THE ANGRY RED PLANET was theatrically released on July 1960 however this movie was actually filmed in September 1959 and was given its early preview screenings the following November. The film strongly embodies the 1950s sci-fi visual form and styling and is an important artifact of this colourful and sadly bygone era. Generally this project was a little too ambitious for the budget and resources allotted to it and much of the scenic effects involving views of the Martian landscape, environment and civilization are basically sketches courtesy of a talented comic book illustrator (and one-time son-in-law of Moe Howard of the The Three Stooges) Norman Maurer. But this artwork is so representative of the distinctive style native only to this particular decade that while its inclusion was probably considered embarrassingly amateurish and shoddy during this film's original release Maurer's illustrations can now be viewed with a more historical perspective and appreciation.
THE ANGRY RED PLANET was filmed in an experimental process developed by Norman Maurer referred to as Cinemagic and the intent behind this proposed technique was to give everything in the Mars sequences a uniform appearance so that when Maurer's drawings and sketches were employed for visual reference their insertion would not be apparent to the movie audience. Problems with the film processing lab developers arose from their lack of understanding how to properly utilize the special lenses and components supplied in connection with Cinemagic. The final result on film was a reddish and yellow tinting coupled with an irradiated glow effect to the planetary sequences and a complete failure to camouflage Mr. Maurer's interesting but obvious artwork.
Technical limitations not withstanding THE ANGRY RED PLANET achieves an uncomfortably tense and threatening mood during the spacecrew's tenure on the weird and alien world which is largely conveyed through the quartet's total isolation in their spacecraft surrounded by an apparently dead and motionless terrain devoid of even sound that seemingly inscrutably lies in wait for the earthlings to exit the comfort and security of their spaceship. Moments where the three-eyed Martian intelligence peers through the rocketship's large observation porthole (one of Maurer's drawings coupled with a superimposed ripple effect) and is seen only by the female crew member are genuinely startling and memorably haunting. The different life forms which make an appearance (the carnivorous plant, the bat-rat-spider-crab and the giant amoeba) while not the most convincing incarnations crafted are still inspiringly creative and original manifestations and help impart to this cinematic recreation of the red planet an appropriately nightmarish quality and the unearthliness of a frontier totally beyond human ken. Film composer Paul Dunlap's novel and engaging score which blends conventional musical instrumentation with electronic orchestrations suitably complements the varied moods and events of this most extraordinary adventure.
The strong focus placed upon the female biochemist crew member Iris as someone much more than a mere token figure or romantic interest is an impressive distinction for a sci-fi film of the period and worthy of attention. The events on Mars are revealed in flashback reconstructed from Iris's subsconscious recollections through drug-induced hypnosis (due to her suffering from a traumatized mental block and the inability of the other surviving crew member to be questioned). Upon liftoff from the inhospitable red planet, Iris has the thankless, unpleasant task of disposing of the elder Professor Gettell's body after he suffers a fatal heart seizure (presumably releasing it out the airlock into the vacuum of space) while also caring for the incapacitated Colonel O'Bannion. Later it is Iris who resourcefully comes up with the solution to the truly horrible amoebic growth on the mission commander's arm saving his life while her male colleagues at the space centre hospital remain ineffectually stumped and merely assist Iris in her anxious research for a remedy.
The denouement where the seemingly malevolent Martians (who have monitored the evolution of life on Earth since the dawn of time) permit the survivors of the Mars mission to return to Mother Earth with a taped message denouncing mankind's propensity toward violence and destruction, referring to the human race as "technological adults but spiritual and emotional infants" and flatly prohibiting any further visitations to their planet "unbidden" is a genuine revelation and remarkably mature for a decade where it was a foregone conclusion that man's destiny was in an unbridled exploration and conquest of the universe. THE ANGRY RED PLANET takes the stance that before mankind boldly and hastily ventures into this final frontier it would be prudent to be conscious of the possibility that we might be encroaching upon someone else's domain and what is taken for granted as an ordained right of trespass may well prove to be a granted privilege instead.
THE ANGRY RED PLANET while pockmarked with shortcomings and compromises in production is a unique and imaginative work whose strengths and virtues far outweigh its weaknesses. This film is really the kind of project that should have been handled by the major studios or by master craftsmen like George Pal or Ray Harryhausen but quite often some of the most interesting and inspired ideas were usually tackled by the smaller independent filmmakers without whose significant contribution and involvement sci-fi cinema in general would be much poorer.
THE ANGRY RED PLANET was filmed in an experimental process developed by Norman Maurer referred to as Cinemagic and the intent behind this proposed technique was to give everything in the Mars sequences a uniform appearance so that when Maurer's drawings and sketches were employed for visual reference their insertion would not be apparent to the movie audience. Problems with the film processing lab developers arose from their lack of understanding how to properly utilize the special lenses and components supplied in connection with Cinemagic. The final result on film was a reddish and yellow tinting coupled with an irradiated glow effect to the planetary sequences and a complete failure to camouflage Mr. Maurer's interesting but obvious artwork.
Technical limitations not withstanding THE ANGRY RED PLANET achieves an uncomfortably tense and threatening mood during the spacecrew's tenure on the weird and alien world which is largely conveyed through the quartet's total isolation in their spacecraft surrounded by an apparently dead and motionless terrain devoid of even sound that seemingly inscrutably lies in wait for the earthlings to exit the comfort and security of their spaceship. Moments where the three-eyed Martian intelligence peers through the rocketship's large observation porthole (one of Maurer's drawings coupled with a superimposed ripple effect) and is seen only by the female crew member are genuinely startling and memorably haunting. The different life forms which make an appearance (the carnivorous plant, the bat-rat-spider-crab and the giant amoeba) while not the most convincing incarnations crafted are still inspiringly creative and original manifestations and help impart to this cinematic recreation of the red planet an appropriately nightmarish quality and the unearthliness of a frontier totally beyond human ken. Film composer Paul Dunlap's novel and engaging score which blends conventional musical instrumentation with electronic orchestrations suitably complements the varied moods and events of this most extraordinary adventure.
The strong focus placed upon the female biochemist crew member Iris as someone much more than a mere token figure or romantic interest is an impressive distinction for a sci-fi film of the period and worthy of attention. The events on Mars are revealed in flashback reconstructed from Iris's subsconscious recollections through drug-induced hypnosis (due to her suffering from a traumatized mental block and the inability of the other surviving crew member to be questioned). Upon liftoff from the inhospitable red planet, Iris has the thankless, unpleasant task of disposing of the elder Professor Gettell's body after he suffers a fatal heart seizure (presumably releasing it out the airlock into the vacuum of space) while also caring for the incapacitated Colonel O'Bannion. Later it is Iris who resourcefully comes up with the solution to the truly horrible amoebic growth on the mission commander's arm saving his life while her male colleagues at the space centre hospital remain ineffectually stumped and merely assist Iris in her anxious research for a remedy.
The denouement where the seemingly malevolent Martians (who have monitored the evolution of life on Earth since the dawn of time) permit the survivors of the Mars mission to return to Mother Earth with a taped message denouncing mankind's propensity toward violence and destruction, referring to the human race as "technological adults but spiritual and emotional infants" and flatly prohibiting any further visitations to their planet "unbidden" is a genuine revelation and remarkably mature for a decade where it was a foregone conclusion that man's destiny was in an unbridled exploration and conquest of the universe. THE ANGRY RED PLANET takes the stance that before mankind boldly and hastily ventures into this final frontier it would be prudent to be conscious of the possibility that we might be encroaching upon someone else's domain and what is taken for granted as an ordained right of trespass may well prove to be a granted privilege instead.
THE ANGRY RED PLANET while pockmarked with shortcomings and compromises in production is a unique and imaginative work whose strengths and virtues far outweigh its weaknesses. This film is really the kind of project that should have been handled by the major studios or by master craftsmen like George Pal or Ray Harryhausen but quite often some of the most interesting and inspired ideas were usually tackled by the smaller independent filmmakers without whose significant contribution and involvement sci-fi cinema in general would be much poorer.