The Angry Red Planet
Encyclopedia
The Angry Red Planet is a 1959 science fiction film
starring Gerald Mohr
and directed by Ib Melchior
. The director was given only 10 days to shoot the movie and a budget of $200,000 with which to make it.
The movie was made with a CineMagic technique
which was applied for all of the scenes on the surface of Mars
. This was an attempt to make the hand drawn animations appear as real as the live action footage. Although this process was largely unsuccessful, producer Norman Maurer
would attempt the same technique again in The Three Stooges in Orbit
.
, the rocketship MR-1 (for "Mars Rocket 1"), returns to Earth
after being thought lost in space. Attempts to raise the crew via radio fail, so a decision is made to land the spacecraft under remote control.
Two survivors are found on board, Dr. Iris Ryan (Naura Hayden
, billed as Nora Hayden) and Colonel Tom O'Bannion (Gerald Mohr
), the latter's arm covered with a strange alien growth. Racing against time to find a cure for his condition, Dr. Ryan recalls the mission's fateful journey.
After landing on Mars, the crew sets out to explore the planet's surface. They encounter a carnivorous plant which attacks Iris until hacked by O'Bannion's machete. The crew retreats to the safety of their rocket. Their next expedition takes them to a stand of alien trees which is revealed to actually be the limbs of an alien forty-foot bat-rat-spider creature. The creature is ultimately blinded and repelled by Chief Weapons Officer Jacobs's freeze-ray gun. Upon return to their ship, the crew finds that their radio has been blocked. The ship is held by an alien force field, preventing liftoff.
O'Bannion leads the crew to a Martian lake past the bat-rat-spider creature. Using an inflatable raft, the crew rows towards a city with highly advanced architecture. They are stopped on the lake by a huge single-celled creature with a single spinning eye. The creature kills Jacobs, and contact with the creature eats through Colonel O'Bannion's spacesuit, infecting his arm. The survivors escape into the ship and initiate take-off. However, the mission's fourth member, Professor Gettell, dies of a heart attack after take-off. The surviving two crewmembers make it back to Earth. Eventually, the amoebic growth on Colonel O'Bannion's arm is driven out by electric shocks.
Ultimately, Earth's scientists find a message on the final tape-recorded from the MR-1 mission. An alien voice tells the Earthmen that the only reason the MR-1 crew was permitted to live was to deliver Mars' message that Martians have watched Earth's development and believe its technology has outpaced its cultural advancement. The Martians warn the Earth people never to return to their planet, or face the destruction of the Earth as penalty for disregarding their message.
on April 1, 2003.
, critiqued the film's special effects, writing, "... The Angry Red Planet, solemnly warns its audiences not to go to Mars. Stubborn patrons who ignore the advice will discover that the planet looks like a cardboard illustration from Flash Gordon
and is inhabited by carnivorous plants, a giant amoeba and a species resembling a three-eyed green ant."
Recently film critic Bruce Eder, with a lighter touch, praised the film, writing, "The effects are a combination of costuming, model work, and puppets, with Bob Baker
's giant (puppet) bat-rat-spider moving off in the distance perhaps the best shot in the movie. Danish-born director/screenwriter Ib Melchior brings a surprisingly light, deft touch to the proceedings, allowing the actors a chance to have fun with their roles -- especially Gerald Mohr, still looking and sounding a bit like Humphrey Bogart
, as the stalwart mission commander, and Jack Kruschen as the good-humored technician in the crew -- without losing sight of the adventure and the story line, and meshing it all seamlessly with the special effects-driven sequences."
Critic Glenn Erickson
, recently echoed the New York Times review, writing, "Although biographies on both Ib Melchior and Sid Pink would have you believe that The Angry Red Planet is an outer-space classic, it simply isn't so. The direction is woefully flat, and the script is dull even by low-budget standards. Too much of the Earthbound part of the show is stock footage material, and the sets are cheap and flat-lit. A good music track has animated many a genre picture worse than this one, but The Angry Red Planet gets shortchanged in that department too. A rough music edit at the end makes it seem as if an upbeat cue for the credits was imposed after the final mix."
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...
starring Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
and directed by Ib Melchior
Ib Melchior
Ib Jørgen Melchior is a novelist, short story writer, film producer, film director, and screenwriter of low-budget American science fiction movies, most of them released by American International Pictures...
. The director was given only 10 days to shoot the movie and a budget of $200,000 with which to make it.
The movie was made with a CineMagic technique
CineMagic (film technique)
CineMagic was the name of film development technique invented by 3-D movie producer Sidney W. Pink and Norman Maurer in the 1959 science-fiction movie The Angry Red Planet to cast a pinkish glow over the screen...
which was applied for all of the scenes on the surface of Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. This was an attempt to make the hand drawn animations appear as real as the live action footage. Although this process was largely unsuccessful, producer Norman Maurer
Norman Maurer
Norman Albert Maurer , a comic book artist and writer, was also a director and producer of films and television shows.-Comic books:...
would attempt the same technique again in The Three Stooges in Orbit
The Three Stooges in Orbit
The Three Stooges In Orbit was the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Joe DeRita . Released by Columbia Pictures, The Three Stooges In Orbit was directed by long-time Stooge...
.
Plot
The first manned flight to MarsMars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
, the rocketship MR-1 (for "Mars Rocket 1"), returns to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
after being thought lost in space. Attempts to raise the crew via radio fail, so a decision is made to land the spacecraft under remote control.
Two survivors are found on board, Dr. Iris Ryan (Naura Hayden
Naura Hayden
Naura Hayden, originally Norah Helene Hayden is an author , who has worked in entertainment also as Nora Hayden and in modeling as Helene Hayden and is the daughter of Los Angeles Times reporter John Hayden and his wife...
, billed as Nora Hayden) and Colonel Tom O'Bannion (Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
), the latter's arm covered with a strange alien growth. Racing against time to find a cure for his condition, Dr. Ryan recalls the mission's fateful journey.
After landing on Mars, the crew sets out to explore the planet's surface. They encounter a carnivorous plant which attacks Iris until hacked by O'Bannion's machete. The crew retreats to the safety of their rocket. Their next expedition takes them to a stand of alien trees which is revealed to actually be the limbs of an alien forty-foot bat-rat-spider creature. The creature is ultimately blinded and repelled by Chief Weapons Officer Jacobs's freeze-ray gun. Upon return to their ship, the crew finds that their radio has been blocked. The ship is held by an alien force field, preventing liftoff.
O'Bannion leads the crew to a Martian lake past the bat-rat-spider creature. Using an inflatable raft, the crew rows towards a city with highly advanced architecture. They are stopped on the lake by a huge single-celled creature with a single spinning eye. The creature kills Jacobs, and contact with the creature eats through Colonel O'Bannion's spacesuit, infecting his arm. The survivors escape into the ship and initiate take-off. However, the mission's fourth member, Professor Gettell, dies of a heart attack after take-off. The surviving two crewmembers make it back to Earth. Eventually, the amoebic growth on Colonel O'Bannion's arm is driven out by electric shocks.
Ultimately, Earth's scientists find a message on the final tape-recorded from the MR-1 mission. An alien voice tells the Earthmen that the only reason the MR-1 crew was permitted to live was to deliver Mars' message that Martians have watched Earth's development and believe its technology has outpaced its cultural advancement. The Martians warn the Earth people never to return to their planet, or face the destruction of the Earth as penalty for disregarding their message.
Cast
- Gerald MohrGerald MohrGerald Mohr was an American radio, film and television character actor who appeared in over 4,000 radio plays, 73 films and over 100 television shows....
as Col. Thomas O'Bannion - Naura HaydenNaura HaydenNaura Hayden, originally Norah Helene Hayden is an author , who has worked in entertainment also as Nora Hayden and in modeling as Helene Hayden and is the daughter of Los Angeles Times reporter John Hayden and his wife...
as Dr. Iris 'Irish' Ryan - Les TremayneLes TremayneLes Tremayne was a radio, film, and television actor. Born Lester Tremayne in England, he moved with his family at the age four to Chicago, where he began in community theatre. He danced as a vaudeville performer and worked as amusement park barker...
as Prof. Theodore Gettell - Jack KruschenJack KruschenJack Kruschen was a Canadian-born character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio.-Radio:...
as CWO Sam Jacobs - Paul Hahn as Maj. Gen. George Treegar
- J. Edward McKinleyJ. Edward McKinleyJ. Edward McKinley was an American character actor. He frequently played authority figures, including lawmen or medical personnel....
as Prof. Paul Weiner - Tom DalyTom DalyTom Daly may refer to:*Tom Daly , former Major League Baseball catcher for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox coach, 1933–1946...
as Dr. Frank Gordon - Don Lamond as TV Newscaster/Martian Voice
- Edward Innes as Brig. Gen. Alan Prescott
- Gordon Barnes as Maj. Lyman Ross
- Jack Haddock a Lt. Col. Davis
- Brandy Bryan as Nurse Hayes
- Joan Fitzpatrick as Nurse Dixon
- Arline HunterArline HunterArline Hunter is an American actress and model. She is perhaps best known as Playboy's Playmate of the Month for August 1954. Her centerfold was the first not to be purchased from the John Baumgarth Co...
as Joan - Alean Hamilton as Joan's Friend
Home media
The Angry Red Planet was released by MGM in Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on April 1, 2003.
Critical response
When the film was released, Eugene Archer, film critic for The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, critiqued the film's special effects, writing, "... The Angry Red Planet, solemnly warns its audiences not to go to Mars. Stubborn patrons who ignore the advice will discover that the planet looks like a cardboard illustration from Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
and is inhabited by carnivorous plants, a giant amoeba and a species resembling a three-eyed green ant."
Recently film critic Bruce Eder, with a lighter touch, praised the film, writing, "The effects are a combination of costuming, model work, and puppets, with Bob Baker
Bob Baker
-External links:...
's giant (puppet) bat-rat-spider moving off in the distance perhaps the best shot in the movie. Danish-born director/screenwriter Ib Melchior brings a surprisingly light, deft touch to the proceedings, allowing the actors a chance to have fun with their roles -- especially Gerald Mohr, still looking and sounding a bit like Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, as the stalwart mission commander, and Jack Kruschen as the good-humored technician in the crew -- without losing sight of the adventure and the story line, and meshing it all seamlessly with the special effects-driven sequences."
Critic Glenn Erickson
Glenn Erickson
Glenn Erickson is an American film editor and film critic. He started in the film industry in 1975 as an editor of low budget films and later worked in minor technical crew capacities in such major films as Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 1941...
, recently echoed the New York Times review, writing, "Although biographies on both Ib Melchior and Sid Pink would have you believe that The Angry Red Planet is an outer-space classic, it simply isn't so. The direction is woefully flat, and the script is dull even by low-budget standards. Too much of the Earthbound part of the show is stock footage material, and the sets are cheap and flat-lit. A good music track has animated many a genre picture worse than this one, but The Angry Red Planet gets shortchanged in that department too. A rough music edit at the end makes it seem as if an upbeat cue for the credits was imposed after the final mix."
External links
- The Angry Red Planet film trailer at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....