It's Martian Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. What we gots is a well made movie that pits America against the USSR during the rise of the Cold War. It stars Peter Graves in his 7th film appearance with a great supporting cast and is fairly lengthy at 87 minutes.
Eegah!! has sent over a musical soundclip for our approval,
sooooo, you can push the big red
'GO' button located next to the mini squid tank,
NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula! Here's your audio taste of...
RED PLANET MARS!
The complicated story starts like this... An American scientist, Peter Graves as Chris Cronyn, has contacted Mars by radio and is receiving information that Mars is a utopian world, also, Earth's people could be saved if they return to the worship of God.
There's doubt about the messages being genuine though, an ex-Nazi working for the Soviets claims he was duping the Americans with his own messages all along.
Marvin Miller plays Soviet chief Arjenian. Marvin has one of the very best narrator voices ever, we remember him as the voice of Robby The Robot in FORBIDDEN PLANET and THE INVISIBLE BOY and was John Beresford Tipton'S faithful assistant Michael Anthony in 206 episodes of
THE MILLIONAIRE.
Chris goes to the military with the messages, that's Morris (FLIGHT TO MARS) Ankrum, then, Walter (THE NAVY vs THE NIGHT MONSTERS) Sande, Peter (IT CONQUERED THE WORLD) Graves and Andrea (BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS) King in the scene.
How cool is that?!
Eegah!! and Tabonga! both grew up with Voice Of America just west of their village!
Lavish for 1952, a TV built into a fireplace trimmed with a picture frame.
As the Russians admire their giant posters of Lenin and Stalin, the building suddenly bursts into flames, a pretty clear sign that God was
not siding with them!
The little Nazi creep shows up at the science lab and shoots up the place because he just can't deal with the truth!
We are left with a thoughful spiritual message from Mars, the planet!
This is one of those 50s "anticommunist" films that pulls no punches. It has all the subtlety of a train wreck.
ReplyDeleteEven so, the acting is heavy handed, but still professional. I mean, given the material they were given. It also brings up some good questions about how our economy would react if we were told better, cheaper, ways were coming tomorrow.
I love 5's movies.
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