Flight to Mars, (1951) Was directed by Lesley Selander, and Written by Arthur Strawn. It was filmed in Supercinecolor, and the print I viewed was clean and bright, if not sharp. This was nifty stuff for a grown up science fiction picture. Destination Moon came out a year earlier, and frankly was much better. This is not so evident at the start of Flight to Mars. It begins well enough. Spoiler Alert, I will be talking about the film. In truth, it seems like the story had two writers, the first influenced by the Science and personalities of those involved in the Mission. Told through the eyes of the Investigative Journalist Steve Abbott Played straight as a hard hitting shot of gin, by Cameron Mitchell, Abbot happened to get in good with the crew of four guys and a girl. The Project Flight commander, Doctor Jim Barker, played by Arthur Franz, and his jilted fiancé, Carol Stafford , played by Virginia Huston. Also on board is a Scientist Doctor Lane played by Jon Litel, designed the craft, and last but not least the groups mathematician and observer Professor Jackson , played by Richard Gaines. Good enough for a start. On the plus side, the musical score was competent, yet somewhat exaggerated in style; cue military music followed by big opening shot fanfare, etc. The ship design was nicely done, and as it turns out, it was so popular that the same ship was used in three other space movies that followed. "Queen of Outer Space (1958) World without End (1956) and the space movie with the stowaway Monster, It the Terror from Beyond Space (1958) So far so good.On the other hand, Once they land on Mars, it's like another writer took over, one who was more into Flash Gordon. Yes, there are people on mars, and they look like us, and they are costumed in the suits used in the fore mentioned, Destination Moon. They treat us friendly at first, but in the end, want to steal our ship so they can go off to conquer earth. On Mars we meet a varied cast of characters, A kindly council member who defends the earth people, his lovely daughter Alicia Played by Margurite Chapman, who falls for the dashing captain, The bad guys who plot against the Earth people are led by the nasty Ikron, played by Morris Ancrum. Plots against the Earthlings ensue, and only by wits and moxie, do we foil our foes.A kid even back then might have thought it talky, and boring, once the ship crashes, and they start exploring the Martian habitat. Ooops, it seems Mars is running out of it's resources, and needs to conquer the Earth. On the plus side again there was some beautiful costume design for the ladies of Mars. and the rumor has it that the movie was shot between five and eleven days.Consider also the science fiction movie competition it had. Also released in 1951; The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Thing, and When Worlds Collide. Those define Awesome. Mars would have to wait to make a cinematic comeback. Seven very cheesy Stars out of Ten.

Lippert Pictures struck paydirt with 1950's Rocketship XM, and was hoping for a similar result with this feature. As early sci-fi, the movie's okay, but lacks the grit of its predecessor. The premise is a real stretch with an underground Martian civilization that speaks flawless English, while the women parade around like Las Vegas show girls. (Not that I'm complaining.) Then too, the rocketship crew treats their pioneering flight like a trip to the mall.But if you can get past some of this nonsense, parts of the movie are eye-catching. I really like the standing rocket in the dome with the people beneath. It's a well-done effect, especially in color. Also, the script deals fairly thoughtfully with the predicament the Martians find themselves in. In short, that aspect is not settled in a typical Hollywood wrap-up. Then there's the great Morris Ankrum as Ikrom, the sneaky plotter. Would any sci-fi of the period be complete without his lordly presence. Anyway, despite the pacing that sometimes drags, the movie ends up somewhere in the middle of all those goofy 50's space operas.

There was something about 50's sci-fi. Generally speaking (with a few notable exceptions) the genre in that era was pretty bad, and yet almost always watchable and even enjoyable. "Flight to Mars" is no exception to that rule. It's a decent enough movie, it's got a workable story, it's got a decent (if not well known) cast. In some respects, what more could you ask for?Basically, humanity has managed to build a rocketship that's able to get to Mars. In a stunning display of creativity, the only time the rocketship is ever named, it's called "Rocketship M-A-R-S." OK. Five intrepid explorers climb on - two older scientists, a younger engineer, a beautiful blonde (of course) who's his love interest, and a young reporter who wants to steal the beautiful blonde away from the engineer. They board and travel in street clothes. No need for space suits. Even on the surface of Mars all they need are oxygen masks. Apparently to no one's surprise (because no one seemed too surprised about it) they discover a thriving underground civilization on Mars - and the Martians look identical to humans. This is convenient, because (1) it meant that no expense needed to be incurred on makeup and (2) it allowed the Martian females to be outfitted in micro mini skirts, which is always a handy thing. And, of course, since our explorers eventually need clothing, it also allows our beautiful human blonde to be outfitted in the same micro mini skirt, because, as one of the scientists said when the group was offered either Martian clothing or clothing like their own, "when in Mars, do as the Martians." Especially when it involves micro mini skirts on beautiful women, be they human or Martian! The Martians are anxious to help rebuild the crashed ship, but they have an ulterior motive. They want to learn how to build more so they can invade and conquer earth - and wipe us out in the process.Yup. Typical 50's sci-fi. Evil aliens, beautiful women. It's not a masterpiece, but it's short and it's very easy to watch, and it even includes a somewhat interesting philosophical reflection on the nature of the universe and our place in it. I was a bit intrigued by the fact that the young engineer dumped his blonde, took up with a Martian brunette, and took her home to get married. In an era when inter-racial marriage was still illegal in a lot of places, inter-planetary marriage was going to be accepted? Of course, the Martian female was white - and she had great legs! Micro mini skirts would probably break down a lot of resistance! (4/10)

First (blast) off, the Martian women are decked out in some of the shortest mini-skirts you've ever seen. Marguerite Chapman, who plays the Martian scientist, and, not surprisingly, falls for the leading human-about-town and space explorer, has a wardrobe that defies gravity, either here or on Mars. She could charm the spacesuit off any astronaut, too. The female scientist from Earth is given an outfit that must have shrank in the Martian laundry. Although the film's science is a bit screwy and contrived, the movie's plot makes up for it by heightening the drama, tension and its pulp fiction convictions. Mars is dying. There's no getting around this inevitable conclusion. The chief of the Martian council has decided to relieve the earthmen of their repaired spaceship in order to launch an invasion of Planet Earth. So much for outer space benevolence. I bet they regret being taken to this leader. The movie bops along at a healthy pace. And the ending is served up with the speed of an empty buffet line. I enjoyed the special effects (there are some imaginative matte paintings on display), art design and those female martian costumes. The acting is fine for a group of second-tier thespians. Kudos to Monogram Pictures for creating a plausible and well preserved Saturday afternoon adventure. Finally, in the name of diversity, something the 50's was not known for, one of the Martians in the greeting party turns out to be a black man. He's the one wearing a chocolate space suit. I kid you not.