Mission Mars

Like other reviewers on this page, I have a special place in my heart for this cheesy movie. I just re-watched the DVD, and I have to agree that it's best to just skip forward to the post-launch space adventures, and get on with it.

What I like best is the weird design of the Polarite. Yes, the effect itself is low-tech, but the basic design is really cool... it's like a Wally Wood creation right off the pages of a 1950's EC comic such as Weird Science.

The most frustrating element for me was the constant distraction of the hokey, form-fitting "long john" space suits worn by the astronauts, when they are out and about on the Martian surface. Do we really need to see the bulge of their private parts, along with the tell-tale outlines of their jockey underwear? Good grief...

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 was there. Here's the true story about the open space helmets on Mars. When Darren McGavin first donned his helmet, it was a bad fit and mashed his nose, his most prominent facial feature. He angrily ripped it off, threw it against the sound stage wall (it shattered), and stomped off the Mars set, vowing not to return until the problem was rectified. With time being money and money scarce on this ultra low budget film, the films designer -- possibly hung over -- rushed out and bought and painted some motorcycle helmets. I, as a gopher and the only person on the crew who could type, was ordered to quickly write a few lines of dialogue indicating that the mission crew back on earth had just discovered that there was sufficient oxygen in the Mars atmosphere to permit simplified helmets that only needed to augment the oxygen supply. (That information was revealed in a brief en route scene on the space ship....which may have been edited out...not sure.)(As another reviewer has noted, I discovered through quick research, that this was considered a possibility.) Thus, Darren was back on the set later the same day. There's also the story of the dump truck which, when backing into the set with a load of "Martian sand," fell through a temporarily constructed plywood covering into a giant pit in the center of the sound stage. It took a day to get it pulled up out of the pit. Why, you ask, was Mars being recreated indoors? Because the day before a local Florida mini-tornado roared through destroying the outdoor Martian landscape it had taken days to construct. Let's face it....it was probably a mistake to film a sci-fi special effects film anywhere in the USA outside of Hollywood. - Lance Webster (the director's son, the 24 and just out of college. Now 68.)

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.