First Men in the Moon

In 1964, the United Nations sends a rocket to the Moon, where a multi-national group of astronauts land, believing themselves to be the first lunar explorers. However, they discover a battered Union Jack flag and a handwritten note claiming the Moon on behalf of Queen Victoria. The authorities discover that Arnold Bedford's story is true, which he reveals in flashback. In 1899, Bedford joins inventor Joseph Cavor in his experiment with Cavorite, a substance that allows objects to nullify gravity. They build a spherical spaceship, but an explosion occurs just before launch, and the two men crash land on the lunar surface. There, they encounter giant caterpillar-like "Moon Cows" called Selenites, who are attacked by a giant "Moon Bull". Bedford and Kate return to Earth, where they tell their story of surviving on the Moon and discovering an alien civilization.