Red Planet Mars
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Red Planet Mars
Plot
A husband-and-wife scientist team (Peter Graves, Andrea King) are experimenting with a "hydrogen tube" invention (which he got from a missing German scientist, lost in the collapse of the Reich), when they get signals back from what appears to be Mars. The culture-shock of that event is serious enough, and the couple and their family are suddenly thrust into the spotlight. But then they begin to translate the increasingly complex messages (which started out as mathematical equations) that they receive back, and find that Mars is a perfect world, a true Utopia, and that the messages are quoting Scripture -- and the inevitable conclusion is that God is speaking from Mars. Soon a religious revival starts to spread across the globe. What they don't realize is that the messages are a very calculated fraud, being engineered by a Communist operative (Marvin Miller) and carried out by the scientist (Herbert Berghof) who invented the hydogen tube, and who now has an even more sinister agenda of his own. ~ Bruce Eder, RoviReview
Red Planet Mars is an eerily fascinating artifact of the era of the Red Scare, and also the first postwar science fiction boom, combining those elements into an eerie story that is all the more surreal because it is played with such earnestness. Peter Graves and Andrea King -- especially King -- act like they are in some kind of modern day morality play, and Herbert Berghof (a legendary acting teacher who was blacklisted at the time, as was his wife Uta Hagen) is so over-the-top as to be an embarrassment to his profession. And yet . . . therein lies the movie's value -- it can be appreciated as an Edward D. Wood, Jr.-type unintended laugh-fest, which is the way in which it has usually been presented since the 1950's and early 1960's. But it can also be seen as a slightly nutsy-but-valid expression of the concerns of its era, as the politics of Armageddon flowed through the corners of middle America. This would be a great double-feature with MGM's ever-so-slightly more level-headed The Next Voice You Hear, as the doom-laden rightwing equivalent to that movie's soft-peddled liberal version of anti-Communism. ~ Bruce Eder, RoviCast
- Peter Graves - Chris Cronyn
- Andrea King - Linda Cronyn
- Orley Lindgren - Steward Cronyn
- Walter Sande - Adm. Carey
- Marvin Miller - Arjenian
- Herbert Berghof - Franz Calder
Credit
Emmett Emerson - First Assistant Director, Harry Horner - Director, Francis D. Lyon - Editor, David Chudnow - Composer (Music Score), Mahlon Merrick - Composer (Music Score), Don L. Cash - Makeup, Charles Hall - Production Designer, Joseph Biroc - Cinematographer, Anthony Veiller - Producer, Donald Hyde - Producer, Murray Waite - Set Designer, Victor B. Appel - Sound/Sound Designer, John L. Balderston - Screenwriter, Anthony Veiller - Screenwriter, Robert H. Justman - Production Assistant, John L. Balderston - Play Author, John Hoare - Play Author| Red Planet (2000 Film), Red Persimmons (2001 Film) | |
| Red Raiders (1927 Film), Red Rain (1999 Film) |
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Red Planet Mars
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Red Planet Mars
| Red Planet Mars | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Harry Horner |
| Produced by | Donald Hyde Anthony Veiller |
| Screenplay by | Anthony Veiller John L. Balderston |
| Based on | Play: Red Planet by John Hoare John L. Balderston |
| Starring | Peter Graves Andrea King Orley Lindgren Walter Sande Marvin Miller |
| Music by | Mahlon Merrick |
| Cinematography | Joseph Biroc |
| Editing by | Francis D. Lyon |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Red Planet Mars is a 1952 science fiction film released by United Artists based on a 1932 play Red Planet written by John L. Balderston and John Hoare. It starred Peter Graves and Andrea King and was directed by art director Harry Horner in his directorial debut.[1]
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Contents
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Plot
An American astronomer obtains images of Mars suggesting large-scale environmental changes are occurring at a pace that can only be accomplished by intelligent beings with advanced technology. At the same time a colleague claims to have been contacting Mars by radio, first through an exchange of mathematical concepts and then through answers to specific questions. The transmissions claim that Mars is a utopia.
This revelation leads to political and economic chaos, especially in the Western hemisphere. The U.S. government imposes a news blackout after the first four messages, only to reveal much later later that Earth's people can be saved if they return to the worship of God. Revolution sweeps the globe, including the Soviet Union.
But doubts about the authenticity of the messages remain. An ex-Nazi who developed the original communication device prototype wants to announce that he has been duping the Americans with false messages from a secret Soviet-funded radio transmitter high in the Andes mountains of South America. The mystery thickens as it appears the messages may have continued even after the secret transmitter was destroyed in an avalanche.
Cast
- Peter Graves as Chris Cronyn
- Andrea King as Linda Cronyn
- Herbert Berghof as Franz Calder
- Walter Sande as Admiral Bill Carey
- Marvin Miller as Arjenian
- Willis Bouchey as President
- Morris Ankrum as Secretary of Defense Sparks
- Orley Lindgren as Stewart Cronyn
- Bayard Veiller as Roger Cronyn
- Robert House Peters, Jr. as Dr. Boulting, Mitchell's assistant
Reception
When the film was released, the staff at Variety liked the film, writing, "Despite its title, Red Planet Mars takes place on terra firma, sans space ships, cosmic rays or space cadets. It is a fantastic concoction [from a play by John L. Balderston and John Hoare] delving into the realms of science, politics, religion, world affairs and Communism...Despite the hokum dished out, the actors concerned turn in creditable performances."[2]
The New York Times, while giving the film a mixed review, wrote well of some of performances, "Peter Graves and Andrea King are serious and competent, if slightly callow in appearance, as the indomitable scientists. Marvin Miller is standard as a top Soviet agent, as are Walter Sande, Richard Powers and Morris Ankrum, as Government military men, and Willis Bouchey, as the President. "[3]
More recently, critic Bruce Eder also praised the film, writing, "Red Planet Mars is an eerily fascinating artifact of the era of the Red Scare, and also the first postwar science fiction boom, combining those elements into an eerie story that is all the more surreal because it is played with such earnestness."[4]
Yet, film critic Dennis Schwartz recently panned the film, writing, "One of the most obnoxious sci-fi films ever. It offers Hollywood's silly response to the 1950s 'Red Scare' sweeping the country and promoted by the McCarthy senate hearings looking for commies under every bed cover. To realize how dumb this Cold War film is, try this question of the plot's summary on for size: Can it be that the Martians are signaling Earth and that their leader is actually uttering the very word of God? This is one of those really bad propaganda films that has no entertainment value, as it shows how paranoic this country can be and how it can use religion at the drop of a radio signal to promote materialism and Christianity as a superior way of life than communism. This one might be the strangest and most twisted Red Menace films of all time. It ends with a hydrogen explosion in the lab killing two good American scientists and one lousy ex-Nazi scientist now working for the Russian Communists. The last message heard from Mars is an abbreviated one (thank God!): 'Ye have done well my good ...' then there is just silence. The film leaves one with the impression that Mars is ruled by God."[5]
See also
References
- ^ Red Planet Mars at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Variety. Film review, May 15, 1952. Last accessed: February 21, 2011.
- ^ The New York Times, film review, Published: June 16, 1952. Last accessed: February 21, 2011.
- ^ Eder, Bruce. Allmovie, film review. Last accessed: February 21, 2011.
- ^ Schwartz, Dennis. Ozus' World Movie Reviews, film review, September 18, 2001. Last accessed: February 21, 2011.
External links
- Red Planet Mars at the Internet Movie Database
- Red Planet Mars at the TCM Movie Database
- Red Planet Mars film trailer at YouTube
- Red Planet Mars at Official Andrea King web site
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