On the Threshold of Space Reviews

Something of an early version of THE RIGHT STUFF (1983), ON THE THRESHOLD OF SPACE paid tribute to the men who were laying the groundwork for man's exploration of space. The filmmakers tried for an accurate depiction of the ongoing research and testing, relying heavily on U.S. Air Force input and shooting on location at air bases in Florida (Eglin) and New Mexico (Holloman). Madison stars as an Air Force physician who undergoes extensive tests in an effort to determine how the human body will respond to the expected stress and strain of space travel. The rigors include being ejected in a space capsule from a jet at the altitude of 45,000 feet, traveling at 1,000 miles per hour in a rocket sled, and a 100,000 foot balloon ascent. All is suspensefully captured by the camera, and Madison is effective as the dedicated man of science. Leith plays his concerned but supportive wife. Hodiak is the research head who can't resist getting involved in some of the testing himself. This would be his last film; he died of a heart attack at the age of 41 before the picture's release. Excused from military service during WW II because of hypertension, Hodiak made his film debut with a supporting role in I DOOD IT (1943). Following the war, he primarily filled supporting roles in films up until the time of his death.