The Angry Red Planet (1959)

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of only two survivors from a Martian expedition is so traumatized she (Naura Hayden) does not remember the circumstances of the trip.The film stars Gerald Mohr and is directed by American International Pictures regular Ib Melchior. Melchior was only given 10 days and a budget of $200,000 to make the film. All things considered, he did alright.The New York Times wrote, "The Angry Red Planet solemnly warns its audiences not to go to Mars. Stubborn patrons who ignore the advice will discover that the planet looks like a cardboard illustration from Flash Gordon and is inhabited by carnivorous plants, a giant amoeba and a species resembling a three-eyed green ant." Well said.Great film? No. Fun film? Yes.

I originally saw this at the local theater a year or so after it came out. Naturally I had no criticisms whatsoever as it contained all of the elements that an 8 year old proto-nerd could want: science, space and monsters. When I came across it some 30 years late on a late night movie I was quite excited. I will admit that the puppet-beast was really bad and Sam's love affair with his cryo-gun was just a bit too weird. The background sets appeared to literally be cardboard and were poorly painted. The acting was campy though they tried hard and by-and-large made a decent ensemble. There were, however, far worse low-budget sci-fi efforts of the era and when this came out on DVD I bought it without hesitation and still dust it off from time-to-time when I'm suffering from insomnia at 3 AM.

Earth authorities finally hear back from the presumed lost first flight to Mars rocket ship. Two of the four crew people are still alive, though one has an alien parasite attached to him, and the other is in shock, though she is interrogated, and tells how they successfully landed on Mars, only to encounter a huge monster, an underwater amoeba, and finally aliens who warn them to stay away from Mars.Silly film is remembered for its towering bat/spider/crab monster(a truly memorable sight!) but little else. Cardboard characters, tacky "cinemagic" processed film, and pulp clichés and science damage the film; better as a poster than anything else.

I well remember The Angry Red Planet from when I was a lad as it appeared on double bills as a second feature to some class A film from MGM. Although it certainly has not stood the test of time as the Mars rover has indicated, the film still has a nice fun and imaginative quality to it.The film is done in flashback as a lost spaceship to Mars is found apparently dead in space. One of the survivors after some shock therapy tells the story of the expedition.There were four on the crew Gerald Mohr, Nora Hayden, Jack Kruschen, and Les Tremayne. The place is a forbidding red tinted world accomplished on screen through a red tint filter. The crew meets up with some really strange life forms and they do get a glimpse of what looks like the Emerald city on Oz if it were red instead of green.I really loved the giant Bat/Rat Spider, one of the lower forms of life on Mars. There was also a giant amoeba and a carnivorous plant for your thrills and enjoyment.The end is really something as a recording is played where the Martians tell the people of Earth to stay away from their planet, they don't want them messing up the neighborhood as earthlings are primitive and warlike. I'm betting space exploration was put off several generations.I rather enjoyed The Angry Red Planet and I think most viewers will.