Mission Mars

The year: 1968. The movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" sets new technological and intellectual standards in the SF genre. Likewise 1968: The movie "Mission Mars" sets new standards of daftness and technological incompetence in the SF genre. The unsuitable, excruciating title song "No More Tears", sung by Sturg Pardalis (sic!) and played by "The Forum Quorum", already makes you fear the worst. The film introduces us then to the personal and family problems of three astronauts who are chosen to fly to Mars. After this long (very long) intro and lots of Nasa stock footage the movie really gets nonsensical. The "spaceship" is nothing more than a slightly altered tin-can, the helmets of the space suits are open beneath the chin, and the scenes on "Mars" were shot on a very small sound stage without the illusion of a horizon. While Darren McGavin carries this whole nonsense with remarkable seriousness, Nick Adams seems not to be very happy with his part in this trash. "Mission Mars" is a low budget movie better suited for the 50s, but without the charm of most of the SF movies of this period. It's theatrical, third-rate and was already very dated when it was produced.

A top notch film with great handling of a tiny budget to show that it is not always the case that you need to spend a fortune to create interesting if not flash special effects.Also a first rate cast of B movie actors,and a catchy theme score. Ok it is easy to pull this film to pieces but if you take it at face value it is very entertaining.

I came across this film after watching a TV episode of Hondo that featured Nick Adams as the Apache Kid, a Native American killer on the run, killing anyone that crosses his path regardless of skin color. This sparked my interest in seeing more of his final roles. I liked watching Nick as a kid doing Japanese monster movie flicks 1965's "Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" and "Frankenstein Conquers the World," but my favorite role of his that I've seen was as Homer, the Polish displaced person in the Steve McQueen WWII 1962 action film "Hell is for Heroes." The fact that he died in 1968, in his mid-30s of an prescription overdose (with disputed motives, the death certificate lists "accident; suicide; undetermined") and was friends with people like Elvis, James Dean and Robert Conrad, give anything he is in much more interest to me than if he had lived and done a ton of low budget films and TV over a long life. As it is, Nick who died in Feb. 1968, is listed in 3 films and a TV show for 1968, so he was a pretty busy actor. This is about the last thing Nick was in and its on Youtube so I wanted to check it out after watching him in Hondo (his 5th to last credit) wearing a ridiculous amount of dark make up (and a long black wig). I have to say that I have watched many dozens of old sci-fi films, some being unwatchable by today's standards but I usually enjoy them for their low budget and bad acting and scripts, so I will say that Mission Mars was fun for me to watch all the way through. My wife also watched it with me, so she was entertained and she is not a low budget film fan like me. The film, to me, is not to be taken too literally, one needs a dose of suspension of belief with any space film. The same year Mission to Mars was released, 2001: A Space Odyssey was released (two months apart), and as great as that film is, one needs a suspension of belief because that's not real either! I watched Mission Mars as more a fantasy sci-fi film than as a true depiction of space travel. I also think that this film is different than other low budget sci-fi films of the same time like The Doomsday Machine in that it has art film elements in it with quick edit sequences using hip music, so the film is really trying to be different than the standard 1960s Sunday matinee film for 10 year olds. Take for instance the opening titles with a smooth rock song playing transitioning to a cool intro sequence, very different than the standard sci-fi film which is usually some synth "space" tones playing with a star backdrop. I enjoyed the catchy tune so much I looked it up on Youtube alone and someone posted it for me to enjoy again later! Further research says that Motown producer Hal Davis (The Jackson Five) formed the musical group The Forum Quorum (a soul sounding rock group with white teens) and that they released a full album (info available if you search for it)! Other music used included jazz beats like bongos, so they were trying to separate this film from just another low budget action film. A lot seems to be written about the use of motorcycle helmets being used as space helmets (thanks for the personal review with details into why that happened!), I say that if you are watching this kind of film you are missing out on a lot more realism than that and again (the stock footage of different rockets launching should clue one in), the suspension of belief factor needs to be high to really enjoy this film. The aliens are done artistically as well as opposed to a Roger Corman film, this American film has many elements of style that one would see in a 1960s Japanese, Italian, or Eastern European space film, I was enjoying it. Remember what Kubrick used for alien life in 2001:ASO? A still monolith with deep vocal tones playing? You see what happened there, suspension of belief? Going back to Nick Adams, he looks like he's going bald here, he clearly looks like he's starting to age rapidly on screen, sad. I did enjoy his performance though in that it was about his last and this was all I would ever get. Besides my interest in Nick Adams, Darren McGavin of The Night Stalker fame also stars in this film. So, you have two very famous cult actors together in a cheap sci-fi film, this is nerd heaven. Other cast tie in's are that this is the same director that did Santa Claus Conquers the Martians and the same producer that did The Fat Spy, two other cult films. Despite its low budget, Mission Mars sets itself apart in its execution and is highly recommended for fans of McGavin and Adams. 7 of 10. RIP Nick.

Oh ...my....goodness. Darren McGavin is a talented actor. Nick Adams is a talented actor. While I think they did the best they could, this is simply dreadful. I sincerely hope their checks cashed because there cannot possibly be any other reason for agreeing to be involved in this cinematic disaster. One problem is that Nick Adams had very little to do. He can always be counted on to give a good performance but fiddling with some kind of dial for the majority of the picture is a misuse of his skill. I am not a science fiction fan so the story needs to be compelling to engage me. Sadly, this ain't it. I truly admire actors: they are the most underemployed group of people I know. So many talented people and not enough quality work for them. Darren McGavin lived to put this disaster behind him. He is fondly remembered for other, better roles. Sadly, Nick Adams did not live long enough to see his career turn around as well, which it very likely would have. So many actors have had second acts to their careers and he could certainly have thrived in supporting roles. I have read the other reviews and know that this film has a special place in some people's lives. Good to know. I will watch another episode of The Rebel or Saints and Sinners to see Nick Adams in a much more worthy vehicle.

If it weren't for the music (such as the "No More Tears" song - which has NOTHING to do with what happens!), you would swear this movie was made in the 1950s, with the dated clothing, attitudes, clunky props and special effects (with a spaceship that looks like a Campbell's soup can!) But the biggest problem is that movie is just boring. How boring is it? Well, it takes HALF the movie before they finally land on Mars! There is occasionally an interesting visual, though you'll most likely be asleep before you get to see even half of them.