FIRST MAN INTO SPACE (1959)
This film was produced by the same team that brought us 1958's Fiend Without a Face, a patently ridiculous (or brilliant) b-ticket about atomic flying brains with spinal column tails. First Man into Space doesn't reach those heights of...um, brilliance, but it doesn't disappoint either. Test pilot Lieut. Dan Prescott pushes the capabilities of the military's latest aeronautic gadget Y-13 to its limits. He wants to be the first man into space, and dang it, he isn't going to let science stop him. Unfortunately, his foolhardy ways lead him directly to hitting the eject button when his craft is stippled with atmospheric debris. Upon falling back to Earth, Dan finds himself hideously deformed and craving human blood. It's up to his older, wiser brother (the distinguished Chuck) to locate him and save him from himself. We get a few stalk sequences out of the deal, although the violence is obviously suggested. Can this creature be stopped before Y-14 is sent into the skies? Probably.
I don't want to say that the bulk of First Man into Space is paint-by-numbers, but that's basically where we are here. That's not necessarily a dealbreaker. I know I was on board. Things get a little more interesting toward the finale. Dan becomes a tragic figure, as entering a high-altitude chamber (and yes, I had to do some digging to suss out the proper terminology) grants him the ability to communicate for the first time since his mutation. I've got to be honest. As a regular guy, he was a nettlesome twerp. As a humanoid blanketed in space dust, he has pathos. I actually felt bad for him. I have to give the script credit for sidestepping an unseemly scene where Chuck professes his love for his brother's girlfriend. I was ready to roll my eyes. Thankfully, it never happened. We're close to 4-Z'Dar terrain, but look, I can't lose my cool over every monster movie I run across. Still, check this one out.
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