beowulf437
23-06-2006, 12:44 PM
This movie was rushed into production in order to beat George Pal's "Destination Moon" into the theatres, but it still hangs together. There are good believable performances by Lloyd Bridges, Noah Beery, and Osa Massen. The story carries a strong anti-war, anti-nuclear arms message without beating you over the head with it.
The special effects are seriously dated by today's standard. The mostly black and white film has the scenes on Mars shot in sepia tones to add to the other worldy appearance (Mars looks like the California/Nevada border). The dialog of the actors while on Mars is barely comprehensable due to the oxygen masks they wear.
The tech is mostly unobtainium (monoatomic hydrogen) with a big dose of dues ex machina to explain the arrival on Mars, but it is no worse than modern science fiction movies. There is nothing in the way of cool devices other than the ships instruments provided by Allied Aircraft.
The ending was unique and somewhat sad, especially for the the time when the movie was shot. There is no strong jawed hero to save the day, and perhaps that is what sends the message of this movie home.
Overall I would recomend this movie for veiwing on the strength of the story and the quality of the acting.
The special effects are seriously dated by today's standard. The mostly black and white film has the scenes on Mars shot in sepia tones to add to the other worldy appearance (Mars looks like the California/Nevada border). The dialog of the actors while on Mars is barely comprehensable due to the oxygen masks they wear.
The tech is mostly unobtainium (monoatomic hydrogen) with a big dose of dues ex machina to explain the arrival on Mars, but it is no worse than modern science fiction movies. There is nothing in the way of cool devices other than the ships instruments provided by Allied Aircraft.
The ending was unique and somewhat sad, especially for the the time when the movie was shot. There is no strong jawed hero to save the day, and perhaps that is what sends the message of this movie home.
Overall I would recomend this movie for veiwing on the strength of the story and the quality of the acting.