"A curious marriage of pre-war German filmmaking and 1950's low-rent kiddie show syndicated quickies… In the summer of 1939, at the Bavaria studios, work started on the film 'Zwischenfall im Weltraum' (Incident in Space), under the direction of R A Stemmle. At the same time the Ufa studios (Babelsberg) began the shooting of 'Weltraumschiff 18' (Spaceship 18), director Eduard von Borsody. Both projects were cancelled due to the outbreak of the war, but material already shot - probably from 'Zwischenfall', but maybe from both films - was used for the production of a short film 'Weltraumschiff 1 startet' (Spaceship 1 Launches), with the nominal director being Anton Kutter. The resulting film was a special effects landmark but only 20 minutes long. It showed the roll-out of the spaceship from the immense Zeppelin Works hangars in Friedrichshafen. Television crews and thousands of spectators are present for the event. Following a short press conference a catapult launch is made from track laid along the north shore of Lake Constance. The spaceship approaches the Moon, loops around it (these scenes include the best special effects in the film) and returns to Earth.
