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Infidelity and murder take center stage in "Spaceways" (1953), a sci-fi drama centered on a team of scientists and their significant others as a space launch years in the making goes cataclysmically wrong. Dr. Stephen Mitchell (Howard Duff) comes under scrutiny when his wife and the scientist with whom she was cavorting are missing and presumed dead in the accident. To prove his innocence, Mitchell insists on flying the next mission—and he has a stowaway in the form of one Dr. Lisa Frank (Eva Bartok), the mathematician who proves a much better listener than the social-climbing Vanessa Mitchell ever was.
Often, when the setting of a sci-fi film is remarkable, it's for its spectacular portrayal of imaginary landscapes or fantastic special effects. In "Spaceways", the prosaic Deanfield Research Station plays an essential role to the plot. As the location for top-secret space technology development, security is so strict, Vanessa Mitchell calls it a "prison" and pressures her husband to take a job that will allow her more freedom. The strict security also limits the scope of the investigation into her disappearance, as the investigator believes it would be impossible for anyone to escape—unless they're in a rocket.
