Moon Zero Two (1969), dir. Roy Ward Baker, Hammer Films
Hammer's science fiction offerings tend to be a mixed bag. When mixed with fantasy or horror, they are striking and memorable. When they go the 2001 route?
In the far off year of 2021, the Moon has been colonized. People from all walks of life and nations flock to the airless hunk of rock in space hoping to stake their claim and become rich. Two men will be our main focus.
William Kemp (James Olson) and his partner Kominski (Ori Levy) are little more than junkers. Kemp has a chip on his shoulder for being drummed out of the exploration division of Her Majesty's fleet. The other man we need to focus is Hubbard (Warren Mitchell).
Hubbard is a rich man, something he brings up with some frequency. He's also got an inside tip that an asteroid of pure sapphire is about to pass by the Moon in a short while. If a fellow could slap some rockets on that bad boy and do, say a controlled crash to the Moon' surface, why that fellow would be darn rich.
There's a complication. Miss Clementine Tamplin (Catherine Schell) is a new arrival to the Moon. She's not hunting her fortune though; no, she's looking for her brother. It seems her brother fancied himself a prospector and he wrote to her about a claim he was sure was about to pay off.
And naturally her brother's claim happens to dead center where that asteroid needs to land. She needs to get to the land before it reverts back to the Crown but then again Hubbard needs that land cleared before he can strike any claims of his own.
Kemp is naturally caught right smack in the middle.
If the above sounded exciting, then I apologize. This film is a slog to get through and the jazzy soundtrack sounds like they borrowed from a James Bond knockoff. I'd suggest the MST3K version.
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