CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

cwvacdr I never saw this movie before, quite outdated now, but gives a good look of a bit of the cold war and science fiction. This has mission impossible Peter Graves in it. Much better acting than todays junk.although comet shows some of these old sci fi, some are quite interesting. this one was pretty good.

Theo Robertson Planet Earth has been receiving radio messages from its nearest neighbour Mars . Messages telling of a new type of technology means that fossil fuels will become redundant meaning that millions of jobs will be lost in the Western world . Are these messages genuine or is there another more Earthly power behind it ? After seeing INVASION USA I found myself watching yet another American propaganda film from the same year . I was attracted to the title thinking it might be an obvious film where the red planet decides to enslave the countries of Western democracy because that's what reds do . This isn't how things developed but any sort of rugs being pulled out from under you or irony of the red planet not being communist at all is hardly a recommendation . I can understand the thinking behind INVASION USA and the points its making within its own twisted reality but this isn't the case with RED PLANET MARS I don't know if I'm stupid or simply because I wasn't concentrating hard enough but I had difficulty paying attention to the plotting . It's not really a film that grabs your attention and is very static . I wasn't surprised in the slightest that this film was adapted from a stage play . One would have thought in that case it would be easy to follow since it's dialogue based but this isn't the case at all . Scientist Chris Cronyn receives messages from Mars and before he - and the audience - knows it religion is sweeping the world including the Soviet Union . The writers some entirely ignorant of religion and Marxism . Suppose we take on board the idea that our view of religion comes from a race from a higher civilisation . Ask yourself how does this explain life after death ? If a Martian lives 300 years then surely it'll die the same a human dies after 70 years . There will be no life after this one no matter what planet you're from . This is one of a number massive plot holes , and these plot holes even have the totally illogical nature of drawing attention to themselves such as the Soviet politburo asking themselves where are the Soviet population getting all their radios from ? Yeah I'd like to know too . I suppose this falls under the heading of plot connivance ? Perhaps the most irritating thing is the ending and the way it's developed . For large sections of the film you're being led along that the Soviets are behind these messages and it's all a communist plot , so much so that the counter revolution in the Eastern bloc is just a staged event and the British ambassador is being used as a stooge the same way plenty of useful idiots were taken on tours to the USSR in the 1920s and 30s . The communist double dealing is reinforced at the end when a former Nazi now working for the communists turns up at the Cronyn's lab at the end . This villain despite being a former Nazi and communist reveals himself to be a Satan worshipper . Let me get this right ? He's not a Neo-pagan like the Nazis and he's not a Marxist atheist like all communists but he worships Satan ! . Like I said the writers haven't thought any of this through especially where religion or Marxism is concerned . One massive plot hole that jumps out and grabs you is that the Cronyns' and the villain are killed in a lab explosion with no witnesses but the final scene sees the American referring to their sacrifice to the United Nations . Either this unnamed president has second sight or this film has a really poor screenplay . Guess what one I'm putting my money on ? If you thought NOAH was a genuinely bad film you obviously haven't seen this one

gavin6942 An American scientist is able to contact and communicate with Mars with shattering political, economic, and spiritual repercussions.I liked that they referenced Franz Calder, a Nazi scientist that apparently helped connect Mars and Earth. I do not know if Calder is real (I suspect not), but this seemed like a reference to von Braun, the Nazi scientist who invented the rocket. Indeed, we owe our space exploration to the Nazis in a round-about way.I am somewhat confused by the idea that if coal mines and oil wells are no longer useful that the next generation will not have jobs. I understand that the oil and coal companies would not want to lose their lucrative business, but I am unclear how this affects potential employees that have not even started yet. If all energy were free, there would still be other jobs -- the money not spent on energy would go to other, more leisurely pursuits.

dougdoepke Apparently, 1952 was the year the Big Guy finally got broadcasting rights in the US. Because movies like The Next Voice You Hear (1952) and this one managed to put God in direct communication with us mere mortals courtesy the Hollywood hotline. Of course, it really helped when the Big Guy enlisted on our side against the godless commies, while His Presence also helped clean up Hollywood's image as a commie harboring red nest. You might even call His intervention a godsend for the film industry.Actually, this 90-minutes is to effective propaganda what the sledgehammer is to the fly swatter. At least, its companion movie (The Next…) had the good sense to avoid the obvious, like crude stereotypes. On the other hand, this concoction has no such inhibitions. Commies are uniformly beasts, Russian peasants are uniformly downtrodden, and Americans are uniformly thoughtful. I don't know what Soviet propaganda was like at the time, but it couldn't have been much cruder than this.I will say the movie is well mounted visually. In fact, the skillful complexity of some of the visuals clashes with the simple-mindedness of the script. On the whole, I wish I could say this propaganda piece is nothing more than a clumsy Cold War artifact. But it's not. Unfortunately, it feeds into that current sense of smug self-congratulation that goes by the popular meme of American exceptionalism.