LeonLouisRicci Not the First and In Fact the Last of the Sci-Fi of the "Sci-Fi" Infused Decade. It came Way Late and not just a Dollar Short.It's Obscure and Unknown for a Reason. While it did do Good Business and Baby-Boomers Lined Up, it is Not Remembered with Fond Feelings. A Stiff Presentation it Contained Heavy Horror Elements that Stifled some of the Entertainment Value of the then Public's Fascination with all Things Space Travel.Marshall Thompson is Forever Frowning and Dull as Dirt and the Italian Female Actress Mara Landi is Miscast and a Glaring Misstep. Bill Edwards as Astronaut Dan is an Obnoxious, Strutting Fifties Stereotype until He Returns from Space Humbled to Say the Least.In the Second Half the Movie Becomes a Blood-Sucking Bore as the "Monster" is Seen Wandering the Countryside like "Frankenstein". It then becomes Extremely Downbeat as the Tragedy Unfolds. If the Reveal was Meant to be a Twist, it Failed Miserably.Worth a Watch for Sci-Fi Completest with Low Expectations.

seattlemuse I also saw this movie in 1959 as an 8-year-old. I went to the theater with my "older" friends, they were like 11-12. The movie scared the wits out of me; I hid my view behind the person sitting in front of me, my friends never let up on making fun of me. This was the first time I had gone to the movies with non-adults...big mistake! The monster was scary and creepy. It haunted me for years. In fact, I probably had some persistent subliminal turmoil over the movie. Fast forward to 2008 and I found the DVD to rent. I watched again, and guess what? The movie is still scary! It's pretty high-camp and was made on a limited budget, but the creepiness is still there. I suppose the fact that the back line story is believable makes it even more scary. Watching it with my wife probably exorcised some demons. Funny how movies can move us, positively or negatively. All my 60 years I can still rehash this event when I was eight. Still the scariest movie I ever saw. I dig it.

vtcavuoto "First Man into Space" is one of those movies that doesn't have much in the way of thrills but is good viewing nonetheless. Marshall Thompson is good in the lead as a commander for the space program but the rest of the acting is so-so. The space scenes are dated but hold up O.K. Special effects aren't very special but the make-up is pretty cool. So, why do I recommend this film? It's because it's one of those"so-bad-it's-good" movies. Actually, it's not real bad. I wish there was more action in the film. The pacing is a bit slow in parts and some of the lines are laughable. There were far worse films of this genre though. Still, it's something you may want to catch at least once.

Michael O'Keefe Rivalry between brothers leads to main story line. Navy Commander Chuck Prescott(Marshall Thompson)has developed the Y12 aircraft to test how far man can go up in the atmosphere. His brother, Lt. Dan Prescott(Bill Edwards), seems to be the best test pilot around and is chosen to go up in the Y12. Dan of course has a problem with taking orders and is also an over confident dare devil. On Dan's second flight, he hits over the 300 miles up comfort zone and his craft passes through a meteor dust storm. Returning to earth, Dan becomes a monster that resembles 200 pounds of bad asphalt. He also has a demanding craving for blood, whether it be from farm animals or fellow human beings.Short runtime of an hour and seventeen minutes; black & white with near stoic acting...typical of low budget sci-fi.Rounding out the cast is Marla Landi, Robert Ayers and Carl Jaffe. Noteworthy trivia: about two months after this film was released; the Russians put the real first man in space.