Red Planet Mars

This movie is a lot less than what it was presented as. The notion was that a couple of scientists have discovered a way to communicate with Mars using the invention of an ex-Nazi scientist. Other scientists discovered that the Martians had the ability to obliterate their ice-caps in a week, so they must have some pretty impressive technology. The female lead in this film chewed the scenery at every opportunity, and the film is full of COld War propaganda. Even Peter Graves seems a bit hammy in the role. The Martians send messages saying how awesome their technology is, and the results is the world economy collapses, which is kind of silly. Then they send a religious message, as in "Why didn't you listen to Jesus when he stopped by." Which causes the fall of the Soviet Bloc. No, seriously, I think this was the plot or something. But the messages really came from the disgraced Nazi scientists, who apparently foresaw how rumors could ruin everything.

Red Planet Mars is a fairly slow-moving and talkative movie, but it is one of the more interesting sci-fi movies from the 1950's. The main star of this is 50's regular Peter Graves (It Conquered the World) and he is the person who keeps receiving radio messages supposedly from Mars. But they turn out to be from God! This movie has a lot of religious overtones. Graves and his wife are killed in an explosion at the end, leaving their two boys without parents. The supporting cast includes another 50's sci-fi regular, Morris Ankrum (Rocketship X-M, Invaders From Mars). Graves and Ankrum were to be reunited in 1957's Beginning of the End. Despite this movie being fairly slow, I enjoyed and is worth watching, especially if you are a fan of 1950's science fiction. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

This could have been an interesting science fiction film : no special effects, no space ships, no flesh and blood monsters. It could have been a tale about contact with beings from another world. Instead, it was made as a Cold War pot boiler, complete with highly principled Americans with religious fervor and evil empire Russians who are not about to tolerate religious worship. Was it just an accident that the character of the President of the U.S. bears a striking resemblance to Dwight Eisenhower? And the film was made in 1952...the year before Ike became president. The story had real possibilities, including another scientist (than the Peter Graves character) who was involved in the contact with beings on Mars, which could have made for a thinking person's film about human-non-human communication. While there were very real fears and international conflict in 1952, the producers gave in to the Red Scare and made a period piece out of what could have been a thoughtful movie.

I saw this as a teenager when Hurricane Donna was to strike Miami and the television stations put on round-the-clock programming. It's different from usual sci-fi, where "science" provides an incidental framework that increases the power of its spiritual undertone. The story is simple, but builds to a conclusion that implies that it is not "the end". The cast is great, and the film is easy to "get into". You are left with the feeling that what you have seen is more powerful than its easy progress led you to believe while you were viewing it. Personally, I put it among the best movies I've ever seen; certainly I never forgot it.

A sci fi 50's gem. Love this movie and the ending is shocking but extremely well done. This is a classic of epic proportions. Peter Graves and a great supporting cast played this out with heart and passion. Herbert Berghof also played a great part of the Russian scientist. Also, Walter Sande a staple in the golden age of TV did an admirable job. The cold war era was played out well as the Soviets were always making threats of burying the US. The pictures of Stalin in the background of the Russian scenes is a stark reminder of the evil we faced at that time. Extremely well done and worth watching.

Radio transmissions believed to be from Mars turn out to have quite different origins in this intriguing Cold War-era sci-fi film that seems to be polarizing today, if IMDb is anything to go by (and I wonder). Peter Graves does a good job but Herbert Berghof steals the show as a former Nazi now working for the Russians. Andrea King is pretty annoying as the hysterical wife of Graves' character. The rest of the cast is solid. I like this movie because it's interesting with a unique plot. It's talky, yes, but that's not inherently a bad thing. It's a thought-provoking movie with some historical interest, not just a special effects spectacle. Because it has political and religious elements, it will trigger Certain Types. If you are one of those, gird your loins before watching.

I recall seeing this as a youngster and being really disappointed! No Flash Gordon, no rockets, space guns, not even any Martians. After viewing it again recently, I realize, there was a REAL story here. More fantasy then sci-fi, views more like "The Next Voice You Hear", another movie that dealt in the spirtuality of modern times. A great cast performs admirably and the unexpected conclusion make this one well worth a second look.