The Angry Red Planet

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The Angry Red Planet
Original film poster
Directed by	Ib Melchior
Produced by	Sidney W. Pink Norman Maurer
Written by	Sidney W. Pink Ib Melchior
Starring	Gerald Mohr Naura Hayden Jack Kruschen Les Tremayne
Music by	Paul Dunlap
Cinematography	Stanley Cortez
Editing by	Ivan J. Hoffman
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date(s)	November 23, 1959
Running time	83 minutes
Country
Language	English
Budget	US$ 190,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Angry Red Planet (aka Invasion of Mars and Journey to Planet Four) is a 1959 science fiction film starring Gerald Mohr and directed by Ib Melchior. The director was given only 10 days to shoot the movie and a budget of $200,000 with which to make it.

The movie was made with a CineMagic technique which was applied for all of the scenes on the surface of Mars. This was an attempt to make the hand drawn animations appear as real as the live action footage. Although this process was largely unsuccessful producer Norman Maurer would attempt the same technique again in The Three Stooges in Orbit

[edit] Plot

The first manned flight to Mars the rocketship MR-1, returns to Earth after being thought lost in space. Attempts to raise the crew via radio fail, so a decision is made to land the spacecraft under remote control.

Two survivors are found on board, Dr. Iris Ryan (Naura Hayden) and Colonel Tom O'Bannion (Gerald Mohr), the latter's arm covered with a strange alien growth. Racing against time to find a cure for his condition, Dr. Ryan recalls the mission's fateful journey.

After landing on Mars, the well-armed crew set out to explore the planet's red-tinted surface. They find carnivorous plants, and are attacked at every turn by horrific creatures, including a huge amoeba with a rotating eye. Battling for their lives, the survivors make it back to the ship and ultimately receive a warning from the Martians never to return.

[edit] Cast

Actor	Role
Gerald Mohr	Col. Thomas O'Bannion
Naura Hayden	Dr. Iris 'Irish' Ryan
Les Tremayne	Prof. Theodore Gettell
Jack Kruschen	CWO Sam Jacobs
Paul Hahn	Maj. Gen. George Treegar
J. Edward McKinley	Prof. Paul Weiner
Tom Daly	Dr. Frank Gordon
Don Lamond	TV Newscaster/Martian Voice
Edward Innes	Brig. Gen. Alan Prescott
Gordon Barnes	Maj. Lyman Ross
Jack Haddock	Lt. Col. Davis
Brandy Bryan	Nurse Hayes
Joan Fitzpatrick	Nurse Dixon
Duke Norton	Dr. Muller
William Remick	Dr. Hawley
Fred Ross	Air Force News Photographer Still Man
David De Haven	Air Force News Photographer Still Man
Arline Hunter	Joan
Alean Hamilton	Joan's Friend
Richard Baxter	1st Monitor (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	Security Man at Briefing (uncredited)
Ted Cassidy	Martian voice (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Curtis	Martian (uncredited)
Alan Prescott	Brigadier General (uncredited)
Billy Snyder	(uncredited)