MOVIE REVIEWS

Is Mars Rocket Crew Alive? So screams the newspaper headline when it is found that the Mars expedition rocket is on its way back to Earth. When only two of the four original crew are found on board, one with a horrible fungus growth attached to him, the scientists and doctors desperately try to get to the bottom of what happened on the mission. It's a raging "B" schlocker, but a fun one. Filmed in "CineMagic" in New Eastman Color 5250 no less! It essentially pits the crew, three men and one woman, in a situation where they land on Mars, gel in various ways, then start going out onto the Red Planet itself to gather information etc. The art designers bathe everything in red, using a whole ream of interesting paintings to project an alien planet, and then the fun really starts. The creatures arrive, including one legendary rat/spider hybrid that is an absolute riot. Suspense exists, even though the acting is distinctly average, and et voilà! Story has unfolded and the big message ends the pic. Nutty sci-fi movie for sure, but the makers kinda get away with the cheapness of it all, and that is something that not all "B" schlockers can say is that! 5/10

When a rocket returns from a expeditionary mission to Mars, only two of the original four have survived - and one of those is not a well man. Luckily, the other "Iris(h)" (Nora Hayden) seems to be conscious and from her hospital bed regales us with the details of their trip to the (very) red planet which, contrary to popular opinion, is not barren at all - but populated with distant cousins of the Venus fly trap and the giant ant! Their explorations start off innocently enough, but soon they start to sense that the planet is becoming a bit hostile. Time to head home, if they still can. The dialogue and performances here are all pretty nondescript and the interiors are all standard studio lights and buzzers. It's the photographical effort to create the Martian landscape by shooting everything through red filters that is bit more innovative. It doesn't really work as it's nigh on impossible to discern the characters from their surroundings, but at least it shows that someone was at least trying something different. It's a bit long, but still just about watchable and no worse than a load of these 1950s American sci-fi efforts. The end of story comes with a stern warning too!

Pretty hysterical story of two surviving astronauts returning to Earth, and one recounting their adventures on Mars. To call this film sexist would be an understatement, the science and technology onboard the spacecraft is hilarious- yes, that is a manual typewriter, but the film's one saving grace is the bizarre special camera effect of the surface of the red planet. (Unrated)- Mild physical violence, very mild gun violence, some tobacco use.