Conquest of Space (1955)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Byron Haskin

Writers:

Chesley Bonestell (book) and
Willy Ley (book) ...

Release Date:

20 April 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

See how it will happen - in your lifetime!

Plot:

A team of American astronauts leave their space station on the first mission to Mars, but the captain's religious beliefs may get in the way. |

Plot Keywords:

Space Station | Mars | Space | Religion | Father Son Relationship

Cast

Walter Brooke	...	Gen. Samuel T. Merritt
Eric Fleming	...	Capt. Barney Merritt
Mickey Shaughnessy	...	Sgt. Mahoney
Phil Foster	...	Jackie Siegle
William Redfield	...	Roy Cooper
William Hopper	...	Dr. George Fenton
Benson Fong	...	Imoto
Ross Martin	...	Andre Fodor
Vito Scotti	...	Sanella
John Dennis	...	Donkersgoed
Michael Fox	...	Elsbach
Joan Shawlee	...	Rosie McCann
Iphigenie Castiglioni	...	Mrs. Heinz Fodor

Also Known As:

Mars Project

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The spaceship design was taken from Wernher von Braun's actual designs that appeared in a 1954 issue of Collier's.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the engines are turned on during the asteroid scene, strings can be seen holding up the ship.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: This is a story of tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, when men have built a station in space, constructed in the form of a great wheel, and set a thousand miles out from the Earth, fixed by gravity, and turning about the world every two hours, serving a double purpose: an observation post in the heavens, and a place where a spaceship can be assembled, and then launched to explore other planets, and the vast universe itself, in the last and greatest adventure of mankind, the plunge toward the...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in E.T. and Friends: Magical Movie Visitors (1982) (TV)

Incredible color and visuals highlight the trip to Mars!

The Technicolor process was seldom put to better use than on this George Pal production of mankind's first journey to Mars. The scenes on the space station (an elaborate wheel design) feature outstanding, beautiful star fields in radiant, cobalt blue. The ensuing trip to Mars contains the usual meteor episode, however it is carried off with a good degree of panache for a film of its time.

Sure, the "spiritual' story line is delivered heavy handedly; but once again the visuals (many taken from famous Chesley Bonestell paintings) fill you with awe as the ship lands on Mars and the crew struggles for survival.

"Conquest Of Space" should be enjoyed for its imagination(given its production time frame), its top-of-the-line, saturated Technicolor vistas; and also the interesting, enjoyable film score. The DVD version, just announced for October, 2004 release from Paramount, will undoubtedly be a visual feast for those that value the George Pal films of the 1950's!