After this thread, in which I asked about the source for some stock footage in Ship of Monsters, I resolved to try to find a copy of the source, the 1957 Russian documentary/sci-fi film, ** Road to the Stars**. I finally got one, and just last night watched it.
The version I got has been reworked. The version available was in German, with bombastic German voice-over narration, so the source eliminated the soundtrack, substituting well-done subtitles and a techno-whoosh score. He also interpolated a few stills from Destination Moon(1950), with some text notes, for comparison, which, although it interrupts the narrative flow, provides an interesting comparison.
The film is only about 45 minutes long. It’s in color! It starts with a quick celebration of Sputnik, added just before release at the request of the soviet government, then goes into a hagiographic documentary about Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, pioneering Russian rocket theoretician. This section also features well-done recreations of early rocketry experiments, including a rocket-powered sleigh (Franz Oberth, I think) and a quick nod to Robert Goddard.
The film then moves into sci-fi territory, and covers the first manned orbital flight. There’s some nice model work of the rocket and its wheeled launch tower. The rocket carries three cosmonauts into orbit; the obligatory weightlessness scenes are very well done, with a nice subtle comic overtone as they get into each others’ way.
Next is a series of scenes depicting construction of a wheel-type space station. Absolutely stunning special effects work here as weightless astronauts maneuver space station segments into position and weld them together. The finished station is a bit odd-looking to our Von Braun-conditioned eyes, but seems to be practical enough. The obligatory tour of the station shows off several interior sets (a weather station, a garden, living quarters, etc.) featuring curved floors and ceilings, all very convincing, although like most sci-fi movies, the vehicles are about three times roomier than they turned out to be in real life 
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One thing I noticed here that one doesn’t see in American sci-fi movies of the period is that there are a lot of women around, doing professional scientific work. American movies of this period usually treated women scientists as odd ducks, remarkable because of their rarity (and in plot terms, only present for the lead actor to woo). In this movie it’s simply accepted that women are going to be working right alongside the men.
The last sequence is a trip to the moon, including a truss-and-tank style moon ship. Again, the special effects are very nicely done.
Was it worth the money? Absolutely!
I don’t want to mention the source here, for fear of being thought to be shilling, but if you PM me, I’ll send you the link.