Moon Zero Two

Lore & Background

The film takes place on the Moon in 2021, during the process of colonization. Former astronaut turned satellite salvager Bill Kemp is hired by millionaire J.J. Hubbard to capture a 6000-tonne sapphire asteroid in low lunar orbit, using Kemp's Moon 02 space ferry. Kemp agrees under duress, as Hubbard threatens his flight license and later his life. Meanwhile, Kemp helps a woman named Clementine search for her missing brother, a prospector at Spectacle Crater, only to find he has been murdered by Hubbard's men for discovering a rich nickel vein. Kemp kills several of Hubbard's men and ultimately strands Hubbard on the asteroid as it crashes onto the lunar surface, leaving Clementine as the legal heir to both the nickel claim and the sapphire asteroid.

Reader's Guide

Moon Zero Two is significant as Hammer Films' first and only space Western, an attempt to capitalize on the space race and the success of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The film was released three months after the Apollo 11 Moon landing, which undercut its fictional lunar setting. Director Roy Ward Baker and star Catherine Schell were both critical of the film, citing budget constraints and miscasting. The film has since gained a cult following, partly due to its parody on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Its legacy includes a novelisation by John Burke and a graphic story by Paul Neary. The film's blend of gritty realism and glossy production, as noted by Gavin Lyall's widow, reflects the tension between the original authors' intentions and the studio's vision.

Did You Know?

• The film's title song was performed by Julie Driscoll.
• Catherine Schell lost 13 pounds from wearing the moonsuit during filming.
• The film was released three months after the Apollo 11 Moon landing.
• A dialogue reference to Neil Armstrong becoming the first man on the Moon was inserted into the film.

Narrative & Plot

Set in May 2021 aboard a colonized Moon dotted with settlements such as Moon City and Farside 5, the story follows Bill Kemp, a former astronaut and the first human to walk on Mars. Kemp abandoned Space Corporation's commercial passenger flights to Mars and Venus in favor of independent satellite salvage work. Millionaire industrialist J.J. Hubbard recruits him to capture a 6,000-tonne asteroid of pure ceramic sapphire sitting in low lunar orbit and haul it to the farside, an act that directly contravenes Space Corporation law. Hubbard intends to forge the sapphire into superior rocket-engine thermal insulators, fueling ambitions to colonize Mercury and the moons of Jupiter. Simultaneously, a young woman named Clementine arrives in Moon City searching for her brother, a prospector working at Spectacle Crater. Kemp ferries her there in his Moon 02 ship, and together they uncover that her brother has been murdered for striking a rich nickel vein. Hubbard orchestrated the killing so the claim would lapse, clearing a landing zone for his asteroid. After blackmailing Kemp into completing the transport, Kemp turns the tables: he strands Hubbard and his last henchman atop the sapphire moments before its retro-rockets ignite, hurling it into the lunar surface. As her brother's next of kin, Clementine inherits both the nickel deposit and the crashed asteroid, emerging as a very wealthy woman.

Production & Creative Vision

Michael Carreras penned the screenplay from an original story by Gavin Lyall, Frank Hardman, and Martin Davison, but the finished product drifted far from the authors' intent. Lyall's widow, Katharine Whitehorn, recalled in her 2007 autobiography that the team envisioned space travel at the 'beat-up-old-Dakota stage of grubby reality,' yet the crew, dazzled by Kubrick's 2001, pushed for glossy perfection and stripped out all the grit. Production kicked off on 8 March 1969 with effects work, and live-action shooting ran from 31 March to 10 June at Associated British Studios. The physical toll was considerable: actor Ori Levy called the moonsuits 'sheer hell,' suffering chafed blisters and back strain from the built-in air conditioning, while Catherine Schell dropped 13 pounds and was placed on a diet of malted milk and chocolate. The score paired Philip Martell with American jazz musician Don Ellis for his first film credit, and Julie Driscoll performed the title track. Les Bowie headed the visual-effects team, and the sets featured Eero Aarnio's 1966 Ball Chairs. A Neil Armstrong reference and a lunar monument were added, and the film reached audiences just three months after Apollo 11.

Critical Reception & Retrospective Assessment

In American theaters the picture was pitched as a 'space Western,' billed with the tagline 'The first moon western.' Critical response was decidedly lukewarm. Variety observed that the film 'never makes up its mind whether it is a spoof or a straightforward adventure yarn.' In a 1992 Starlog interview, director Roy Ward Baker was openly scathing, calling it 'a bad picture' and 'a complete muddle,' citing an inadequate budget and what he regarded as the miscasting of James Olson in the lead. He also faulted Carreras for stretching himself across producing, writing, and other roles. Baker added that the film was 'undercut by the fact that you could turn on the television and see Neil Armstrong jumping about on the real Moon.' Catherine Schell proved equally unkind in her autobiography A Constant Alien. She recounted receiving, years later, a gift anthology of the worst films ever made, which included a still of her in the notorious spacesuit alongside a cartoon speech balloon reading, 'I knew what I had to do to get on this movie but what do I have to do to get off it?'

Creative Team & Technical Craft

Behind the camera, Moon Zero Two assembled a substantial slate of British and international talent. Michael Carreras wrote the screenplay and also produced, a dual role that director Roy Ward Baker later felt caused creative friction. The musical score was a collaboration between Philip Martell and American jazz musician Don Ellis, marking Ellis's debut in film scoring, while Julie Driscoll sang the title track. Spencer Reeve edited the picture and Carl Toms designed the costumes. Special visual effects were overseen by Les Bowie, a veteran of numerous Hammer productions and other British science-fiction features. The dance group the Go-Jos appeared on screen. Among the futuristic set decorations were several examples of the iconic Ball Chair, designed by Finnish designer Eero Aarnio in 1966. A dialogue nod to Neil Armstrong's Moon landing was woven into the script, and a lunar monument was erected on the landing-site set. The effects unit at Bray Studios supplemented the main photography stages at Associated British Studios, giving the production a distinctly British sci-fi texture.