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Flight to Mars (film)
Encyclopedia
Flight to Mars is a Cinecolor
science fiction film
, written for the screen by Arthur Strawn, produced by Walter Mirisch
for Monogram Pictures
(which also distributed) and directed by Lesley Selander
. The film has some similarities to the Russian silent film
Aelita
. The movie was filmed in five days.
(Lippert Pictures, 1950, and filmed at another studio), except for some of the flight instruments. Even the spaceflight noises are reused. Similarly, the concepts of spaceflight are those postulated in that earlier film.
The main differences are this film postulates a planned flight to Mars
, whereas the earlier film postulates an accidental flight to Mars, which accident occurs during a planned flight to the Moon.
Additionally, this film postulates a Martian species which is in many ways superior to Mankind, and poses a long-term, strategic threat there to, whereas the earlier film postulates a Martian species which is pre-literate, and a throw-back, as a consequence of a global nuclear holocaust
which occurred many millennia earlier, and poses only an immediate, tactical threat to the voyagers.
A sequel, Voyage to Venus was proposed but never made.
Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M...
science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
, written for the screen by Arthur Strawn, produced by Walter Mirisch
Walter Mirisch
Walter Mortimer Mirisch is an American film producer. In his long and successful motion picture career, Walter Mirisch has produced some of the industry’s finest and most memorable films...
for Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures
Monogram Pictures Corporation is a Hollywood studio that produced and released films, most on low budgets, between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram is considered a leader among the smaller studios sometimes referred to...
(which also distributed) and directed by Lesley Selander
Lesley Selander
Lesley Selander was a prolific American film director of Westerns and science fiction movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and 15 TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to 1968...
. The film has some similarities to the Russian silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
Aelita
Aelita
Aelita , also known as Aelita: Queen of Mars, is a silent film directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov made on Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio and released in 1924. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's novel of the same name...
. The movie was filmed in five days.
Plot
The story involves the arrival on Mars of an American scientific expedition team, who discover an underground-dwelling, dying civilization of Martians. They are anatomically human, and are suspicious of the earthmen's motives, with the majority of the governing body finally deciding to keep the earthmen prisoner.Cast
- Marguerite ChapmanMarguerite ChapmanMarguerite Chapman was an American actress.Born in Chatham, New York, she was working as a telephone switchboard operator in White Plains, New York when her good looks brought about the opportunity to pursue a career in modeling...
as Alita - Cameron MitchellCameron Mitchell (actor)Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
as Steve Abbott - Arthur FranzArthur FranzArthur Franz was a B-movie actor whose most notable role was as Lieutenant, Junior Grade H. Paynter, Jr. in The Caine Mutiny. He also appeared in Roseanna McCoy , Invaders from Mars , Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man and The Unholy Wife , among others...
as Dr. Jim Barker - Virginia HustonVirginia HustonVirginia Huston was a film actress.Born Virginia Houston in Wisner, Nebraska, Huston appeared in many 1940s and 1950s films noir and adventure films. Signing with RKO in 1945, her first film was opposite George Raft in Nocturne. Her singing voice in the nightclub was redubbed by a singer...
as Carol Stafford - John LitelJohn LitelJohn Litel was an American film actor. During World War I, Litel enlisted in the French Army and was twice decorated for bravery....
as Dr. Lane - Morris AnkrumMorris AnkrumMorris Ankrum was an American radio, television and film character actor.-Early life:Born Morris Nussbaum in Danville, Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in academics. After graduating from USC with a law degree, he went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of...
as Ikron - Richard Gaines as Prof. Jackson
- Lucille Barkley as Terris
- Robert BarratRobert BarratRobert Harriot Barrat was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor.-Career:Born in New York, Barrat's theatrical debut was in a stock company in Springfield, Massachusetts...
as Tillamar - Wilbur Back as Councilman
- William BaileyWilliam BaileyWilliam Bailey was an American actor. He appeared in 222 films between 1911 and 1959. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Bailey died in Hollywood, California in 1962 at the age of 76.-Selected filmography:...
as Councilman - Trevor BardetteTrevor BardetteTrevor Bardette was an American film actor.He made over 172 movies and seventy-two TV appearances in his career. Bardette appeared in several memorable episodes in Adventures of Superman. In the 1951 show, The Human Bomb, he played the sinister title character...
as Alzar - Stanley BlystoneStanley BlystoneStanley Blystone was an American film actor who made over 500 films appearances between 1924 and 1956.-Career:Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Blystone's full name was William Stanley Blystone...
as Councilman - David Bond as Ramay
- Raymond Bond as Astronomer # Two
Production
This film reuses almost all the cabin interior details from Rocketship X-MRocketship X-M
Rocketship X-M was the second of the American science fiction feature films of the space adventure genre begun in the post-war era, in 1950...
(Lippert Pictures, 1950, and filmed at another studio), except for some of the flight instruments. Even the spaceflight noises are reused. Similarly, the concepts of spaceflight are those postulated in that earlier film.
The main differences are this film postulates a planned flight to Mars
Exploration of Mars
The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s...
, whereas the earlier film postulates an accidental flight to Mars, which accident occurs during a planned flight to the Moon.
Additionally, this film postulates a Martian species which is in many ways superior to Mankind, and poses a long-term, strategic threat there to, whereas the earlier film postulates a Martian species which is pre-literate, and a throw-back, as a consequence of a global nuclear holocaust
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
which occurred many millennia earlier, and poses only an immediate, tactical threat to the voyagers.
A sequel, Voyage to Venus was proposed but never made.