As a child these films were my own personal heaven. I was never impressed with the hokey melodrama's that took place between the effects, but when there were rockets and new world landscapes and spacewalks, aliens etc my imagination went into overdrive. Pal's films came along before I was born but were prime fodder for the fledgling television services of the 50's and 60's, and coupled with Irwin Allens output they were magical times for a young boy, and left this one with a lifetime love of all things sci fi. Another great review of a classic piece of sci fi cinema. The legacy of these films are now commonplace in our entertainment today.
I liked Mission to Mars and Red Planet (both released in 2000). Of course, there's also Total Recall that's partially set on Mars. During the Fitfties Mars also was a convenient metaphor for communism ("the red planet").
I always thought this film was under appreciated. I discovered it during Sci-Fi week on the local afternoon movie prior to 2001. I think it is better than Destination Moon. It tried to make space drama without aliens or totally implausible science. And including a Japanese astronaut just 10 years after WWII (and 10 years before Star Trek's inclusivity) is also underappreciated even if the dialog makes extra sensitive 21st century viewers cringe. Yes, we some have the goofy dialog and the usual uneducated astronaut to whom everything must be explained (so we audience would know) but I can over look the occasional flaws. I am curious though, what changes did the studio impose that made Pal believe their ruined the movie?
Enjoyable video as always. You should cover some of the Eastern Bloc movies being made at the same time. They had real ambition and resources.. Ikarie XB1 would be the absolute best of the bunch but there are many good ones from Russia and other communist countries of the era. Best wishes
Yes, I loved the John Carter movie too, though really wish it had been correctly titled as A Princess of Mars. If you have not seen the fan-compiled advertisement that was made to counter the abysmal marketing of JC, do look for it on UA-cam (as John Carter fan trailer 'Heritage'). It is perfect, and showcases what was great about the visual appeal of JC. Also a good read is John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood (on Kindle), which tells of that marketing disaster. I would have liked to see more of Burrough's Barsoom stories filmed, but that seems unlikely now.
Gonna have to go with 'The Angry Red Planet'! loved that flic as a kid! So much so I wrote a shameless rip-off of it for my 4rth grade creative writing assignment! (It was OK though... I changed the planet to Saturn to avoid copywrite issues!)
I kind of miss 1950s pre-exploration sci-fi, when authors could freely invent whatever conditions they wanted on the other planets' surface. Reality turned out to be a lot more boring than people expected, haha. (Well, OK, the surface of Venus wouldn't exactly be boring... but you also wouldn't be around to appreciate it for long.)
Just saw a French short on TCM called "Voyage to the Sky" which was made in 1937. When the narrator comes to Mars, he talks about the vegetation changing the color of the ground. Later, he talks about how Saturn consists of lava much like Earth was billions of years before. They definitely thought all that because this is decades before probes visited any of these worlds.
Yes; IIRC early estimates of how dense Mars' atmosphere were about 100x the actual value, which is why Von Braun has them landing with a glider. Snow was a reasonable expectation, not bad at all considering the film predates Sputnik in 1957.
Snow on Mars? From Google: *Yes,* *it* *snows* *on* *Mars* , but it's different from snow on Earth in a few ways: • *Types* *of* *snow* : Mars has two types of snow: water ice and carbon dioxide, also known as dry ice. • *Where* *it* *snows* : Snow on Mars only occurs at the poles, under cloud cover, and at night. • *How* *it* *snows* : Water-ice snow sublimates, or turns into a gas, before it reaches the ground because of the cold temperatures and thin air. Dry-ice snow, however, does reach the ground. • *What* *it* *looks* *like* : Dry-ice snowflakes are cube-shaped and smaller than a human hair. • *How* *much* *it* *snows* : There's enough dry-ice snow to snowshoe across, but you'd need to go to a crater or cliffside to find enough snow to ski on. Scientists have used instruments on NASA spacecraft to detect snow on Mars, including the Mars Climate Sounder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a laser instrument on the Phoenix lander.
I remember being a Child of the 50s in a suburb of Chicago, watching this film on a local channel and hearing it called "Conquest of Spaced"! Some movies just can't seem to catch a break. I didn't remember that the otherwise all-white crew included Benson Fong, who found work as Charlie Chan's "number three son" before becoming a restauranteur.
Another excellent review, TUG. I endorse all your comments about the qualities and flaws of this film. In the mid-1960s when I was about 16 years old this film did a rerun locally on a weekday night, so the only way I could see it was with specific permission from my school, accompanied by my dad. I went with high anticipation, and loved it for its special effects, but was mightily disappointed by weaknesses in the plot and acting. Don't get me wrong, I loved its attempt at realism and did not expect to see BEMs. In that sense, it was still enthralling, but there were also missed opportunities. So, I agree that a remake might be acceptable but is highly unlikely. Another fond memory of a similar film made later is Robinson Crusoe on Mars (Byron Haskin), which tried hard to be up with the science too (also no BEMs). I recently obtained a remastered Blu-Ray of it (well worth a review). Again, very much an earnest film that remains 'of its time' that was about to be overtaken by events when NASA returned images of Mars with craters and NO canals. Again, a remake is out of the question. The Martian fills their niche very well now, and these films remain of historical and nostalgic value.
When you think about it, the title is either impossible given the de facto infiniteness of space. Or anyone who can hold even a tiny cubic meter could be said to have "conquered" space. ... Yes I live in a state where marijuana is legal, why do you ask?
This video does make me want to see this movie. Don't know if I necessarily want to own it, but a good Blu with special features could easily find its way into my collection. (Your comment also made me want to see EVENT HORIZON, which, amazingly enough, hasn't happened yet; needing to get the Shout Factory Blu.) I did a double feature of ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS and THE MARTIAN. Made the mistake of watching the Ridley Scott movie first; chronological order would have worked better, though I love both movies.
Speaking of movies about Mars, what about the TV adaptation of The Martian Chronicles? I remember it being pretty good for the time, but seems to have been totally forgotten these days.
@@TheUnapologeticGeek I live in Britain and you cant get it here (like so many things) so i bough a copy from the US and i have a multi region player and i still cant get it to play );
@@darrensmith6999 will a computer recognize it? If so you could always burn it into an MP4 or an AVI format. I couldn't find it anywhere in the UK so I had to resort to rather less legal methods of download to see it again, but of course that wouldn't be right 😮. I now have a copy at my disposal. It hasn't aged well I'm afraid.
Matt and Randle would just like to say...Go Wings! But also, Conquest of Space is definitely a slightly underrated, but probably not overly underrated 😉
My favourite movie about Mars is Alita: Battle Angel (part 2 if it should happen). But John Carter and The Martian are very good representations of the old Mars (John Carter) and the new Mars (The Martian). I'd love to see a movie based on Robert Heinlein's Red Planet or Podkayne of Mars.
Even though the effects are a little dated, I still find them enjoyable to watch, I love the Werner von Braun designs, does the plot was a little loose. You’re right about that the fact the commander goes nuts and becomes a religious fanatic really didn’t work for me, but there are other things in the film that I found enjoyable. As far as a remake, I know they’re not true remakes but the Martian, which I guess is a remake of Robinson Crusoe on Mars and mission to Mars are probably the closest thing.
The primary flaw with this film is that it endeavors to be thoughtful without the benefit of being particularly smart. I feel like that was the point you were trying to convey. As a film, it's not particularly fun or likeable, yet it is worth watching for its contribution to the genre. But as an excuse to check out more Chesley Bonestell awesomeness... Yes, please!
Favourite movie about Mars well that would have to be The Martian 2015. You mentioned sequels well one i would have loved to have seen was to "The Day the Earth Stood Still" were Klatou & Gort come back to Earth years later to see what progress humanity had made toward peace. Not the Rubbish we did get with Keanu Reeves in 2008 Oh dear !!!!!!
I remember seeing this on tv at a young enough age (7 or 8 years old - I'm not sure) to be completely enthralled by it. I miss those years. Saw it again recently, and found it hilariously bad. Still enjoyed it, though.
It's not a bad movie, however...a bit too religious for my taste. An interesting premise , but slow, an ambitious, flawed, all over the place film. Pretty good SFX for the era. Still a watchable "Atomic Age" sci-fi. Agreed a remake has potential. I would love to assist you in writing a remake. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Would a film like 'Sunshine' be an indirect re-make of this film, at least in sharing core ideas (I'm going from memory of a single viewing of that Danny Boyle film)? Was it a lack of promotion by Paramount that resulted in the weak box office, or did the film appear at the wrong time? Also, that new 'T.U.G.' logo near the very end is a great piece of work.
Good catch. I think Danny Boyle's Sunshine does have a lot in common with this, and I hadn't thought of that. As for why CoS underperformed, I think it was a combination of factors, but a lack of promotion was key. Also, George Pal didn't talk it up like he did most of his other movies, probably because his experience on it was so dreadful (allegedly). And I'll let my graphics guy (Raw & Unprepared) know you like his latest ending logo work. He hasn't done a lot in the last year, but he's been talking to me about making a few different generic ones that I can put on rotation instead of using the same two or three I always do. I hope to showcase some more in the near future!
It would be interesting to see the changes Paramount made that George Pal didn't like. Conquest of Space doesn't have the large stakes of War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide. That may have been one strike against it. It lacked a woman in a significant role, strike two. No aliens, strike three. In '50s Sci-Fi was generally considered kids stuff. It seems Paramount expecting a miracle. How have the 21st century mission to Mars movies done?
@@TheUnapologeticGeek "Ghosts of Mars" (2001), flopped. "The Last Days on Mars" (2013), a UK production, low budget, didn't break even. It seems to have a good premise.
I think it's too late to do a remake of a movie about an expedition to Mars. We're too close to seeing the real thing. Destination Moon came 19 years before Apollo 11, and at a time when most Americans couldn't imagine an actual moon landing. We can easily imagine the first Mars mission. We already have a pretty good idea about how it will be done. The hardware is already being built, and the first crewed mission probably isn't more than fifteen years away. (Elon Musk is saying seven, but he has a tendency to be too optimistic.)
Snow on Mars? From Google: *Yes,* *it* *snows* *on* *Mars* , but it's different from snow on Earth in a few ways: • *Types* *of* *snow* : Mars has two types of snow: water ice and carbon dioxide, also known as dry ice. • *Where* *it* *snows* : Snow on Mars only occurs at the poles, under cloud cover, and at night. • *How* *it* *snows* : Water-ice snow sublimates, or turns into a gas, before it reaches the ground because of the cold temperatures and thin air. Dry-ice snow, however, does reach the ground. • *What* *it* *looks* *like* : Dry-ice snowflakes are cube-shaped and smaller than a human hair. • *How* *much* *it* *snows* : There's enough dry-ice snow to snowshoe across, but you'd need to go to a crater or cliffside to find enough snow to ski on. Scientists have used instruments on NASA spacecraft to detect snow on Mars, including the Mars Climate Sounder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a laser instrument on the Phoenix lander.
I actually think the religious theme is the movies weakest aspect. So a man who has spent his whole life to go to the moon suddenly can't stand to go to Mars? Moon is good, Mars is blasfemous? He must have suffered a radiation overdose! The rediculous dialogs and convoluted comic relief momentd are further shots in the foot.
![Conquest Of Space 1955 Favz Part Six[LoFi]](/img/n.gif)
This channel is awesome for sci fi lovers but underrated one
As a child these films were my own personal heaven. I was never impressed with the hokey melodrama's that took place between the effects, but when there were rockets and new world landscapes and spacewalks, aliens etc my imagination went into overdrive. Pal's films came along before I was born but were prime fodder for the fledgling television services of the 50's and 60's, and coupled with Irwin Allens output they were magical times for a young boy, and left this one with a lifetime love of all things sci fi. Another great review of a classic piece of sci fi cinema. The legacy of these films are now commonplace in our entertainment today.
I liked Mission to Mars and Red Planet (both released in 2000). Of course, there's also Total Recall that's partially set on Mars. During the Fitfties Mars also was a convenient metaphor for communism ("the red planet").
I always thought this film was under appreciated. I discovered it during Sci-Fi week on the local afternoon movie prior to 2001. I think it is better than Destination Moon. It tried to make space drama without aliens or totally implausible science. And including a Japanese astronaut just 10 years after WWII (and 10 years before Star Trek's inclusivity) is also underappreciated even if the dialog makes extra sensitive 21st century viewers cringe. Yes, we some have the goofy dialog and the usual uneducated astronaut to whom everything must be explained (so we audience would know) but I can over look the occasional flaws. I am curious though, what changes did the studio impose that made Pal believe their ruined the movie?
Enjoyable video as always. You should cover some of the Eastern Bloc movies being made at the same time. They had real ambition and resources.. Ikarie XB1 would be the absolute best of the bunch but there are many good ones from Russia and other communist countries of the era. Best wishes
Favorite Mars movie: "John Carter".
Second favorite: the original "Total Recall"
Haven't seen "The Martian" yet.
Yes, I loved the John Carter movie too, though really wish it had been correctly titled as A Princess of Mars. If you have not seen the fan-compiled advertisement that was made to counter the abysmal marketing of JC, do look for it on UA-cam (as John Carter fan trailer 'Heritage'). It is perfect, and showcases what was great about the visual appeal of JC. Also a good read is John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood (on Kindle), which tells of that marketing disaster. I would have liked to see more of Burrough's Barsoom stories filmed, but that seems unlikely now.
Gonna have to go with 'The Angry Red Planet'! loved that flic as a kid! So much so I wrote a shameless rip-off of it for my 4rth grade creative writing assignment! (It was OK though... I changed the planet to Saturn to avoid copywrite issues!)
Regarding snow on Mars, this was filmed long before space probes showed the actual Martian environment. So snow was entirely plausible.
I kind of miss 1950s pre-exploration sci-fi, when authors could freely invent whatever conditions they wanted on the other planets' surface. Reality turned out to be a lot more boring than people expected, haha.
(Well, OK, the surface of Venus wouldn't exactly be boring... but you also wouldn't be around to appreciate it for long.)
Just saw a French short on TCM called "Voyage to the Sky" which was made in 1937. When the narrator comes to Mars, he talks about the vegetation changing the color of the ground. Later, he talks about how Saturn consists of lava much like Earth was billions of years before.
They definitely thought all that because this is decades before probes visited any of these worlds.
Yes; IIRC early estimates of how dense Mars' atmosphere were about 100x the actual value, which is why Von Braun has them landing with a glider. Snow was a reasonable expectation, not bad at all considering the film predates Sputnik in 1957.
Snow on Mars? From Google:
*Yes,* *it* *snows* *on* *Mars* , but it's different from snow on Earth in a few ways:
• *Types* *of* *snow* : Mars has two types of snow: water ice and carbon dioxide, also known as dry ice.
• *Where* *it* *snows* : Snow on Mars only occurs at the poles, under cloud cover, and at night.
• *How* *it* *snows* : Water-ice snow sublimates, or turns into a gas, before it reaches the ground because of the cold temperatures and thin air. Dry-ice snow, however, does reach the ground.
• *What* *it* *looks* *like* : Dry-ice snowflakes are cube-shaped and smaller than a human hair.
• *How* *much* *it* *snows* : There's enough dry-ice snow to snowshoe across, but you'd need to go to a crater or cliffside to find enough snow to ski on.
Scientists have used instruments on NASA spacecraft to detect snow on Mars, including the Mars Climate Sounder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a laser instrument on the Phoenix lander.
I always thought this movie was greatly underrated.
I remember being a Child of the 50s in a suburb of Chicago, watching this film on a local channel and hearing it called "Conquest of Spaced"! Some movies just can't seem to catch a break. I didn't remember that the otherwise all-white crew included Benson Fong, who found work as Charlie Chan's "number three son" before becoming a restauranteur.
Another excellent review, TUG. I endorse all your comments about the qualities and flaws of this film. In the mid-1960s when I was about 16 years old this film did a rerun locally on a weekday night, so the only way I could see it was with specific permission from my school, accompanied by my dad. I went with high anticipation, and loved it for its special effects, but was mightily disappointed by weaknesses in the plot and acting. Don't get me wrong, I loved its attempt at realism and did not expect to see BEMs. In that sense, it was still enthralling, but there were also missed opportunities. So, I agree that a remake might be acceptable but is highly unlikely.
Another fond memory of a similar film made later is Robinson Crusoe on Mars (Byron Haskin), which tried hard to be up with the science too (also no BEMs). I recently obtained a remastered Blu-Ray of it (well worth a review). Again, very much an earnest film that remains 'of its time' that was about to be overtaken by events when NASA returned images of Mars with craters and NO canals. Again, a remake is out of the question. The Martian fills their niche very well now, and these films remain of historical and nostalgic value.
This has always been my favorite movie, Thanks 👍👍👍👍
When you think about it, the title is either impossible given the de facto infiniteness of space. Or anyone who can hold even a tiny cubic meter could be said to have "conquered" space.
... Yes I live in a state where marijuana is legal, why do you ask?
😂
This video does make me want to see this movie. Don't know if I necessarily want to own it, but a good Blu with special features could easily find its way into my collection. (Your comment also made me want to see EVENT HORIZON, which, amazingly enough, hasn't happened yet; needing to get the Shout Factory Blu.)
I did a double feature of ROBINSON CRUSOE ON MARS and THE MARTIAN. Made the mistake of watching the Ridley Scott movie first; chronological order would have worked better, though I love both movies.
what about total recall??
I agree! Hollywood should remake movies that missed, not hits!
Speaking of movies about Mars, what about the TV adaptation of The Martian Chronicles? I remember it being pretty good for the time, but seems to have been totally forgotten these days.
I haven’t forgotten it. 😉
@@TheUnapologeticGeek I live in Britain and you cant get it here (like so many
things) so i bough a copy from the US and i have a multi region player and i still cant get it to play );
@@darrensmith6999 😢
@@darrensmith6999 will a computer recognize it? If so you could always burn it into an MP4 or an AVI format. I couldn't find it anywhere in the UK so I had to resort to rather less legal methods of download to see it again, but of course that wouldn't be right 😮. I now have a copy at my disposal. It hasn't aged well I'm afraid.
@@Keefymonoped Yes im going to have to try somthing, sending it back simply was not an option. ):
I'm pretty sure that a number of the external special effects were re-used in a movie called "Destination Space".
Matt and Randle would just like to say...Go Wings!
But also, Conquest of Space is definitely a slightly underrated, but probably not overly underrated 😉
I used this movie to make a music edit!
Yet another favorite film of my kidhood! Thank you!
My favourite movie about Mars is Alita: Battle Angel (part 2 if it should happen). But John Carter and The Martian are very good representations of the old Mars (John Carter) and the new Mars (The Martian). I'd love to see a movie based on Robert Heinlein's Red Planet or Podkayne of Mars.
I just started buying 50s sci fi/monster movies! As B movie effects...their way more fun to see than todays movies!
great video like always.
Even though the effects are a little dated, I still find them enjoyable to watch, I love the Werner von Braun designs, does the plot was a little loose. You’re right about that the fact the commander goes nuts and becomes a religious fanatic really didn’t work for me, but there are other things in the film that I found enjoyable. As far as a remake, I know they’re not true remakes but the Martian, which I guess is a remake of Robinson Crusoe on Mars and mission to Mars are probably the closest thing.
The primary flaw with this film is that it endeavors to be thoughtful without the benefit
of being particularly smart. I feel like that was the point you were trying to convey.
As a film, it's not particularly fun or likeable, yet it is worth watching for its contribution to the genre.
But as an excuse to check out more Chesley Bonestell awesomeness... Yes, please!
Well said. “It endeavors to be thoughtful without the benefit of being particularly smart” is exactly correct.
Another sign of this being an early SF movie: food pills!
And my perferred movie about Mars is the Martian.
My favorite Mars movie: _Watchmen._
Favourite movie about Mars well that would have to be The Martian 2015.
You mentioned sequels well one i would have loved to have seen was to "The Day the Earth Stood Still" were Klatou & Gort come back to Earth years later to see what progress humanity had made toward peace.
Not the Rubbish we did get with Keanu Reeves in 2008 Oh dear !!!!!!
The 2008 Day the Earth Stood Still is one of the worst remakes of all time.
@@TheUnapologeticGeek Definitely !
Well, if you want a remake of “Conquest of Space”, I might put the short film, “Red’s Dream” (1987) before it.
the story of the earlier drafts is even wilder!
I remember seeing this on tv at a young enough age (7 or 8 years old - I'm not sure) to be completely enthralled by it. I miss those years. Saw it again recently, and found it hilariously bad. Still enjoyed it, though.
It's not a bad movie, however...a bit too religious for my taste. An interesting premise , but slow, an ambitious, flawed, all over the place film. Pretty good SFX for the era. Still a watchable "Atomic Age" sci-fi. Agreed a remake has potential. I would love to assist you in writing a remake. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Huh, I've never seen this one!
Would a film like 'Sunshine' be an indirect re-make of this film, at least in sharing core ideas (I'm going from memory of a single viewing of that Danny Boyle film)? Was it a lack of promotion by Paramount that resulted in the weak box office, or did the film appear at the wrong time? Also, that new 'T.U.G.' logo near the very end is a great piece of work.
Good catch. I think Danny Boyle's Sunshine does have a lot in common with this, and I hadn't thought of that. As for why CoS underperformed, I think it was a combination of factors, but a lack of promotion was key. Also, George Pal didn't talk it up like he did most of his other movies, probably because his experience on it was so dreadful (allegedly).
And I'll let my graphics guy (Raw & Unprepared) know you like his latest ending logo work. He hasn't done a lot in the last year, but he's been talking to me about making a few different generic ones that I can put on rotation instead of using the same two or three I always do. I hope to showcase some more in the near future!
I'm not against remakes but I don't like that we'll get remake instead of works that have yet to be adapted.
Fair point.
It would be interesting to see the changes Paramount made that George Pal didn't like. Conquest of Space doesn't have the large stakes of War of the Worlds and When Worlds Collide. That may have been one strike against it. It lacked a woman in a significant role, strike two. No aliens, strike three. In '50s Sci-Fi was generally considered kids stuff. It seems Paramount expecting a miracle. How have the 21st century mission to Mars movies done?
I know The Martian made over half a billion but John Carter was a box office disaster. I honestly can’t think of any other 21st Century Mars movies.
@@TheUnapologeticGeek "Ghosts of Mars" (2001), flopped. "The Last Days on Mars" (2013), a UK production, low budget, didn't break even. It seems to have a good premise.
@@rsacchi100 Ghosts of Mars is one of my wife’s guilty pleasures.
I think it's too late to do a remake of a movie about an expedition to Mars. We're too close to seeing the real thing. Destination Moon came 19 years before Apollo 11, and at a time when most Americans couldn't imagine an actual moon landing. We can easily imagine the first Mars mission. We already have a pretty good idea about how it will be done. The hardware is already being built, and the first crewed mission probably isn't more than fifteen years away. (Elon Musk is saying seven, but he has a tendency to be too optimistic.)
There is kind of a remake Called gravity George Clooney is in that movie
my grandparents saw the moon landing on tv back in 1969.
perhaps this generation will see the landing on mars…
Hope so!
snow on mars,
🤭🤭
Snow on Mars? From Google:
*Yes,* *it* *snows* *on* *Mars* , but it's different from snow on Earth in a few ways:
• *Types* *of* *snow* : Mars has two types of snow: water ice and carbon dioxide, also known as dry ice.
• *Where* *it* *snows* : Snow on Mars only occurs at the poles, under cloud cover, and at night.
• *How* *it* *snows* : Water-ice snow sublimates, or turns into a gas, before it reaches the ground because of the cold temperatures and thin air. Dry-ice snow, however, does reach the ground.
• *What* *it* *looks* *like* : Dry-ice snowflakes are cube-shaped and smaller than a human hair.
• *How* *much* *it* *snows* : There's enough dry-ice snow to snowshoe across, but you'd need to go to a crater or cliffside to find enough snow to ski on.
Scientists have used instruments on NASA spacecraft to detect snow on Mars, including the Mars Climate Sounder on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and a laser instrument on the Phoenix lander.
I actually think the religious theme is the movies weakest aspect. So a man who has spent his whole life to go to the moon suddenly can't stand to go to Mars? Moon is good, Mars is blasfemous? He must have suffered a radiation overdose! The rediculous dialogs and convoluted comic relief momentd are further shots in the foot.
It was already remade, shamelessly copied by Stanley Kubrick in 2001.