Posted by : Ray Plumlee in (Space Travel Movies)
Posted on March 10th, 2010
1951 Movie Flight to Mars
Tagged Under : 1950s, 1951, Mars, Martian, Outer Space, Rocketship, science fiction
1951 Movie Flight to Mars
In the far distant year of 2000 the US Air Force secretly builds a rocket ship without the knowledge of Congress or the American people and send it on a Flight to Mars. The name of the rocket ship is MARS. Among it’s crew are wisecracking newspaperman Steve Abbott, a former war correspondent and a crew (Four men and a woman) of scientists heading to Mars. After launch, while en route to Mars, our spacefarers encounter a meteor storm and are swept along and before you know it they end up crashing on the red planet. Unfortunately, their atomic power heads are destroyed which makes a return to earth impossible.
The Earthmen prepare to leave their ship by dawning bomber jackets, aviator’s caps and plain oxygen face masks which are not pressurized space suits or helmets.
On their first excursion on the surface of Mars they discover a group of “chimneys” that appear to be ancient ruins from an obviously advanced civilization. No sooner than making this discovery they are greeted by friendly Martians clad, unlike the visitors from Earth, in actual spacesuits, the same ones used in the film Destination Moon.
1951 Movie Flight to Mars Playbill
The Martians live beneath the surface of Mars in a futuristic and highly advanced city. The Martians are an advanced and seemingly benevolent civilization who make the Earthlings feel at home. But their hospitality hides their real motive of conquest of the Earth in order to establish additional territory necessary for their own dying race. The chief of the Martian council Ikron secretly plots to kill the Earthmen and steal the secret of their rocket’s propulsion system so they can evacuate their dying race.
The Martians offer to help the earthmen repair their rocketship, during their stay on Mars. While the repairs are being made the story unfolds a love quadrangle where newspaperman Steve Abbott falls in love with lady scientist Virginia Huston. Unfortunately, for Steve Abbott, Carol is madly in love with her professional mentor Dr. Jim Barker. Jim does not have any romantic interest in Carol but is smitten by the gorgeous Martian Alita. The first case of interplanetary love at first sight romance.
Will Earth’s first explorers to Mars ever return to Earth? Will Earthmen and Martians beome friends? These are just some of the questions you will have to wait for until you see the movie.
Review:
I have a soft spot for 1950′s classic space travel movies and found this to be a film to warm the heart. I am sure that if you are a fan of those classic 1950′s space travel movies you too will enjoy this film. Why else would you be visiting the Spacemen’s Luck website?
When this movie was released in 1951, there was no NASA, Sputnik was years in the future, and Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon were the only space travel adventures on film and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet had just launched the year before from the Space Academy on Television. Flight to Mars was the second space travel movie filmed in color. Destination Moon made a year earlier was the first.
Flight to Mars, made by a poverty-row studio (Monogram), has a Saturday afternoon matinee feel to it backed with a popcorn budget without the butter. It was filmed in the comfortable feel of Cinecolor. The DVD that is available of Flight to Mars includes a bonus interview with Cameron Mitchell, who plays the lead character Steve Abbott, where he claims the movie was filmed in just five days.
When shown their living quarters, lady scientist Virginia Huston’s first question is “Where’s the kitchen?” Terris, the Martian hostess, informs the Earthmen that there are no kitchens, but laboratories where meals are prepared and delivered upon request. She then presses a button and a cart of food with drinks emerges from the wall. There is also no need to wash dishes. The reverse process is to push that same button and away the dishes go to be washed mechanically.
The Martians spoke perfect English. They learned English by listening to Earth’s radio broadcasts. However, for some unexplained reason their radio transmitters were not strong enough to reach the Earth. Ikron explained that thier attempts were reported as noise coming from the direction of Mars.
Alita, played by Marguerite Chapman was originally the character Aelita in the Queen of Mars from the Russian silent classic 1924 film bearing her name.
The costumes alone are worth watching, especially those worn by the attractive females, especially the extremely short futuristic dresses or should I say mini skirts. Also noteworthy is the fact that we get to see Morris Ankrum in his second sci-fi role (the first was Rocketship X-M in 1950). He will go on to do other science fiction roles in the genre for which he is most fondly remembered science fiction films, where his gruff, no-nonsense demeanor and authoritative voice perfectly fit the role of the military officer helping scientists fight an outer-space menace. Roles such as Red Planet Mars (1952), Invaders from Mars (1953)and Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956) to nameonly a few.
The rocketship in Flight to Mars was reused in at least three other 1950′s space travel movies, World Without End (1956), Queen of Outer Space (1958) and It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958). This particular design over other used in other 1950′s space travel movies, or any ever for that matter, is my favorite. It is the image of a spaceship that I have in my minds eye when envisioning a spaceship.
Flight to Mars was rushed out by Monogram to capitalize on the success of Destination Moon, and really has no grounding in serious science
Order a copy of the 1951 Movie Flight to Mars
Cast
Cameron Mitchell – Steve Abbott
Virginia Huston – Carol Stafford
Arthur Franz – Dr. Jim Barker
Marguerite Chapman – Alita
John Litel – Dr. Lane
Morris Ankrum – Ikron
Richard Gaines – Prof. Jackson
Lucille Barkley – Terris
Robert Barrat – Tillamar
Edward Earle – Justin
Cameo Appearances:
Publication Source:
Production Credits:
Producer – Walter Mirisch for Monogram Pictures
Director – Lesley Selander
Screen Writer – Arthur Strawn
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