First Spaceship On Venus-Critically Acclaimed Science-Fiction Entertainment

By Steve D. Stones

 First Spaceship On Venus is a 1960 German-Italian production that was later dubbed in English for its American release. The film has been featured on Utah Education Network’s Sci-Fi Friday program a number of times. The special effects are excellent for its time, which may account for why the film is a critically acclaimed, serious science-fiction feature. The cast is a multi-racial, international group of actors.

An Asian scientist and an African-American astronaut, along with French, German and American scientists make up the crew of the Cosmostrator, a rocket ship that carries the crew to an expedition on Venus. Early in the 20th century, an explorer discovers a meteor from Venus that fell to the Earth with a communication device. In the year 1985, an expert of languages and sound analyzes the device to discover that Venusians plan to launch an attack on the Earth. Before releasing this news to citizens of the Earth, a group of scientists assemble, along with a number of robots, to travel to Venus in an attempt to communicate with the Venusians. Their mission is to stop the Venusian attack on the Earth.

 When they arrive, they discover an extinct Venusian civilization and some artifacts and dwellings left behind. The real star of First Spaceship On Venus is not the international cast, but the bizarre and atmospheric special effects that give Venus a foreboding and eerie appearance. Like many science-fiction films before it, First Spaceship On Venus employs a strange Theremin score that adds to the eerie atmosphere.

At one point in the film, the crew encounters a strange golf ball shaped dwelling that looks similar in appearance to architect R. Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic Dome design. If you’re in the mood for a classic science-fiction film, you won’t want to miss First Spaceship On Venus. Happy Viewing!!