Conquest of Space (1955) Part 4 of 4

Possible impact on Kubrick and 2001: A Space Odyssey

Some of this material originally appeared in my very own Wikipedia text. 

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Approximately ten years following the 1955 release of Conquest of Space, the film director Stanley Kubrick began planning his next film project following his critical and popular hit Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. The follow-up would become 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey. While Kubrick planned his space epic, he made a point of viewing virtually all science-fiction movies to understand what the genre had done before, and also to learn what tropes to avoid.

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Principally, Kubrick was on the lookout for particular and specific images and themes that referenced or reflected the infinity of space—its inherent magic and beauty—in other words, its ability to spark a sense of wonder. Of the myriad early science-fiction productions that Kubrick must have viewed, most were certainly earthbound B movies that shied away from the sorts of expensive special visual effects and matte paintings that would ordinarily inspire awe or wonder in casual audiences. Kubrick’s goal was to create a space tale that was thought-provoking and that included numerous images that were truly awesome (in the proper sense of the word); thus, it was his intention “to pull out all the stops”.

 According to genre film authority James Roman in his Bigger than Blockbusters: Movies that Defined America: “Articulating his vision about the infiniteness of space, Kubrick use[d] America’s Apollo space program as a means to embark from. [The program’s] goal was to land humans on the Moon and return them safely to earth. . . . [W]hile the American space program [clearly] influenced Kubrick's work, it did not provide him with the material he needed to visualize space travel and with the technology of the future. A 1955 film, George Pal’s Conquest of Space provided Kubrick with a sense of direction in his . . . pursuit of this imagery. [For example,] in Pal’s film there is [the center-piece] rotating wheel or earth station that Kubrick adapts to 2001, and he creates a poetic image of it floating and rotating in space . . . .” The goal of this exercise of viewing dozens of earlier science-fiction movies had little to do with plot elements; Kubrick simply ignored Conquest of Space's highly-criticized story line and character development and instead focused on the film's remarkable design. He sought high-quality, well-crafted images that would stimulate himself and his creative staff to reach higher to find the look and design of his own film.

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In addition, the genre film authority Roy Kinnard also suggests strongly in his 1979 Fantastic Films article, “Conquest of Space: A New Look at an Old Classic”, that the visually arousing design of Kubrick’s 2001 was influenced by Conquest of Space. He says, “...the most interesting aspect of Conquest [is] its startling parallels with Stanley Kubrick’s epic 1968 production. It is a well-known fact that before he began work on 2001, Kubrick watched virtually every science fiction film ever made, and it is not unreasonable to assume that he not only saw Conquest, but also found quite a bit of inspiration in it.” Then Kinnard points out a number of similarities between the two films (illustrated with photo stills from the movies)—some obvious and others not so obvious. For example, the same space station wheel in both pictures noted by Roman (above) as well as a number of set pieces.

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Furtherrmore, it needs to be remembered that among Conquest of Space’s technical advisors was Wernher von Braun and that the design of the movie was based on the paintings Chesley Bonestell created for the Colliers articles and Viking books co-written by von Braun. Further, Bonestell based his paintings carefully on the technical specifications provided by von Braun and Willey Ley. Now add to this the fact that Wernher von Braun and 2001’s co-author Arthur C. Clarke were fast friends (see both of their biographies; Clarke introduced von Braun to scuba diving); wouldn’t it seem natural that von Braun must have called Clarke’s attention to Conquest of Space to, at the very least, show off its gorgeous color 3D renderings of the designs and concepts that he’d been working on his whole professional life? Wouldn’t it then be natural for Clarke to point Kubrick in the direction of Conquest of Space to give him a taste of what real rocket engineers, including von Braun, were working toward a decade earlier. Furthermore, in Neil McAleer’s biography of Clarke he reminds us that George Pal and Clarke were friends as well. While discussing an SF symposium held in Rio de Janeiro, Clarke said, “I’ll tell you who else was there, George Pal. George Pal who made Destination Moon, War of the Worlds, and all those great space movies. That was the last time I saw dear old George.” I think this supports Kinnard’s notion still more.

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Regarding Kinnard’s expression “quite a bit of inspiration”, insofar as the film’s two-minute title sequence was designed by Paramount’s consummate special visual effects professionals to stimulate our senses, especially sight and hearing, by concentrating evocative imagery of space and nebulae within the titles so as to induce an impression of “the infiniteness of space,” it may be that that sequence in part satisfied and fulfilled Kubrick’s requirements. It may be that a description of the scene may help some people visualize its expansiveness and expressiveness. Many things happen at the same time during the titles, which are cataloged below.

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Additionally, the frontispiece illustration to the introduction of Douglas Brodie’s 2015 Fantastic Planets, Forbidden Zones, and Lost Continents shows a photo still of an astronaut floating in space from Conquest juxtaposed with an equivalent image from 2001 and bears the caption: “The highest form of flattery: As in other genres, science fiction filmmakers often include homages to earlier works. An ultra-realistic image of likely future travel from George Pal’s Conquest of Space (1955) would be almost precisely referenced in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).”

It is possible that the visual style and impact of the title sequence could impact some individuals from the first frame of film. Back in the mid-1950s, movie screens had curtains in front of them. When the lights went down and the movie started, the audience could see the Paramount mountain logo through the sheer curtains as they were being drawn. Then, with the first frame of the film there started a 2-minute sensory experience. It may well be that primed or serious film viewers could watch this movie’s opening and experience the common, wonderful involuntary spine-tingling sensation (probably triggered by the release of endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin) that this viewer did. [per Ponti Crystal] 

 
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