Rocketship X-M

Rocketship X-M is a 1950 science fiction film starring Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, Noah Beery, Jr., John Emery, Hugh O'Brian and Morris Ankrum. The score is composed by Ferde Grofe and includes a theremin. The very first scene has the leading man referring to the token woman on the crew as an example of "the weaker sex," and interactions throughout are based on her emotions and choice of scientific career over having children.

You can watch it online compliments of Internet Archive:


DVDTalk compares it favorably to Destination Moon, saying, "...X-M is Moon's equal in entertainment value: Far superior as a drama and just as interesting when discussing the Science Fiction boom the two of them inaugurated" and points out that it's the first of a "pacifist" strain in science fiction films that tended to be more conservative in the 50's. 1000 Misspent Hours gives it 2 stars and says,

virtually everything good that happens in Rocketship X-M happens in the last fifteen or twenty minutes; despite the apparent promise of a fast pace made by the opening scene, the first hour of the movie is almost unendurably boring.