Weltraumschiff 1 from Spaceship 1 Launches

Written and directed by Anton Kutter, "Weltraumschiff 1 Startet" ("Spaceship 1 Launches") was a brief, 23-minute-long sci-fi docudrama produced by Germany in the midst of World War II and not seen until years later by the outside world. The film depicted humanity's first trip to the moon as covered by German state media. While the plot, what there is of it, is razor-thin, the special visual effects are outstanding, especially for its time. The dramatic rail-launch of the sleek, bullet-shaped "Weltraumschiff 1" rocket was so impressive it was mimicked a decade later by George Pal in his 1951 classic, "When Worlds Collide."

In 1958, producer William Clayton and director Fred Ladd secured the rights to "Weltraumschiff 1 Startet" and cut its SVFX footage into educational film materials produced by New York's Hayden Planetarium and animation produced in Norway to create "The Space Explorers," a multi-part children's educational series they sold to independent TV stations through the United States. Under this title, the Weltraumschiff 1 became the "Polaris II," the name most Baby Boomers know it by today.

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