On the Threshold of Space
Encyclopedia
On the Threshold of Space is a 1956
1956 in film
The year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...

 Drama directed by Robert D. Webb, starring Guy Madison
Guy Madison
Guy Madison was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in...

, Virginia Leith
Virginia Leith
Virginia Leith is an American film and television actress.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she starred in a few films, with her most productive period coming in the 1950s....

 and John Hodiak
John Hodiak
John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...

. Historical depiction on tests done to prepare US for space travel.

Plot

Much of the plot depicts the testing of downward firing ejection seats from B-47 Stratojet
B-47 Stratojet
The Boeing Model 450 B-47 Stratojet was a long-range, six-engined, jet-powered medium bomber built to fly at high subsonic speeds and at high altitudes. It was primarily designed to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union...

 bombers that were conducted at Eglin AFB, Florida, initially between 7 October and 21 October 1953, when nine tests were conducted of the seat from a B-47 over Eglin's water ranges over the Gulf of Mexico, by the Air Proving Ground, at an altude of 10,000 feet and various speeds. A second series of tests was also conducted beginning 8 July 1954 after refinements to the system. These tests were recreated in the film, shot at Eglin in 1955, with a different Stratojet than the one in the actual missions.

Filming locations

The movie was filmed in part at the Air Proving Grounds Command, Eglin AFB, Florida.

Cast

  • Guy Madison
    Guy Madison
    Guy Madison was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Pumpkin Center, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in...

     as Capt. Jim Hollenbeck
  • Virginia Leith
    Virginia Leith
    Virginia Leith is an American film and television actress.Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she starred in a few films, with her most productive period coming in the 1950s....

     as Pat Lange aka Mrs. Hollenbeck
  • John Hodiak
    John Hodiak
    John Hodiak was an American actor who worked in radio and film.-Early life:He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Walter Hodiak and Anna Pogorzelec . He was of Ukrainian and Polish descent...

     as Maj. Ward Thomas
  • Dean Jagger
    Dean Jagger
    Dean Jagger was an Academy Award winning American film actor.-Career:Born Ira Dean Jagger in Columbus Grove, Ohio, Jagger made his film debut in The Woman from Hell with Mary Astor...

     as Dr. Hugh Thornton
  • Warren Stevens
    Warren Stevens
    Warren Stevens is an American stage, screen, and television actor.Born in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, Stevens began his acting career after serving in the U.S. Army Air Force as a pilot during World War II. He trained at The Actor's Studio in New York, received notice on Broadway, and thereafter...

     as Capt. Mike Bentley
  • Martin Milner
    Martin Milner
    Martin Sam Milner is an American actor best known for his performances in two popular television series, Adam-12 and Route 66....

     as Lt. Morton Glenn
  • King Calder as Lee Welch
  • Walter Coy
    Walter Coy
    Walter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...

     as Lt. Col. Richard 'Dick' Masters
  • Ken Clark
    Ken Clark (actor)
    Kenneth Donovan "Ken" Clark was an American B-movie actor. He appeared in movies in America and Europe, including the Secret Agent 077 trilogy....

     as Sgt. Ike Forbes
  • Donald Murphy as Sgt. Zack Deming
  • Barry Coe
    Barry Coe
    Barry S. Coe is an American actor who appeared in film and on television from 1956-1978. Many of his motion pictures parts were minor, but he co-starred in one series, Follow the Sun, which aired on ABC during the 1961-1962 season, and also played the recognizable "Mr...

     as Communications Officer
  • Dan C. Ogle
    Dan C. Ogle
    Major General Dan Clark Ogle was the third Surgeon General of the United States Air Force.-Biography:Ogle was born at Keithsburg, Illinois, in 1901...

    as Himself - Prologue (as Major General Dan C. Ogle)
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