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Destination Moon (1950)
Understand it for what it is, not for what you want it to be.
Science Fiction master Robert Heinlien had direct influence with only one film during his lifetime. Early in his career, Heinlien made his way to Hollywood, way before he was well known as the author of the 60's cross over best seller, Stranger in a Strange Land. As a former engineer, Heinlien was interested in scientific realism, and he co-wrote the script for this film which was based on one of his early novels. Released in 1950, it wasn't until 1969 that the USA landed men on the Moon, but Heinlien's predictions about how space travel would look like were remarkably accurate. NASA credited this film as being instrumental in the history of the USA space program.
Don't expect a modern day science fiction masterpiece, or even a film on the level of Forbidden Planet. However, this often overlooked film had great special effects for the day and launched a series of (better, perhaps) science fiction films issued in the 1950s and 1960's. The realistic approach makes this film a bit slow for some, but it is a classic and should be viewed as such by any SF film buff or aspiring film maker.