of the two, and is presented in widescreen "Regalscope." This is a good thing, because there are a number of long shots of the Kronos machine stomping across the countryside. The plot is typical of the drive-in fare of the period: Scientists come together to stop a menace from outer space; in this case, it's a giant energy-sucking robot. Also typical of the era, it's more Fiction than Science, but it's great for what it is.

SPACEWAYS has the distinction of being the first sci-fi film produced by England's Hammer Studios, far better known for their horror output beginning in the latter part of the decade. It's essentially a murder-mystery, with a generous dose of space trappings to make it science fiction. Wooden acting and cheap effects abound, making this a fairly tedious affair. But for science fiction completists, or fans of Hammer director Terence Fisher, it's worth a look.

In short, KRONOS is a minor classic; SPACEWAYS is a curiosity of interest only to hardcore 50's sci-fi buffs.

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