First Men in the Moon
This campy 1964 H.G. Wells adaptation sets about trying to explain why the supposed first group of lunar explorers reaches its crater-filled surface only to find… a British flag and a claim that the moon is ruled by Queen Victoria. Cue the flashback to 1899! While the space mission takes a bit to lift off, when it finally does, we get a jolly tale of a man, his fiancée, and his nutty scientist neighbor journeying to a moon filled with incredible Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animated monsters, which quite obviously makes the waiting worthwhile.
