Flight to Mars
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Movie Reviews of Flight to Mars
Movie Review: Better to Keep the Videotape Version
Summary: 4 Stars
The U.S. Air Force, in its space exploration program, finally puts together a manned (and womaned) mission to Mars. After the space travelers land, some leaders of the Martian people see an opportunity to seize the spaceship as a prototype and build a fleet of ships to invade Earth.
"Flight to Mars" is a superior sci fi movie about an advanced civilization on resource-depleted Mars trying to save its dying race, but poorly prepared on DVD. Several strange dropouts of dialog. Color quality of the DVD provides deeper and better colors over the videotape version, but many scratches. The videotape version contains copy protection and won't allow transfer to DVD on home equipment. I was disappointed with the purchase.
Movie Review: Marguerite Chapman!!!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Some astronauts in WWII outfits crash-land on Mars after being knocked off course by a meteor shower. They find a race of beings who seem nice, but are actually bent on our extinction. Then, .... Ah, who am I kidding?? The only reason I like this movie is Marguerite Chapman (The Amazing Transparent Man) and her ten-foot long legs! My goodness gracious! She gets to strut about Mars in her blue mini-dress, causing me to stare transfixed at her every move! Praise the Lord! Ms. Chapman is a true wonder of nature! Had I been one of the earthlings, I'd have fallen at her martian high-heels and...., well, you get the picture. Is it hot in here??...Movie Review: Good movie Bad transfer
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a fun piece of cheese from the time when not a lot was known about space or space travel. Well acted, just plain enjoyable for those of us who love our 50's sci-fi. Now the down side. The source material for the transfer is pretty poor. Image usually does a great job on their DVD's and perhaps the print used was the best available, after all this movie is over 50 years old. No matter, a movie about a trip to Mars which is inhabited by beautiful women and coniving men cant be all bad. And watch out for those meteors.Movie Review: If it looks like it was shot in 5 days, it's probably because it was shot in 5 days
Summary: 3 Stars
Futuristic spaceflight was so much easier back in 1951. No clumsy spacesuits and none of that weightlessness rigmarole. You just pull up in front of the rocket and climb on board in whatever you happen to be wearing at the time, lay down and put your belt on, and before you know it, you're in space. Sure, there's a short period of weightlessness, but that wasn't in the budget, so you don't have to worry about it. Look out for meteor storms, but it's not like they're going to sneak up on you because they make so much darn noise in space. Crash landing? No problem - that's what those leather helmets are for. You don't even have to worry about the atmosphere, temperature, etc., of the planet you crash on - just run out the door and have at it. Best of all, you don't have to leave your pipe and tobacco at home, as it's perfectly safe to smoke onboard the spaceship.
Actually, the most difficult part of this Flight to Mars is putting up with Carol Stafford (Virginia Huston), the "indispensable" assistant to flight engineer Jim Barker (Arthur Franz), who shows her desperate love for Jim by being the witchiest (or something like that) woman in the Solar System. I wouldn't want to spend a few weeks stuck in a big can with journalist Steve Abbott (Cameron Mitchell), either, especially when he starts wooing the ice woman. Thank goodness for the two old male scientists who round out the crew of five; they are likable enough when they aren't waxing philosophical or talking about how they don't expect any of them to survive the mission. By the way, if you think the interior of the spaceship looks familiar, it's basically the same one used in Rocketship X-M a year earlier.
Well, they do make it to Mars, where they are greeted by friendly Martians (clad, unlike their visitors from Earth, in actual spacesuits, the same ones used in the film Destination Moon) who promise to help them in any way they can to repair their ship and return to Earth. If anything, the Martians are a little bit too supportive. Oddly enough, despite all of their technological advances, they can't generate a signal powerful enough to reach Earth - nor have they gotten anywhere with their own rocket program (maybe their scientists are too distracted by the skimpy dresses the young women walk around in). Will Earth's brave space crewmen (you can't call them astronauts) ever return to Earth? Will they sneak off and leave Carol on Mars (I certainly would)? Will Earthlings and Martians be friends or enemies? These are just some of the questions you might ask as this film works its way to the end. You probably won't care very much, but you might ask the questions, anyway.
I can't comment on the picture quality of the DVD, but I do know that the print I saw was pretty grainy - so much so that I couldn't read a word of an urgent teletype message posted onscreen early in the movie. I was impressed that the film was shot in color, though - this is a 1951 film we're talking about here (they were still making plenty of black and white science fiction films as late as the early 1960s). It's worth noting that the model spaceship shots created for this movie were good enough to be recycled in such later films as Queen of Outer Space, World Without End, and It! The Terror from Beyond Space. Story-wise, though, the film is OK at best. The first half of the film (including the space flight itself) is pretty boring, and the mini-soap opera subplots didn't do much for me, either. Things get more interesting on Mars, but not interesting enough for me to give this film more than three stars. Despite everything I've said, though, I did actually enjoy Flight to Mars - and so will you if you share my love for campy old science fiction classics.
Movie Review: Not a classic, but still interesting for 50's sci-fi fans
Summary: 3 Stars
Flight to Mars gets off to a decent start, by 50's sci-fi movie standards, as a group of guys and the token gal set off for an ambitious exploration of the Red Planet. But once they arrive, they are greeted by very human Martians (wearing space helmets...can they not breathe their OWN air??). While the Martians offer to help the earthlings repair their rocketship, they are actually plotting to use the ship to launch an attack on Earth.
If you're looking for low-budget but still effective interstellar thrills, you probably won't find much here (see Invaders From Mars, Forbidden Planet, etc.). Admittedly, not much was known about real space travel in 1951, but much of the dialogue hopelessly dates Flight to Mars (Favorite bit: The Earth gal, upon seeing how the Martians live, asks a Martian female to take her to the kitchen). Yes, there is a certain appeal to the Martian women's costumes, some of which are so short I'm surprised they got past the censors. And there are a couple of mildly impressive sets. But really, the overall story moves at a snail's pace and the acting is mostly just tolerable.
As someone has already stated, the print quality here leaves a bit to be desired. Some scratches and color changes are to be expected from a film that's over 50 years old, but there are also numerous missing frames that usually result a in jarring break in the dialogue. Most annoying is a red spot just off-center of the picture which appears to be a spot burned into the print itself.
If you're fan of these type of films, you'll probably want this in your collection, despite its many flaws.