''The Angry Red Planet'' (also called ''Invasion of Mars'' and ''Journey to Planet Four'') is a 1959 American
science fiction film
Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
directed by
Ib Melchior
Ib Jørgen Melchior (September 17, 1917 – March 14, 2015) was a Danish-American novelist, short-story writer, film producer, film director, and screenwriter of low-budget American science fiction movies, most of them released by American Inter ...
and starring
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows.
Early years
Mohr wa ...
.
Melchior reportedly had an initial production budget of only $200,000 and was given just nine days to film it.
["The Angry Red Planet (1959)"](_blank)
"Trivia", TCM, Retrieved September 16, 2018. Such financial and time constraints necessitated the use of "CineMagic," a film-processing technique that combined hand-drawn animations with live-action footage. The relatively inexpensive process was used for all scenes depicting the surface of
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
. While CineMagic proved unsatisfactory for creating visually believable special effects for ''The Angry Red Planet'', producer
Norman Maurer
Norman Albert Maurer (May 13, 1926 – November 23, 1986) was a comic book artist and writer, and a director and producer of films and television shows.
Comic books
Maurer's lifelong association with the Three Stooges began about the time ...
did reuse the process in 1962, although to a lesser extent, in the comedy film ''
The Three Stooges in Orbit
''The Three Stooges In Orbit'' is a 1962 American comedy science fiction film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Ho ...
''.
Plot
As the film opens, mission control personnel on Earth are monitoring the rocketship MR-1 ("Mars Rocket 1") as it approaches Earth orbit following the first crewed expedition to Mars. Personnel are surprised to see the ship on their monitors, for they believed that the vehicle had become lost or destroyed in space. Ground technicians are unable, though, to make contact with anyone on MR-1, so they guide the rocket by
remote control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
to a safe Earth landing. Only two survivors of the original four-person crew are found in the ship: Dr. Iris Ryan (
Naura Hayden
Norah Helene Hayden (September 29, 1930 – August 10, 2013) was an American actress, and as Naura Hayden an author, who worked in entertainment also as Nora Hayden and in modeling as Helene Hayden.
Biography
Hayden was the daughter of Los An ...
) and Col. Tom O'Bannion (
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows.
Early years
Mohr wa ...
), whose entire right arm is covered with a strange green alien growth. The MR-1's mission to Mars is then recounted by Dr. Ryan as she also helps to find a cure for Col. O'Bannion's badly infected arm. In her debriefing, she reports in detail the crew's experiences while traveling to the Red Planet and exploring its surface. She describes their expedition in retrospect, as if it were currently happening.
After MR-1 reaches Mars and its crew explores the planet's surface, Dr. Ryan is attacked by a
carnivorous plant
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans
Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryot ...
, which Chief Warrant Officer Jacobs kills with his freeze-ray, which he calls "Cleo". The crew then encounters an immense bat-rat-spider-crab creature, at first mistaking its legs for trees. That creature is also blinded and repelled by Jacobs who, again, uses his ray gun. When the crew returns to their ship, they realize that their radio signals are being blocked and the MR-1 is unable to leave Mars due to a mysterious
force field.
O'Bannion next leads the crew to a Martian lake, where a city with high, impressive structures is visible on the other side, far in the distance. Crossing the water in an inflatable raft, they are stopped by a giant
amoeba
An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of Cell (biology), cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and ret ...
-like creature with a single spinning eye. They hurriedly retreat, the creature pursuing them. As they are entering their ship, the creature catches Jacobs and draws him inside the gelatinous body, soon absorbing him; it has also infected O'Bannion's arm. The creature envelops the ship and is expected to eventually develop acids to eat through it.
O'Bannion leads them in rewiring the ship to electrify the outer hull, which drives the creature away after destroying parts of it, then they rewire the ship for lift-off. The three survivors manage to lift MR-1 off from the planet since the force field has somehow been deactivated. Unfortunately, Professor Gettell, the MR-1's designer, dies of an apparent heart attack caused by the extreme stresses of the ascent.
Once the MR-1 returns to Earth, O'Bannion's infected arm is cured by medical staff using electric shocks. Mission control technicians also examine the MR-1's data recorders from the expedition and find a recording of an alien voice, which announces that the ship's crew were allowed to leave Mars so that they could deliver a message to their home planet. The voice then states that "we of Mars" have been observing human development on Earth for many thousands of years and have determined that humanity's technology has far outpaced progress in cultural advancement. The alien then accuses humankind of invading Mars, warning that if future expeditions ever return to the Red Planet, then the Earth would be destroyed in retaliation.
Cast
*
Gerald Mohr
Gerald Mohr (June 11, 1914 – November 9, 1968) was an American radio, film, and television character actor and frequent leading man, who appeared in more than 500 radio plays, 73 films, and over 100 television shows.
Early years
Mohr wa ...
as Colonel Thomas O’Bannion
*
Naura Hayden
Norah Helene Hayden (September 29, 1930 – August 10, 2013) was an American actress, and as Naura Hayden an author, who worked in entertainment also as Nora Hayden and in modeling as Helene Hayden.
Biography
Hayden was the daughter of Los An ...
as Dr. Iris "Irish" Ryan
*
Les Tremayne
Lester Tremayne (16 April 1913 – 19 December 2003) was an English actor.
Early life
Born in Balham, London, he moved with his family at the age of four to Chicago, Illinois, where he began in community theater. His mother was Dolly Trema ...
as Professor Theodore Gettell
*
Jack Kruschen
Jacob "Jack" Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. ...
as Chief Warrant Officer Sam Jacobs
* Paul Hahn as Major General George Treegar
*
J. Edward McKinley as Professor Paul Weiner
* Tom Daly as Dr. Frank Gordon
* Don Lamond as TV Newscaster/Martian Voice
* Edward Innes as Brigadier General Alan Prescott
* Gordon Barnes as Major Lyman Ross
* Jack Haddock a Lt. Colonel Davis
* Brandy Bryan as Nurse Hayes
* Joan Fitzpatrick as Nurse Dixon
*
Arline Hunter
Arline Hunter (born Arlene J. Hunter; December 16, 1931 – September 11, 2018) was an American actress and model. She was perhaps best known as '' Playboy's'' Playmate of the Month for August 1954. Her centerfold was the first not to be purchase ...
as Joan (not in 83 minute version)
* Alean Hamilton as Joan's Friend (not in 83 minute version)
Production
''The Angry Red Planet'' began as ''The Planet Mars'', a
treatment written by Sidney Pink about a space voyage to Earth's mysterious neighbor. "It was written on my kitchen table", Pink said in an interview a few years before his 2002 death. "My kids were my critics, they'd tell me what was good and what just fell flat".
[Hayes, David C. (2005). "The Last Interview of Sid Pink]
Wayback Machine
(web.archive.org), interview from the Yahoo Contributor Network, March 31, 2005. Retrieved September 16, 2018. Pink gave his treatment to Melchior after meeting him at a party. Melchior believed the project had potential, so he offered to help write the
screenplay
''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993.
Background
After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...
if Pink allowed him to direct the film. While Melchior worked on establishing a working script, Pink met Maurer, who was developing CineMagic, a "revolutionary" filming process for creating special effects by combining hand-drawn images with live action. However, it soon became apparent the process would not be able to deliver what had been promised with respect to the quality of its effects.
[McGee, Mark (2016). ''Faster and Furiouser: The Revised and Fattened Fable of American International Pictures''. McFarland, pp. 161-168.] "The damn Cinemagic didn't work like it should", Pink recalled. "It was supposed to be sort of a 3-D effect. What we came up with was great anyway".
The production budget for ''The Angry Red Planet'' may have actually been significantly higher than the $200,000 cited by most film and press references. In its online catalog, the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
refers to a contemporary report in ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' that announced an increase in allotted funding for the project more than double the frequently given figure. AFI states, "As noted in a ''HR'' news item, just prior to the start of production, the film's budget was raised from $250,000 to $500,000".
["The Angry Red Planet (1960)"](_blank)
details, catalog of the American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...
(AFI), Los Angeles, California. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
Comments made by Pink on the eve of filming provide some evidence regarding how little money was spent to design and build sets for the production. In an interview for a September 7, 1959 news item by ''
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'' reporter and writer
James Bacon, Pink is quoted about the extreme cost-cutting effectiveness of using the new CineMagic process: "Our set for the planet Mars cost us a couple of hundred dollars instead of the thousands we had estimated".
[Bacon, James (1959)]
"New Picture Process Made: The Latest Is Called The Cinemagic"
''The Florence Times'' (Florence, Alabama), September 7, 1959, section 2, page 3, column 2. Archives of Google News
Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web.
Google rel ...
(news.google.com). Retrieved September 18, 2018. Pink also estimates in that interview that the movie "will be made at half the original cost",
confirming that ''Invasion of Mars'' (the film's working title before its release) was a low-budget project. The "meager" $200,000 production budget cited for ''The Angry Red Planet'' may therefore be a credible
ballpark
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
figure.
Filming for ''The Angry Red Planet'' began on September 9, 1959 at
Hal Roach Studios
Hal Roach Studios was an American motion picture and television production studio. Known as ''The Laugh Factory to the World'', it was founded by producer Hal Roach and business partners Dan Linthicum and I.H. Nance as the Rolin Film Company on Ju ...
in
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...
, only a month after Melchior and Pink completed their final draft of the screenplay.
CineMagic
The CineMagic process was used to cast a red glow over scenes depicting the surface of Mars. The low-cost process made the actors look similar to cartoon drawings so they would fit in with low-budget, less realistic
sets and
props
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
.
To achieve this effect, a
black-and-white
Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey.
Media
The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
film negative
In photography, a negative is an image, usually on a strip or sheet of transparent plastic film, in which the lightest areas of the photographed subject appear darkest and the darkest areas appear lightest. This reversed order occurs because th ...
was first processed with
solarisation
The Sabatier effect, also known as pseudo-solarization (or pseudo-solarisation) and erroneously referred to as the Sabattier effect, is a phenomenon in photography in which the image recorded on a negative or on a photographic print is wholly o ...
(a process which partially reverses the negative making some areas of the image appear positive). The resulting film was then
tinted red. Making a film positive was not necessary. At the time ''The Angry Red Planet'' was produced, black and white film cost less than color film and processing. The combination of using black-and-white film for all scenes depicting Mars and not needing to produce a film positive lowered production costs for the film.
Release
American International Pictures
American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...
released the film in September 1960 with its original running time varying between 83 and 87 minutes.
[Berns, Samuel D. (1959)]
"Review: The Angry Red Planet"
''Motion Picture Daily'' (New York, N.Y.), November 30, 1959, page 5. Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
, San Francisco, California. Retrieved September 17, 2018. AIP also distributed the film initially as part of
double feature
The double feature is a motion picture industry phenomenon in which theatres would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which one feature film and various short subject reels would be shown.
Opera use
Opera ho ...
billings. At theaters in some regions it was presented with ''
Circus of Horrors
''Circus of Horrors'' is a 1960 British horror film directed by Sidney Hayers, and starring Anton Diffring, Yvonne Monlaur, Erika Remberg, Kenneth Griffith, Jane Hylton, Conrad Phillips, Yvonne Romain, and Donald Pleasence. Set in 1947, it foll ...
'', and in other regions it was presented with ''
Beyond the Time Barrier
''Beyond the Time Barrier'' is a 1960 American science fiction film. It was released in September 1960 on a double bill with ''The Angry Red Planet''.Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 730 It sta ...
''.
According to Pink, he had trouble working with AIP, more specifically with the "notorious"
Samuel Z. Arkoff.
In a 2005 interview about the release of ''The Angry Red Planet'', Pink said, "Neither of us trusted the other, which worked out well because I wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole. Jimmy Nicholson was the brains of that operation. With Arkoff, you never got a straight count".
Reception
''The Angry Red Planet'' received mixed reviews upon its release. ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' film critic Eugene Archer gave the production a negative review, criticizing its depiction of the planet Mars, likening it to "a cardboard illustration from
Flash Gordon
Flash Gordon is the protagonist of a space adventure comic strip created and 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'' adve ...
". However, not all reviewers in 1959 and early 1960 were critical of the film in general or, in particular, CineMagic's deficiencies in simulating the terrain, fictitious plant life, and monstrous creatures on Mars.
''
Motion Picture Daily
''Motion Picture Daily'' was an American daily magazine focusing on the film industry. It was published by Quigley Publishing Company, which also published the ''Motion Picture Herald''. The magazine was formed by the merging of three existing Qui ...
'' reviewer Samuel D. Berns was enthusiastic at the time about the production, calling it "a stimulating experience in suspense and intrigue".
He describes CineMagic in his review as "a well-conceived optical effect for dramatic impact", an element of the film that he predicts will draw "big gross business" to the box office.
Berns also compliments both forms of filming presented in ''The Angry Red Planet'', as well as its music:
In his 2001 reassessment of ''The Angry Red Planet'', Glenn Erickson of
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman.
History
Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
criticizes the film's flat direction, dull script and overuse of
stock footage
Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...
.
Erickson does faintly compliment the film for at least coloring scenes of Mars' surface with a red tinge, which in his opinion gives the sequences "a credibly alien look".
[ In his 2014 movie guide, ]Leonard Maltin
Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...
judges the film to be only average, awarding it 2 out of 4 stars. However, reviewer Bruce Eder of AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
is more positive in his appraisal of the film, commending in particular its overall style of direction:
Legacy
The cover artwork for the 1982 album ''Walk Among Us
''Walk Among Us'' is the debut album by the American punk rock band Misfits, released in March 1982 by Ruby Records and its parent label Slash Records. It was the first full-length album to be released by the band, although it was the third to ...
'' by the American punk rock band Misfits
Misfits or The Misfits may refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift
* ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...
features the rat-bat-spider creature from ''The Angry Red Planet''.
Home media
''The Angry Red Planet'' was first released on VHS by Thorn EMI
Thorn(s) or The Thorn(s) may refer to:
Botany
* Thorns, spines, and prickles, sharp structures on plants
* ''Crataegus monogyna'', or common hawthorn, a plant species
Comics and literature
* Rose and Thorn, the two personalities of two DC Comic ...
/HBO Video
Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia's former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yard ...
. It was later released on VHS and DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
by MGM Home Entertainment
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment LLC (d/b/a MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the home video division of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
History 1 ...
in 2001, as part of their "Midnite Movies
''Midnite Movies'' is a line of B movies released first on VHS and later on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment. The line was begun by MGM in March 2001 following its acquisition of Orion Pictures, which bought out Filmways, the owner of American Int ...
" line of home media releases. A decade later, MGM re-issued the film on DVD as part of the multi-feature "Midnite Movies" single-disc collection, which also includes the 1951 film ''The Man from Planet X
''The Man from Planet X'' is a 1951 independently made American black-and-white science fiction horror film, produced by Jack Pollexfen and Aubrey Wisberg, directed by Edgar G. Ulmer, that stars Robert Clarke, Margaret Field, and William Sch ...
'', the 1985 film ''Morons from Outer Space
''Morons from Outer Space'' is a 1985 British comedy-science fiction film directed by Mike Hodges and starring Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, Joanne Pearce, Jimmy Nail and James B. Sikking.
Plot
The story begins on a small spaceship docking with ...
'', and the 1988 film ''Alien from L.A.
''Alien from L.A.'' is a 1988 science fiction film directed by Albert Pyun and starring Kathy Ireland as a young woman who visits the underground civilization of Atlantis. The film was featured on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000''. This film is lo ...
''. ''The Angry Red Planet'' was released yet again in 2013 by Gaiam International on ''Sci-Fi Classics'', another four-movie compilation on a single disc, alongside ''The Man from Planet X'', ''Beyond the Time Barrier'' (1960), and '' The Time Travelers'' (1964)."The Angry Red Planet"
releases, AllMovie. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
See also
*
List of American films of 1959
The American films of 1959 are listed in a table of the films which were made in the United States and released in 1959. The film '' Ben-Hur'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture, among winning a record-setting eleven Oscars.
A–B
C–D ...
*
List of films set on Mars
There is a body of films that are set on the planet Mars. In the late 19th century, people erroneously believed that there were canals on Mars. Into the early 20th century, additional observations of Mars fed people's interest in what was called " ...
References and notes
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angry Red Planet, The
1959 films
1950s science fiction films
American independent films
American International Pictures films
American science fiction films
American space adventure films
American monster movies
1950s English-language films
Films about astronauts
Films about extraterrestrial life
Mars in film
Films produced by Sidney W. Pink
Films scored by Paul Dunlap
1959 independent films
1950s American films