So-bad-its-good 1950s science fiction film about a co-ed team of space explorers traveling to Mars. There are some very fun special effects, which includes a 15-inch marionette standing in for a 40-foot tall monster that looks to be a combination of a crab, spider, and bat. Another dated element to the film is the wild amounts workplace sexism, which includes moments like:"You know, I can't say that I recommend spacesuits for beautiful young dolls. What happened to all your lovely curves?""You know, Irish, you're the first scientist I've ever known with lovely, long red hair!""I think I'll call you Cleopatra because you're such a cool doll!"Or from the female lead:"I know you think I acted like an hysterical female back at the ship, but I can assure you I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."It's of course terrible, but the casualness of the sexism was morbidly entertaining the same way it is on "Mad Men." Also adding to this film's entertainment value is that it was filmed in "Cinemagic," which was reportedly a processing error that turned the mars sequences a pink tint. Overall, this isn't very smart of science fiction, but the corny special effects, the Cinemagic, and rampant sexism make this a very campy bit of 50s sci-fi entertainment.

From the glorious 1950s – THE golden decade for unhinged Sci-Fi and monster movies – comes this wonderful but sadly obscure gem with a dark atmosphere and deeply melancholic morals, and yet delightfully silly and inept special effects and set designs! This is, in fact, the most entertaining combination possible because it means that the stern actors are citing their lines about mysterious unknown planets and deadly alien lifeforms with a straight face and a serious tone of voice, while at the same time the landscapes and monsters look preposterous, cheap and downright ludicrous! And it has to be said that the team behind "The Angry Red Planet" really did their best in order to provide an intense and overwhelming Sci-Fi/thriller, however the budgetary restrictions made it quite difficult to succeed and the film didn't pass the test of time very well. Still, for admirers of '50s Sci-Fi flicks and cinematic oddities in general, this film definitely comes with my highest possible recommendation. The story opens captivating and suspenseful enough, that's for sure! The NASA space-center on earth suddenly receives automated radio messages from the Mars expedition rocket that was considered lost for more than 60 days already. When it lands back on earth, it turns out that two of the four crew members have survived their journey, but the male commander Tim O'Bannon is unconscious from an unknown disease and the female biologist Iris Ryan has no recollection of what happened. At the hospital, doctors and scientist try to revive Iris' memories and she gradually narrates their horrific encounters on planet Mars through flashbacks. The scenes that are supposedly taking place on the "Red Planet" are just stupendous! You may take the planet's nickname very literal, as the explorations on Mars are filmed through a reddish/orange filter attached to the camera's lens. The landscapes and flora on Mars actually exists of drawings and sketches, massive amphibious monsters and carnivorous plants included! Our protagonist heroes also face a humongous rat-creature on spider legs, which is undoubtedly one of the most imaginative Sci-Fi creatures ever designed! But, as said, the overall tone of the film is deadly serious and thus features "The Angry Red Planet" a philosophical climax about the Martians being vastly superior to us and they do not want us to come and wreck their planet like we do with ours. In other words, Martians are intolerant racists but can you blame them? In spite of being the target of sexist jokes and disrespectful behavior ("I can't see your lovely curves in that spacesuit"), Nora Hayden depicts a strong female lead character. Ib Melchior's directing skills are somewhat pedestrian, but he certainly deserves all our respect for also being the writer of other terrific genre gems such as "Planet of Vampires", "Reptilicus" and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars".

Warning, Mars is red. I mean RED. Between that and the piercing whistle laser, this is a migraine-inducing film.Standard B film sf plot of its era. Astronauts (old guy, chick, leader, and comic relief) go to Mars, there are monsters, they barely make it home. The best thing I can say about it is that they didn't suffer the cliché "meteor storm," just one meteor. About 50 minutes of actual story (lame as it is), padded by a totally superfluous framing device involving military talking heads.Oh, and guys, two pickup lines to never use: 1) I'd like to take you into a dark alley and 2) When I use your name, you'll know it.

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.