12 to the Moon (1960)

(On Cable TV, June 2020) What begins as an earnest, halfway-plausible anticipation of men going to the moon transforms rather quickly into silliness, as the moon landing is followed by alien-driven adventures. If you’re in a generous mood, 12 to the Moon can be rather charming in its all-encompassing illiteracy, no matter whether we’re talking plotting, science or characterization. The black-and-white cinematography does make the film seem older than 1960—I would have pegged it as early-1950s, even though it makes pointed references to the then-beginning American effort to go to the Moon. The production values aren’t too awful for such a low-budget film, and the cinematography attempts to do much with what it has. What’s perhaps more interesting is 12 to the Moon’s admirable attempt to portray an international crew—including a black man and an Asian woman. Alas, we’re often close to tokenism, especially as stereotypes take more space than characterization. (Guess the nationality of the hero? The country of the villain is a surprise, though!) The plot is more unpredictable than you’d expect, more an undisciplined gonzo reflection of the film’s pure hokum than any honest desire to keep viewers on edge. Still, this wild narrative does have the advantage of making the film occasionally feel more interesting than most of its low-budget brethren—just enough for a small independent picture like 12 to the Moon to make it all the way to the twenty-first century and still earn mildly positive notes, even if for the wrong reasons.