Conquest of Space (1955)

Captivating movie !

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

O.K., so in the 63 years since this film came out, no actual earthling has walked on Mars, but the desire for space travel and the expansion of our overcrowded earth has continued. For this beautifully colorful George Pal adventure, the audience is taken into the somewhat restricted world of the astronauts where small cramped quarters, lack of real oxygen and a desire for something as simple as healthy water is a major concern. The first half of this film takes place on both the giant space wheel sent into orbit and the rocket sent up with supplies and other astronauts to prepare for its journey to Mars. Conflicts between father and son over their different ambitions for their lives as astronauts creates an interesting family subplot and interesting dimension past the science fiction themes 10 years prior to actual human space travel. The second half shows them on Mars dealing with the inability to get off the planet and the lack of water to sustain life. Sudden "Mars quakes" opens up the ground beneath them, giving me the hint that giant creatures were about to emerge from them. While that is not the case, what does happen is equally as thrilling, creating some brilliant special effects and some shocking visuals as the astronauts strive to leave this strange world and return home.Not a great movie so much as it is an entertaining one, it does get a bit talky in the first half, but is still never dull. The often boring lives of the astronauts is interrupted by moments of their personal interactions, as well as a brief glimpse of a colorful musical number featuring Rosemary Clooney in "Here Come the Girls", a 1953 Paramount film that seems to parallel the mythical view of outer space with its Arabian Knights costumes. Walter Brooke and Eric Fleming are father and son, much conflicted with their differing views, and give very good performances. Benson Fong, as the wise Japanese astronaut, is most thoughtful in his performance, while Mickey Shaugnessy, Phil Foster (Laverne DeFazio's TV father) and William Redfield are certainly representative of the common no-nonsense American, out to have fun wherever they can, but still very determined with their mission. The final sequence is rather scary, and while I wouldn't call this a truly realistic view of what the conquest of space was really like, it gave film audiences a fun way to imagine it as only special effects master George Pal could do.

Producer George Pal was a man of vision and accurate imagination. The one thing that he can be given undeniable credit for is how accurately he portrayed the surface of Mars. The Mars Explorer photographs when we had them revealed a world not unlike what we see in Conquest Of Space. Of course a lot of credit is also due to scientist Willy Ley whose books are the basis of the film.Conquest In Space is a future world concept from 1955 where we now have a World Space Organization where the USA is taking the lead in space exploration. An international space station is constructed and people live there months at a time. It's under the command of General Walter Brooke who is concerned with the psychological problems of being too long in space. So he wants a handpicked crew for the exploration of the moon.But the authorities on earth are shooting for bigger game. Kind of unrealistically they decide to forget the moon and aim for Mars. Brooke is in command and his eventual crew is his own son Captain Eric Fleming, Sgts. Mickey Shaughnessy, Benson Fong, and Phil Foster. In this future world no blacks or women are on the space station. The presence of the latter might well have cured at least some of the problems the guys were having.On the way there Brooke develops some space problems of his own as he gets downright metaphysical, wondering if God meant for us to leave the planet earth that He bequeathed as a domain for man. Those issues cause all kinds of problems for the rest of the Mars expedition that are the basis for the plot of the film.Conquest Of Space is imaginative but also intelligent. No hostile Mars creatures are found at least not in the corner of Mars they land. It was a realistic assessment of man surviving in a hostile environment and one of the better science fiction films of the Fifties.

Classic sci-fi film from producer George Pal about astronauts on board a space station known as The Wheel. The Wheel's crew is made up entirely of men. There's no obligatory female crew member for all the men to make passes at. Had there been one, rest assured handsome leading man type Eric Fleming would have been all up on that. The commander (and creator) of The Wheel, General Merritt (Walter Brooke), has to assemble a small team for the first manned mission to Mars. The General's not happy about this but he gathers the team anyway. It includes his son (Eric Fleming), a medical doctor (Ross Martin), an electronics expert (Phil Foster), and a geologist (Benson Fong). Soon after their mission is underway, the General has a mental breakdown and begins to have doubts not only about their mission, but whether God would approve of man's exploration of space altogether. I've seen people describe this film as both pro and anti-religious. It's funny how people's sensitivities and prejudices flare up on both sides when it comes to religion and politics. I don't find the film anti-religious at all. It's maybe anti-religious NUT but what sane person isn't? As for the flip side, it's certainly hard to argue the film is pushing a religious agenda when the General is shown as being mentally unbalanced to the point of trying to murder his own son. The film also ends on a positive note about man's exploration of space, as well as a cute wink that the Almighty approves.The cast is solid. Walter Brooke has the most difficult role but he handles it well, I think. I didn't always understand his character's thought process but I did believe that he was losing his grip with each passing moment. Eric Fleming exceeds expectations, particularly in the later half of the movie. He has "stock leading man" written all over him but he does a good job. Comic relief Phil Foster grated on my nerves the first time I watched this but in subsequent viewings he's grown on me to where he's become one of my favorite parts of the film! Benson Fong represents an earnest attempt on the filmmakers' part to include some diversity in the cast. You would think this would be applauded but a lot of reviews simply point out a few stereotypical facets of his character. Admittedly, his "little man" speech is deserving of a few laughs, well-intentioned though it may have been. Regardless, his character is an intelligent, thoughtful man who is presented as an equal to his Caucasian peers and plays a significant role in the film. How is this not worthy of admiration? I love sci-fi films from the '50s. I see so many complaints about this and other space exploration films of the time that nitpick all the technical errors. The dreaded word "realism" is often used as a bludgeon in these critiques. They say this or that isn't possible, so therefore the story fails. The best of these old films are full of imagination and wonder and a sense of awe at what might be possible, not dwelling on what isn't. That, to me, is what science fiction is all about. As for Conquest of Space, it's an extremely entertaining sci-fi movie with good special effects for the time. It also has rich colors and fun sets. This was back before all sci-fi films were drab and monotone. If you're a fan of classic science fiction movies, you should like this one.

In the days before Yuri orbited the World, or Neil bounced on the Moon, or Spirit and Opportunity rovered across Mars, everyone wondered what if? Werner and Chesley painted wondrous images of places and machines yet to be built. This film comes from this era. The scenes on orbit (Earth) of the wheel and the spaceship evoke a true sense of childlike wonder, and while the Greek tragedy of the father and son is a little silly, the depictions of the technology and landscape are very good for their time. Ironically this film with its primitive effects is more scientifically accurate and visually compelling than modern space operas.One critic said that it was ahead of its time but behind ours, I'd like to remind the writer of those words that in CoS, they walk on Mars in 1980...we'll be lucky if get there by 2020, looks like we're at least 40 years behind.