Woman In the Moon (1929)

Woman in the Moon (1929) The final silent film of director Fritz Lang looks at man’s first trip to the moon and the human frailties that conspire to destroy the attempt.

Director – Fritz Lang                                                 Starring – Klaus Pohl, Gerda Maurus

As always with silent films, modern audiences need to accept that some things were done very differently.  The storytelling style is different, more leisurely in its pacing and in some ways simpler.  Compared to the modern “naturalistic” style of acting, the broad, physical style of the day is odd to modern eyes. Our scientific knowledge of space and the moon have changed a great deal in the intervening years, so some of what is presented as “science” is laughable.  But history teaches us that a hundred years from now our descendants will be laughing at our “science” as well.  Add in the German cinema style and some people find this movie difficult.  Right off the bat, it is very long (149 minutes).  But there is so much that is interesting in that time, that it’s worth the look.

The science shown in the movie is startling, both positively and negatively.  They get so much right here (escape velocity, travel to the moon, weightlessness), but what they get wrong (air on the far side of the moon but not the visible side?), they get REALLY wrong.  If you get hung up on it, you’ll miss the fun.

An older scientist, Prof. Manfeldt, presented the theory that there was gold on the moon, and great riches could be found if mankind could just get there.  He was laughed out of the room, but a young protege, Helius, believed.  Through his determination, the moon rocket is almost finished when powerful men and women who want control of these new riches blackmail him into taking their thug on the flight.  Meanwhile, Helius and his best friend and partner, Windegger, have fallen in love with the beautiful Friede.  She accepts Windegger’s marriage proposal because Helius has never shown his feelings.  Along with the goon, Turner, the Professor, the two friends and the young woman all journey to the moon.

The trip presents them with a variety of problems, including damage that means not all of them can return to Earth.

I’ll be honest.  The slow storytelling was driving me crazy.  So I used the technology available to me and watched the second half of the movie at 2x speed.  Since there is no dialogue, it was easy.  There’s not a lot of dialogue cards either, so I only had to stop and go back a couple times.  It allowed me to enjoy the movie much more, even if some purists may be offended.  So be it.  I recommend the technique.

Why You Will Like It: One of the great early science fiction movies, with Lang’s usual attention to detail and beautiful cinematography.

Rating – **** Recommended