RED PLANET MARS (1952)
Label: MGM
Region Code:
Rating: TV PG
Duration: 87 Minutes 6 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD THE MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fulkscreen (1.33:1)
Video: 1080p HD Fulkscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Harry Horner
Cast: Peter Graves, Andrea King, Herbert Berghof, Walter Sande, Marvin Miller, Willis Bouchey, Morris Ankrum, Orley Lindgren, Bayard Veiller
In the cold war era sci-fi Red Scare flick Red Planet Mars all-American astronomer Chris Cronyn (Peter Graves, Airplane) and his wife, Linda (Andrea King, The Beast with Five Fingers) have been able to see the red planet through a telescope and have seen evidence of intelligent with technology far beyond that of our own, able to melt down 1000 foot polar icecaps to irrigate their arid landscape overnight. The Cronyns have also been able to make radio contact with Mars using a by a hydrogen fuled radio-telescope, powered by "hydrogen valve" technology originally designed by a Nazi scientist Franz Calder (Herbert Berghof, Cleopatra), who was imprisoned in Russia after WWII. They've been able to send messages and in return get the same message back, but after their young son Stewart (Orley Lindgren) comes up with an idea on how to start a conversation with the Martians they begin to receive messages that tell of a Utopian society where food scarcity and energy crisis are a thing of the past.
When news of life on Mars makes headlines around the world, but it destabilizes economies and governments worldwide, causing massive unemployment, and tensions rise between the U.S. and Russia. Society seems to be teetering on the edge of it's own destruction... that is until Mars sends a transmission with a heavy religious tone, stating that the people of Earth are doomed to peril as they've strayed from the teachings of the bible - that's right, Martians are super-Christian! This leads to sweeping societal changes that topple governments leading to an age of peace, love and understanding across the planet, but when the envious Nazi scientist shows up at the home of the Cronyns' angry that they've made headlines on the fruits of his invention, the question is asked, did the messages come from Mars...or are the messages the work of an imposter, and if so, what will happen to the newly peaceful populace of Earth?
This is quite a weird relic from the Cold War era, first it's a sci-fi flick that doesn't have space ships, we don't go to mars, there are no laser beams to be seen, just some radio towers and lab mock-ups, and some miniature work to then we have red scare propaganda galore with a clearly anti-Russia pro-Christianity message, it's so up-front it's a bit silly, even my 50's propaganda standards it deliciously overwrought. It's also a very talky sci-fi flick, the husband and wife have conversations throughout with her suggesting that maybe they shouldn't open the door to communicating with the Martians, while her hubby, very much the scientist, is obsessed with the possibility of advancing human technology potentially by thousands of years overnight. This was not at all what I expected, I was certainly not expecting a chatty pro-religion slice of 50's anti-communist propaganda, which might sound awful, but I tell you, I thought it was fairly fascinating.
Other notable cast members include the Walter Sande (Wichita) as a Navy Admiral Bill Carey who is brought in to oversee the Cronyn's work, U.S. President (Willis Bouchey, The Big Heat), the American Secretary of Defense Sparks (Morris Ankrum, Giant from the Unknown), and Calder's KGB handler Arjenian (Marvin Miller, the voice of Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet!).
Audio/Video: Red Planet Mars (1952) arrives on region-free Blu-ray from MGM in 1080p HD framed in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The B&W looks solid with good depth and contrast, pleasing grayscale, the source is also in excellent shape. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with optional English subtitles. There's a bit of source related hiss in spots but overall I found it quite a nice presentation.
This is a bare-bones release with just a static menu that offers subtitle options. I do also believe this is the film's Blu-ray debut, so that's cool.
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