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The Angry Red Planet (1959)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:39 pm    Post subject: The Angry Red Planet (1959) Reply with quote




Although it's low-rated severely by most critics, this one is a lot less boring than many other movies made during the 1950s. It's so rich in the beloved elements of the sci-fi films from the fifties that it's almost like an ambitious spoof of the genre — complete with creepy Theremin music, borrowed sound effects from "Forbidden Planet", and characters who want to claim Mars in the name of Brooklyn.


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The ship's control room is rich in electronic gizmos — and the computer is labeled "Burroughs" in big letters across the top (as in "Edgar Rice").

One of the spaceship crewmembers passes the time en route by reading "Super Fantastic Science Fiction Stories" (which is exactly the kind of story this is).

Sci-fi alumni Les Tremayne is among the cast. Mr. Tremayne appeared as a general in "War of the Worlds" (1953), a newspaper reporter in "The Monolith Monsters" (1957), and as a major character in "The Monster of Piedras Blancas" (1959). He also did voice-over work as the opening narrator in "Forbidden Planet" and as one of the narrators in "Unidentified Flying Objects: The True Story of Flying Saucers".

A sci-fi fan couldn't ask for a better résumé than that.

The Angry Red Planet depicted Mars more imaginatively (though less realistically) than other films such as "Rocketship X M", using matt paintings of strange vegetation and weird landscapes (instead of dull desert shots in Arizona). But beware of "Cinemagic", those red-tinted color-negative shots which were intended to give the Martian landscape an unearthly quality. The effect is overdone for most viewer's taste.








Despite a good cast, the acting is substandard. The fault lies primarily in the screenplay and direction — both of which can be blamed on Ib Melchior ("The Time Travelers") and co-producer Sid Pink.

There are entirely too many "talking head" close-ups. The dialogue is dull and sometimes illogical. In several places the story simply leaps over events which should have been shown — even if only briefly. As a result, the plot seems disjointed. Pink and Melchior also wrote the screenplay for the Danish film "Reptilicus" (which is apparently Latin for "ridiculous puppet dragon").

On the positive side, the Martian bat-rat-spider-crab is a pretty memorable monster. This unique creature was created using a preliminary version of the "rod puppets" which LucasFilm's "Industrial Light and Magic" perfected decades later for Return of the Jedi.





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Concern the film's production design, honorable mention should be given to following personnel:

Ned Shiells — construction coordinator (as Ned Shielle)
Mel Sternlight — property master
Alex Toth — storyboard artist (as Alexander Toth)
Arthur Wasson — property master (as Art Wasson)

These were the people responsible for the strange and original Martian landscape, as well as the Martian city seen in only two brief shots. The city's design is gorgeous, a perfect example the futuristic designs so popular in the 1950s.






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Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sat Jul 06, 2024 10:55 am; edited 10 times in total
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larryfoster
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 3:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
But beware of "Cinemagic", those red-tinted color-negative shots which were intended to give the Martian landscape an unearthly quality. The effect is overdone for most viewer's taste.

I agree. But that last image you posted of the 'bat-rat-spider-crab' is spooky. It looks like a monster 'spirit' creature. It is the type of adversary creature I would like a human colony to face, on a planet of dinosaurs and monsters. However, not as large as depicted in the "Angry Red Planet". It reminds me of those 'spirit monsters' from the 2001: "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within".
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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 7:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The computer is an actual Burroughs computer. Burroughs lent the computer to the production, because the intent was to show it operating, which they felt would be good publicity. But the computer needed a substantial cooling system, which the studio did not have. The solution was to open the panels to show the guts, and stringing Christmas lights in the interior to give the impression of functioning. Laughing

Surplus Burroughs computer components were used in a lot of 20th Century fox movies and tv shows. Other studios too.

The scenes on the Martian surface were filmed with an infrared sensitive film. The actors wore special makeup for those scenes. The intent was to give the Mars surface scenes a comic book.

You really can't blame the Martians for wanting the Astronauts off Mars, when their first action on the planet was to kill something.

David.
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

_______________________________

I actually like the red scenes on the Martian surface, and the bat-rat-spider-crab is well designed and well manipulated — moving slowly to give the impression of great size and weight.

Not a great movie, but certainly an enjoyable one. The only thing I really wish they'd done differently was the rocket: instead of that old Atlas missile, they should have used a real "1950s" rocket, fins and all!
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ShadowLandz100
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PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, I for one liked this little movie. Yeah, I know — the acting wasn't over the top and the interior of the spaceship didn't really fit my idea of how a spaceship should look, but the movie still is fun to watch.

Of course, I just HAD to have a resin model of the Bat Rat Spider Crab from Ultratumba, one that my wife still doesn't like. :LOL:

It's a large model with the base, and the creature itself needs the clear acrylic rod which is included with the kit for added support. I just wish I could find the Martian model that was also in the movie.

Karl



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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

____________________________

My young son was so frightened by the three-eyed alien who looked in the porthole that he had nightmares about it — even though it was just a painting they held up to the porthole for that shot.

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scotpens
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 5:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
Pink and Melchior also wrote the screenplay for the Swedish film "Reptilicus" (which is apparently Latin for "ridiculous puppet dragon").

Minor correction: Reptilicus was Danish. A cheesy Danish. Wink

Krel wrote:
The scenes on the Martian surface were filmed with an infrared sensitive film. The actors wore special makeup for those scenes. The intent was to give the Mars surface scenes a comic book.

I recall reading that those scenes were filmed in black-and-white, then printed through a series of filters to get the look of the line illustrations in pulp sci-fi magazines. The effect actually ended up looking more like the "solarized" film that was a trademark of the psychedelic '60s.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 9:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
Minor correction: Reptilicus was Danish. A cheesy Danish. Wink

Wait, you're saying that Repitilicus was a cheese danish?

Hmmm . . . Confused

Sorry, I don't see the resemblance — but I changed the word anyway.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
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Krel
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 25, 2014 1:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

scotpens wrote:
I recall reading that those scenes were filmed in black-and-white, then printed through a series of filters to get the look of the line illustrations in pulp sci-fi magazines. The effect actually ended up looking more like the "solarized" film that was a trademark of the psychedelic '60s.

I can't really say either way for sure. I'm just repeating what I read about the film in an article that Filmfax had years ago. The article is also where I read about the film using the Burroughs computer.

An observation I made after watching "The Angry Red Planet", and "The Invisible Invaders" within a short time of each other. The sound rifle was used in both movies, and it was a sound rifle in both movies!


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 04, 2015 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel, I watched The Angry Red Planet again just a few days ago and I was impressed anew with the strange look of the Martian surface and how the process converted what would have been unconvincing sets and props into a strange alien environment.

Thanks for the info! Cool

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Robert (Butch) Day
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2016 2:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A behind-the-scenes photo showing the microphone:


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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 2:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Naura Hayden, originally Norah Helene Hayden , the gorgeous red head in Angry Red Planet also wrote the best-seller, How to Satisfy a Woman Every Time, which had sold over a half a million copies by 1992.

Would have liked to have tried anyway!


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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sun Jan 08, 2017 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Yes, the picture above is from chapter 5, "How to Tell a Fake Orgasm from a Real One."

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Gord Green
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote





This was SUCH a fun movie! I remember seeing it as kid and was fascinated by the "cinemagic" red effect. Now I realize it was just a "red tinted negative effect" , but to a nine year old it was psychedelic before it's time!


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Brent Gair
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Gord Green wrote:
... I remember seeing it as kid and was fascinated by the "cinemagic" red effect. Now I realize it was just a "red tinted negative effect" , but to a nine year old it was psychedelic before it's time!

There was a lot more to it than tinting. Many sequences were "solarized". As an old time photo print maker, I immediately recognized the solarization or "Sabattier Effect". This was alluded to in some earlier posts

The effectiveness of the solarization is certainly up for debate. It would likely have seemed quite odd to an audience "back in the day". It has seen use in art photography but would have some movie viewers scratching their heads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solarisation
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