Riders to the Stars

Photographed in color by Color Corporation Of America; when sold to television in 1956, most prints and broadcasts were in black & white. The 35MM color master used for the DVD release, occasionally shown on Turner Classic Movies, shows a lot of wear and a few splices, particularly at the reel changes, but may be the best that has survived.

In the film's first minutes, two crews race through the desert to recover equipment from a rocket that has landed. One is in a truck pulling a trailer, and the trailer has a big black box in it. When the truck and trailer runs over plants and bumps, the trailer bounces around and, in a quick shot, the big black box is thrown out of the trailer. But it is still in the trailer in later shots, such as on reaching the landing site. Also a vehicle carrying electronic equipment that more than likely contained vacuum tubes before the invention of solid-state electronics would not be driven in such a reckless manner with unsecured cargo in the trailer. However, the contents of the box is never revealed, so whatever it contained could well have been able to withstand the rough ride.

Featured in Weirdo with Wadman: Riders to the Stars (1964)