Starring Gerald Mohr, Nora Hayden, Les Tremayne, Jack Kruschen, Paul Hahn
Directed by Ib Melchior
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A rocketship sent on a mission to Mars is found drifting and is returned to Earth by remote control, where one of its crew is able to tell the horrific story of their experiences on the red planet.
A sci-fi adventure co-written by producer Sid Pink and director Ib Melchior, the picture was promoted with the gimmick of Cinemagic, a process used for the scenes on Mars, where a combination of black and white film of the actors and hand-drawn alien backgrounds were covered in a reddish hue. I read some background on this on Wikipedia, and it described it as a cost-saving measure since the rest of the film was shot in color, although it does certainly lend an eeriness and distinctive look to the Mars scenes, augmented by Paul Dunlap's eerie score, though I wouldn't describe the backgrounds as very convincing. The process is at its most engaging when practical effects rendering creatures of Mars are placed in front of the backgrounds, nearly creating a 3-D like feel. Mohr and his silky voice as the mission's pilot and commander, and the ever reliable Tremayne as the chief scientist among the crew, are standouts in the cast, but Hayden is also likable enough, as is Kruschen, playing the familiar stereotype of a jovial New Yorker with duties aboard the ship. Although the screenplay doesn't give us a very extended look at the planet Mars, the narrative works well enough to make this one of my favorite Melchior films. My friend Dan Day Jr. pointed out that producer Norman Mauer, who also had a hand in the Cinemagic process, was a son-in-law of The Three Stooges' Moe Howard.
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