Red Planet Mars (1952)

An American scientist is able to contact and communicate with Mars with shattering political, economic, and spiritual repercussions.

Director:

Harry Horner

Writers:

John L. Balderston (screenplay), Anthony Veiller (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Graves, Andrea King, Herbert Berghof

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Peter Graves	...	Chris Cronyn
Andrea King	...	Linda Cronyn
Herbert Berghof	...	Franz Calder
Walter Sande	...	Admiral Bill Carey
Marvin Miller	...	Arjenian
Willis Bouchey	...	President
Morris Ankrum	...	Secretary of Defense Sparks
Orley Lindgren	...	Stewart Cronyn
Bayard Veiller	...	Roger Cronyn

Storyline

An American scientist contacts Mars by radio and receives information that Mars is a utopia and that Earth's people can be saved if they return to the worship of God. Revolution sweeps the Earth, including the Soviet Union. But there remains doubt about the messages being genuine, as an ex-Nazi claims he was duping the Americans.

---

Plot Keywords:

scientist | soviet union | ex nazi | radio | tv announcer | 

---

Taglines:

SEE! The first contact between Earth and Mars!

---

Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

15 May 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

Punainen planeetta

Filming Locations:

Motion Picture Center Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melaby Pictures Corp.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie foresaw the flat panel TV at least 40 years before they were commercially available. The scientist husband and wife main characters had what looked like a 40-inch equivalent over their fireplace and were seen watching the news on it in several scenes. It was probably simulated by projecting the picture onto the rear of a glass screen.

---

Goofs

At about 33:20. the President quotes a familiar poem, "Solution there is none, save in the Golden Rule of Christ alone." He then says, "My father was very fond of Emerson." But the line he quotes is from an anti-slavery poem of John Greenleaf Whittier.

---

Quotes

Linda Cronyn: [to Chris] We've lived on the edge of a volcano all our lives. One day it'll boil over.

---

Crazy Credits

At the end of the movie, "The Beginning" appears on the screen.

---

Connections

Referenced in Red Planet (2000)

User Reviews

Okay, about Graves' wide screen television!

I enjoyed the film, like a little snip of history, as you could "feel" the mood of the times just watching it.

What I was wondering, when you see Peter Graves watching television at home he is clearly looking at a wide (really wide) screen set seemingly embedded in a wall that is made of stone floor to ceiling.

Additionally, he has knobs on a table along side his chair to turn on and off the set.

For all intent and purpose (with the exception of no remote control) the room is set up rather like a home-theater only in 1952. Were there wide screen television able to be set into a wall with knobs on tables back then? I noticed too that the screen was surrounded by wood trim, rather like the way you see a wall mounted AC unit! Interesting.