Art Fern ----SPOILER IN REVIEW---- I have no desire to offend my fellow film-addicts but seriously, if I actually paid to see this film in a theater, I'd be miffed and ask for my money back. If I attended a Funtementalist church and they showed this feature, I would feel more comfortable. This is a mixture of The Bible with a little Sci-Fi tossed in. It doesn't take long to discover a very simplistic script with actors who are one sided and predictable. You have the science guy, the loving wife who has a religious God-loving core, and an evil, Satan-loving Nazi, with Ruskies from the USSR built in and a Bible quoting, Billy Graham clone as the US President. The basic premise is that God lives on Mars and he has begun replying to our science couple living in San Diego, who are trying to contact Mars, only WHOOPS it was the evil Nazi tricking all of us instead, including the Reds who toss out the Commies and replace them with the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, but then WHOOPS AGAIN, it really was God in the first place. The worse and most farcical part is Peter Graves telling the Prez that we shouldn't release the first religious message cause it ain't science, while his wife says otherwise along with the Prez later making speeches in King James language. I want my 90 minutes back.

Woodyanders The crew of an exploratory expedition to Mars must fight for their lives after they encounter various lethal alien lifeforms on the angry red planet. Director Ib Melchior, who also co-wrote the engrossing and imaginative script with Sid Pink, relates the entertaining story at a steady pace and treats the neat premise with admirable restraint and seriousness. The cast play their roles commendably straight, with nice work by Gerald Mohr as the amiable Col. Thomas O'Bannon, ravishing redhead Naura Hayden as the strong, smart, and resourceful Dr. Iris 'Irish' Ryan (this film scores extra points for not presenting Ryan as your usual demeaning shrieking helpless damsel in distress), Les Tremayne as the sage Prof. Theodore Gettell, and Jack Kruschen as the hearty and easygoing CWO Sam Jacobs. This movie further benefits from a nifty array of gnarly creatures: a deadly Venus Flytrap-type carnivorous plant, a briefly glimpsed three-eyed behemoth, a giant amoeba, and, best of all, the famous enormous bat-rat spider beast. Moreover, there's a real sincerity to the whole picture that's impossible to either dislike or resist. Both Stanley Cortez's vibrant color cinematography and Paul Dunlap's rousing score are up to par. A fun little film.

david-sarkies The title of the movie caught my attention as a possible anti-communist movie, but the release date falls outside of the time when a majority of the anti-communist movies were made. The last HUAC hearings were in 1953 and the bulk of the movies appeared between 1951 and 1958 (though I have not seen many of them). Angry Red Planet is not an anti-communist movie, and if it is, it is very subtle. Rather Angry Red Planet is a reaction against technology. The theme really rises up at the end of the movie when the Martians deliver a message to Earth demanding that they do not return to their territory. One begins to think that the Earthlings come to Mars peacefully and are attacked, but the Martians say at the end that they have been watching Earth develop and because of their endless wars, they desire nothing to do with them. Earth is a violent and offensive planet and has been commanded to stay away from Mars. The main idea that comes from Angry Red Planet is that we are not ready for space exploration. Though the movie is slightly in the future, when the expedition arrives on Mars, they encounter creatures that are very hostile, and very dangerous, such as the human eating plant, the giant spider, and the amoeba. The expedition catches a glimpse of the huge technological achievements of the martians when they see their city through binoculars, but they never reach the place. Humanity is humbled with the experience on Mars. All that remained of the journey are two of the four members. None of the recordings remained except for the message of the martians to stay away from Mars. There is no emphasis on humanity approaching Mars peacefully, but rather they are being chased away and told that to return would be to invite the wrath of the vastly superior Martians. This seems to be a reaction against uncontrolled expansionism and modernisation. It is a movie designed to humble the American people, to remind them that they are not the most power people in the world. This is not a pro-Russian movie, but rather one that shows that our desire for expansion will never be unchecked. Even though we might have great technological wonders, there is always going to be somebody that can stand up to us. Maybe it is more of a warning not to anger the Russians too much because they have the power to destroy the United States. The title, Angry Red Planet, has the connotations of the possibility of advanced life on Mars, but more so, seems to me a warning against Soviet retaliations against unprovoked attacks.

Edgar Soberon Torchia The names of Sidney Pink and Ib Melchior are associated with two of the less satisfactory science-fiction films that I saw in the 1960s: this unbelievably boring and moronic film and, three years later, "Journey to the Seventh Planet", made in Denmark, with a story that resembles Stanislav Lew's novel "Solaris". (I have not seen "The Time Travelers", but apparently things improved). It takes almost 30 minutes of its running time to get to Mars and a few more to get out of the ship, only to discover settings in a horrid "process" called Cinemagic, that makes everything look like a cartoon in red. The cast is terrible. Watch the astronauts' shoes and socks.