SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

thestarkfist A curious thing happened to Hollywood way back on October 4, 1957. Those wily Soviets launched the very first orbiting satellite; Sputnik. This touched off a fresh panic in America! The Russians were ahead of us in the conquest of space! The government assured us that the Russians were out to control all of space and then we would all surely die. The Space Race was born and Hollywood had a special role to play in that race. Y'see, up until that time science and math were kind of secondary studies, behind English and history in the American schools. Suddenly Washington needed top science talent and pronto! English was given the back seat and math and science came to to forefront for the first time ever! It wasn't enough just to emphasize the rational studies in the schools or to instill the fear of imminent peril in the minds of the American populace. No. We needed to make America's youth actually want to become scientists. Scientists needed to be cool! Enter Hollywood.Before the Sputnik scare the studios tended to portray scientists as either cold unemotional nerds or madmen with thick foreign accents bent on some crazy scheme that unleashes an unholy terror upon innocent people. Glamorous they weren't. But now, with Washington imploring them to help brainwash the kids into science careers, Hollywood unleashed a torrent of Grade B flicks that featured rugged, good lookin', two-fisted, square jawed scientists as the dashing hero. Movies like "This Island Earth" and "Riders To the Stars" are just two of the many films that featured this new kind of celluloid hero; The Brainy Stud. Having established the historical context for this movie I have to admit that "Riders To The Stars" is a pretty lame piece of work. Yes, the modern scientist of the 50's was smart and handsome, but I doubt that when you're working at Carnegie-Mellon you get a lot of chances to meet, much less date, a fashion model. This movie assures us that this is just what's happening to Dr. Lockwood. In fact, he desperately wants to marry her. She, on the other hand, isn't so sure she wants to marry him. Then there's Dr. Stanton, the toughest and studliest scientist of them all! He falls for sexy Dr. Flynn at Space Travel Boot Camp. Basically this movie is a thin attempt to build some suspense around a manned mission to capture a meteor, because they stay crunchy in milk or something. In order to pad the film you get the soap opera schmaltz I described earlier. There are 3 macho brainiacs who are put thru rigorous training for their outer space adventure and the bulk of the film's run time is spent showing the preparations, either live action or endless stock footage of rocket assembly. Finally the big day comes and it is announced by Dr. Daddy Flynn that the meteor shower is just minutes away! The 3 valiant eggheads strap in for God and country and blast off into the unknown!! Will they be successful? Will they all survive?? Will we ever really care??? This movie is way overrated on this site. Goofy enough to be some fun if you're in the mood but there are much better examples of the genre out there.

oscar-35 *Spoiler/plot- Riders to the Stars, 1954. During the early years of the Space Race, a group of scientists want to capture some meteors to use the metals that they contain for spaceship alloys. A large group of young scientists are recruited and trained to fly three rockets into space for the mission. The mission is successful, but many of the crews are lost.*Special Stars- Herbert Marshall, Richard Carlson, Martha Hyer, William Lundigan, James Best. DIR: Richard Carlson.*Theme- American science and engineering will accomplish any task.*Trivia/location/goofs- This film uses the 'Office of Scientific Investigation' from Ivan Tors, movie & TV producer. Watch for the gruesome scene in which a dead floating astronaut with his helmeted skull is shown. That scene is horribly memorable to young impressionable viewers for many years.*Emotion- A somewhat clinical and scientific fictional account on how to coordinate a mission in space. Most of the plot and story consist of choosing, training, and launching three manned spaceships to collect rock metal specimens. While this might have been riveting dram in the 50's, today its dated and boring. Experience it once, but this film is forgettable and often confused with films of the same time period and subject.

1bilbo This is a really great film whether or not you are a sci fi fan. Unlike many poorer films of this era this one does not concentrate on 'girls in tight sweaters from outer space' or green bug eyed silly monsters; instead we are treated to a very rational and thought provoking dialogue in which people have to examine themselves and are examined for their suitability for the mission.CGI was non-existent then so there are no silly explosions with people running out of burning buildings that aren't there – also a refreshing absence of major stars so it is possible to really get into the characters.Watch it if you can get it.

bkoganbing This low budget science fiction film from the Middle Fifties is illustrative of just how far we've come in space travel. Now folks like United States Senators like Jake Garn and pop stars like Lance Bass vie for the privilege of space travel. It's proved to be quite a money maker for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.But back in 1954 there was no NASA. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all had rival space programs if you can believe that. It took Sputnik for the Eisenhower administration and Congress to create NASA in 1958.A group of competent B players bring us Riders to the Stars and the object here is just a quick trip up in space to capture a meteor before it burns up in our atmosphere. One thing is certain, they somehow survive the Van Allen radiation belt that surrounds the Earth, a recent discovery that Riders to the Stars was capitalizing on.Herbert Marshall heads the scientific team who are looking for a few good men and among those gathered are William Lundigan and Richard Carlson. Martha Hyer is around to be decorative as Marshall's girl Friday and to provide a little romance.The best part of Riders to the Stars was the intensive physical training that is shown for these astronauts to be. Not unlike what was done in NASA for the original Mercury astronauts. You had to be one peak physical specimen to qualify back in the day. Not that you can have health issues now, but a 60 something US Senator Jake Garn has gone in space and pop star Lance Bass aspires to.Riders to the Stars is educational, but a bit on the dull side. It really peaks in the last 25 minutes or so with the actual flight. Still it's an earnest film and worth a look.