One of the earliest films of the space craze of the 1950s, it is also one of the trendsetters and one that stands out from the many films that copied it.  Though far from the top of the genre, it does deserve some classic status, for the permanence of some of its images, for being one of the earliest space films, and for some of its themes that go beyond the simplistic space monster/adventure movies that followed.

     The standard band of heroes set out to do the impossible-- pilot a rocketship from the Earth to the moon.  Naturally, accidents happen, the ship goes wildly off course with the crew stunned into unconsciousness-- miraculously, the ship arrives at Mars!

     They land, and find a desolate Mars, barbarian Martians, and a larger story that deals with Martian history and gives warnings about our own.  Events become even more grim, and our noble band of adventurers find themselves up against the wall at every turn....Don't expect a rosy happy ending here (though the ending has to be viewed in a larger scale).

     Perhaps the most notable blending of film noir with a rocketship story, this black-and-white film shows budget limitations, but rises above with a strong cast and a lofty script.  It doesn't center on scientific plausibility, like DESTINATION MOON, but straight drama and, in some dimensions, religious dissertation.  It stands on its own on those elements, and remains an enjoyable and important mile- stone in the wave of 50s sci-fi that was to come.

     Lloyd Bridges (father of Jeff & Beau, and co-star of the Hot Shots! movies, known as well as popularizing the phrase "By now my lungs were aching for air--!") stars.

     New SFX footage was added by film guru Wade Williams in 1978--this is the version currently available on video in the US.  This film has been released to DVD, but it sure would have been nice if the original version had been included as an alternate track, just to see what audiences had seen back in 1950.

3 rocketships (out of five).