Frau im Mond (1929)
Directed by Fritz Lang

Film Review

Legendary Austrian cineaste Fritz Lang is probably best known today for his silent masterpiece Metropolis (1927), one of the most iconic fantasy films of all time (in spite of the fact that no complete print of the film exists).  He is less well known for another fantasy film, Frau im Mond (a.k.a. Woman in the Moon), which he made two years later and which is regarded by many as the first serious film in the science-fiction genre.  The film was based on a novel “Die Frau im Mond” by Thea von Harbou, Lang's wife at the time.

Surprisingly, the film begins very much in the manner of the noir thriller in which Lang particularly excelled - note the similarities with Dr  Mabuse, der Spieler (1922) and M (1931) - although the mood is lightened by some unexpected comedy.  It is only when we get halfway into the film that the familiar science-fiction elements begin to predominate and it becomes evident that Lang is breaking new ground.  In marked contrast to Georges Méliès' earlier silent fantasy Le Voyage dans la lune (1902), Lang goes to great lengths to make the space adventure plausible.  To that end, he engaged two respected scientists, Hermannn Oberth and Fritz von Hoppel, to authenticate his script - hence the laboured references to escape velocity, g-force, cancelling gravitational fields and what not.   Unfortunately, there was also a certain amount of shot-in-the-dark speculation and some of what the film presents as scientifically plausible now appears laughably ridiculous.  Fortunately, this is science fiction, not fact, and so the notion that the moon has a breathable atmosphere on its dark side (for example) doesn't mar the experience of watching the film that much.  Nothing in the entertainment industry dates faster than science-fiction, and it's surprising how well this film stands up eighty or so years after its creation.

Whilst Frau im Mond must surely rate highly in the league of science-fiction movie classics, it does have its flaws.   Despite the elaborate sci-fi trappings, the plot ultimately boils down to a conventional Earth-based melodrama, with the familiar stereotypes instantly recognisable, and no real surprises in the denouement.  The voyage to the moon is almost incidental to the plot.  Had he chosen, Lang could have had the same characters making a journey to some remote island (or even Basingstoke), telling exactly the same story - a story of human greed and endeavour, intertwined with a love triangle.  Admittedly much of sci-fi is like this, but here it looks a bit too obvious - the film's heroes aren't overly convincing as space scientists and could equally pass as neurosurgeons, civil servants or unemployed actors.

In its favour, the film is beautifully shot, with those brilliant expressionist touches that helped to establish Fritz Lang as a serious filmmaker in the mid-1920s.  What makes the film particularly enjoyable, is the very real sense that Lang is trail blazing a whole new genre, making effective use of all the resources that the great German film production company UFA could offer.   The rocket interior and lunar surface sets were ambitious by the standards of the late 1920s and still look impressive, and the sequence of the rocket taking off (whilst scientifically flawed) is as awesome as its is stylistically elegant, unintentionally launching a whole raft of cinematic clichés.   In fact the model shots of the rocket were so convincing that the Nazis were quick to regard the film as a security threat to the German rocket development programme, and so had the film banned soon after its release.  (Likewise, all of the models and any related documentation were incinerated.)  This, along with the fact that film was not a great commercial success, could account for its relative obscurity.  Fortunately, the surviving print of the film is in good condition, and, after some restoration work, is of exceptional quality for a film of this period.  Frau im Mond is a must-see film for any sci-fi enthusiast and admirer of Fritz Lang's work.

Film Synopsis

For some time, engineers Wolf Helius and Hans Windegger have been working on a project to send a manned rocket to the moon.  Helius consults a once-eminent astronomer, Professor Manfeldt, who is convinced that the dark side of the moon holds many secrets.  Manfeldt was ridiculed for his theory that the lunar surface is strewn with deposits of mineral gold.  Helius is not the only one to be interested in the Professor's theories.  A consortium of gangsters intent on controlling the world's gold supply steal Helius' rocket plans and blackmail him into advancing the moon mission for their purpose.  Helius' enthusiasm for the project has waned since he learned that his former sweetheart, Frieda, became engaged to Windegger.  Reluctantly, Helius persuades Windegger to complete their project.  Soon the rocket is ready for take-off, and Helius and Windegger begin their voyage to the moon, accompanied by Frieda, Professor Manfeldt, a gangster named Walt Turner, a stowaway boy and a pet mouse.   Only Helius seems to appreciate the risks involved in space travel, and, sure enough, not all of them will make the return journey...