Search - Flight to Mars on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1951 DVD Release: 05/07/2002 Format: DVD Edition: Special Collection Audio Tracks: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 11 mins Studio: Image Entertainment Members Wishing: 1 Genres: Adventure, Science Fiction, Sci-Fi Action

Flight to Mars is the second American film of the postwar era (after the previous year's Rocketship X-M) to depict a manned space trip to the Red Planet. Leading-man responsibilities are evenly divided between Arthur Franz as brilliant scientist Dr. Jim Barker and Cameron Mitchell as two-fisted reporter Steve Abbott. Both men make the journey to Mars, finding time along the way to battle over the affections of leading lady Virginia Huston. Upon landing on Mars, the earthlings learn that planetary leader, Ikron (Morris Ankrum, a fixture of 1950s sci-fi), intends to conquer the world. Fortunately a group of good Martians are on hand to lend moral and physical support to the heroes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Marguerite Chapman - Alita
Cameron Mitchell - Steve Abbott
Arthur Franz - Dr. Jim Barker
Virginia Huston - Carol Stafford
John Litel - Dr. Lane

This DVD offers one special feature that's worth the price of the disc by itself, a 55-minute video interview with Cameron Mitchell by David Del Valle, conducted in 1988, in which the star reminisces about actors and directors that he'd worked with and the training that he had, as well as the actual production of this particular film. Mitchell has more fun recalling other sides of his career, particularly the awkwardness over the movie Gorilla at Large, and working on it with Lee J. Cobb -- with whom he'd starred on Broadway in Death of a Salesman -- in a situation where Cobb was being treated rather poorly by the studio. His recollections about Death of a Salesman are fascinating, and it's only a shame that he wasn't drawn out even further about the production of the play or the movie; he also illuminates some of the aspects of a film, Monkey on My Back, what was pegged at the time for potential Oscar attention, but has been forgotten over the decades. And Mitchell spends a good deal of time in the second half of the interview recalling his work with Mario Bava, and that portion of his career spent in Italy. As to Flight to Mars, it isn't in perfect shape -- there's an annoying intermittent blob that crops up in the middle of the picture -- but it's better than one would expect from a 51-year-old movie shot in Cinecolor at Monogram Pictures. And, indeed, some of the night scenes depicting the preparations for take-off look gorgeous, which makes up for some of the graininess in the other shots. Virginia Huston's lips, and the flame of the rocket as it lifts, are stunning, and most of the movie is a delight to the eye, in spite of the occasional scratch and blemish. The menu opens automatically on start-up, and is very easy to maneuver around. The chapter encoding is generous given the nature of the movie -- it's difficult to imagine someone wanted to break this plot down in any detail whatsoever -- and the bonus features include the trailers from a handful of other titles in the "Wade Williams Collection," of which Flight to Mars is a part. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide