Photos from Heinlein's lost moon movie

Bill Higgins sez,


The 1950 film Destination Moon, attempting to use the most realistic possible science and technology, dramatized an imaginary landing on the Moon. Science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein collaborated on the screenplay, and served as technical adviser; space artist Chesley Bonestell designed sets, spacecraft, and background paintings for the film.

A trove of unpublished photos, depicting the filming of Destination Moon, has turned up in Google's recently-added archive of photos from Life magazine. Photographer Allan Grant spent a lot of time on the soundstage. Four of his photos were used in the April 24, 1950 issue– but Google has over 200 others, never before published.

Checking the film's production callsheets in the UC Santa Cruz archive of Heinlein's papers, I believe Grant shot these during the first two weeks of December 1949. Bill Leininger and I were cruising the archive and discovered this collection. It's a fantastically detailed look behind the scenes of a classic science fiction movie.

LIFE Discovered on Moon!