Flight to Mars (1951)

Director:

Lesley Selander

Writer:

Arthur Strawn (writer)

Release Date:

11 November 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Fifty Years Into The Future!

Plot:

Five astronauts successfully fly to Mars where they encounter seemingly friendly and advanced inhabitants who harbor covert plans to use their ship to invade Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Newsman | Space Opera | Bridge | Underground City | Intrigue

Cast

Marguerite Chapman	...	Alita
Cameron Mitchell	...	Steve Abbott
Arthur Franz	...	Dr. Jim Barker
Virginia Huston	...	Carol Stafford
John Litel	...	Dr. Lane
Morris Ankrum	...	Ikron
Richard Gaines	...	Professor Jackson
Lucille Barkley	...	Terris
Robert Barrat	...	Tillamar (as Robert H. Barratt)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Wilbur Back	...	Councilman
William Bailey	...	Councilman
Trevor Bardette	...	Alzar
Stanley Blystone	...	Councilman
David Bond	...	Ramay
Raymond Bond	...	Astronomer #2
Tristram Coffin	...	Commentator
Russ Conway	...	Astronomer #1
Edward Earle	...	Justin
William Forrest	...	General Archer
Everett Glass	...	Montar
Perc Launders	...	Workman
Anthony Marsh	...	Attendant
Bill Neff	...	Sergeant
Frank O'Connor	...	Councilman
Bob Peoples	...	Soldier

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Supercinecolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:S

Company:

Monogram Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The suits that the Martians wear were leftovers from Destination Moon (1950).

Quotes:

Professor Jackson: I'm considered a scholar, but unfortunately that hasn't made me rich.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Queen of Outer Space (1958)

co-author uncredited: story based on Tolstoy book.

Flight to Mars was made in the hey-day of the Cold War, so perhaps it is not unreasonable that Monogram films chose not to advertise that the original story was "Aelita," by the Russian novelist Alexei Tolstoy.

Of course, the main character's name, Alita, does sort of give that away. The basic story line and character line up were retained, with the exception of the professional revolutionary who got dropped. In the book the reporter appears at the beginning and end of the narrative, and does not accompany the characters to Mars. In the book the engineer was married, not afianced. Of course, the Russians also filmed Aelita as a silent. What is interesting is that the American version is more faithful to the original plot.