ROCKETSHIP X-M

 

The extras on Film Masters' DESTINATION MOON/FLIGHT TO MARS special edition Blu-ray make numerous mentions of ROCKETSHIP X-M (1950). This was another "First flight into space" movie that was made mainly to take advantage of the production publicity of DESTINATION MOON. (As a matter of fact, ROCKETSHIP X-M made it into theaters just before DESTINATION MOON.) 

ROCKETSHIP X-M, DESTINATION MOON, and FLIGHT TO MARS form a loose trilogy of films with the same basic storyline. Of the three, DESTINATION MOON is the most technically proficient, FLIGHT TO MARS is the most adventurous, and ROCKETSHIP X-M is by far the one with the darker mood. 

The crew of ROCKETSHIP X-M consists of Lloyd Bridges, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr., and Hugh O'Brian, with soon-to-be science fiction veteran Morris Ankrum as the point man for the journey, keeping track of things back on Earth. The explorers are planning to go to the Moon (X-M stands for "Expedition Moon"), but mistakes and an accident along the way somehow propel the crew all the way to Mars. Mission leader Emery decides that they might as well land and take advantage of a situation that any scientist would dream of. The dream becomes a nightmare, however, as the crew is attacked by the remnants of a Martian civilization that has devolved into savagery. 

I had never seen ROCKETSHIP X-M --I had always assumed it was nothing more than a cheap knockoff of DESTINATION MOON. Technically, that's what it is, but it doesn't feel cheap, or look as if it was quickly put together. Co-prodcuer/co-writer/director Kurt Neumann tries to keep things low-key for the first part of the film. Until the rocket ship lands on Mars at about the 50 minute mark, most of the story takes place in the cramped crew cabin, and a sense of claustrophobia hangs heavy. 

When the crew is on Mars, the movie switches from black & white to what appears to me to be a sepia-tinted picture (at least that's what it looked to me on the version of this film shown on Tubi). The Mars sequences were filmed at remote locations in Southern California, and here the Red Planet is a barren, desolate place that displays no sense of wonder. The crew find ruins that are radioactive, and they determine that the Martians wiped themselves out through an atomic war. They also find what is left of the Martians, a group of caveman-like creatures who are decidedly not more advanced than the people of Earth. 

The sequence of the crew fighting off the Martians is the best thing in the film. The pitiful natives are for the most part kept at a distance, a shadowy but deadly presence. The sequence shows that the crew are way over their heads, which, considering how they screwed up the mission, doesn't surprise the viewer. It's notable to watch an older science fiction film in which the aliens are not advanced in intelligence and/or technology. (The "Everything on this planet is deadly" element would be taken to a higher level in THE ANGRY RED PLANET and many other similar movies.) 

The movie's ending extends the dark tone, and makes ROCKETSHIP X-M stick out even more. There's even a hint of the climax of THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT in that Morris Ankrum, just like Brian Donlevy's no-nonsense scientist, is determined to start planning a new mission, despite the setbacks of the first. 

ROCKETSHIP X-M was much more interesting than I thought it would be. It shows that there's a very dangerous side to the wonders and optimism of space exploration.....or, to put it another way, it's a sci-fi movie in which the entire crew can be called Red Shirts. 

FLIGHT TO MARS On Blu-ray From Film Masters

 

Film Masters' recent Blu-ray release of DESTINATION MOON contains a bonus disc featuring the 1951 science fiction movie FLIGHT TO MARS. A very low-budget follow up to DESTINATION MOON, FLIGHT TO MARS is as different from its inspiration as you can get....but it also establishes the template for many other sci-fi flicks for the rest of the Fifties. 

FLIGHT TO MARS starts out in a DESTINATION MOON type of mode, as a crew of four scientists (Marguerite Chapman, Arthur Franz, John Litel, Richard Gaines) and a reporter (Cameron Mitchell) plan a rocket trip to the Red Planet. Once the crew crash lands on Mars, the story goes off on a very different course, as the party from Earth discover that the planet is inhabited by a race of humanoids that live in advanced underground cities. (Despite their "advanced" civilization, the Martians have not been able to develop space travel, nor can they directly contact Earth, even though they are able to listen to our radio and TV broadcasts.) The Martians agree to help the Earth crew repair their rocket ship, but the leaders of the Red Planet really want to steal the technology for their own nefarious purposes. 

The technical accuracy of DESTINATION MOON gets pushed to the side fairly quickly in FLIGHT TO MARS. One reason for that is the latter film's low budget, which doesn't enable the story's ideas to fully develop. We don't get a proper idea of the scope or size of the Martian society, but the viewer is shown that all the Martian women appear to look and dress like Las Vegas showgirls, while the Martian men, mostly middle-aged and elderly, wear robes and come off as weak or duplicitous. The attributes of the Martian men and women in this film would appear again and again in depictions of futuristic or alien societies throughout the next decade of science fiction cinema. In some ways, FLIGHT TO MARS was more influential than DESTINATION MOON. (Actors Arthur Franz and Morris Ankrum, who plays the Martian leader, would show up in plenty of sci-fi movies for the rest of their careers.) 

FLIGHT TO MARS also injects a very old-fashioned story element with a love triangle between Cameron Mitchell, Marguerite Chapman, and Arthur Franz. This element just bogs down the main plot (and it was also a major factor in Fritz Lang's WOMAN IN THE MOON). Overall, FLIGHT TO MARS is a diverting slice of sci-fi pulp, despite its being very quaint in a lot of areas. 

Film Masters' restored scan of FLIGHT TO MARS looks great, even though the movie uses the Cinecolor process, which (fittingly for this film) is dominated by the color red. The movie looks so good on this Blu-ray that it's hard to believe it was produced by Monogram (and directed by Lesley Selander, who ironically helmed a film a wrote about last weekend, THE FATAL WITNESS). 

The FLIGHT TO MARS Blu-ray also contains a number of extras, such as a restored original trailer for the film, and a fine new audio commentary by Justin Humphreys. Humphreys gives out all the info needed on the production, and while he points out the movie's various flaws, he also appreciates what it was able to do despite its lack of budget.  

Also on the Blu-ray are two featurettes. One, by Ballyhoo Pictures, discusses the development of the "Trip to Space" movie genre, and how important WOMAN IN THE MOON was to it. The other program looks at the life and early career of producer Walter Mirisch, and the movies that he was involved in during the early 1950s, such as FLIGHT TO MARS. 

I had never seen FLIGHT TO MARS, and while it certainly isn't on the same level as DESTINATION MOON, it can't help but bring a smile to the face of any classic horror/sci-fi fan. Film Masters has done its usual magnificent job in restoring FLIGHT TO MARS and giving it the deluxe home video treatment. 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE

 

FOREIGN EXCHANGE is the second of two American TV network movies that were filmed in England and based on novels written by Hammer Films veteran Jimmy Sangster. As with its predecessor, THE SPY KILLER, FOREIGN EXCHANGE was directed by Roy Ward Baker, with many other Hammer veterans filling roles behind the camera. This movie was first broadcast on American TV in 1970.

The main cast of THE SPY KILLER returns for this entry, with Robert Horton in the lead role as John Smith, Jill St. John as his girlfriend, and Sebastian Cabot as Max, a shady British Intelligence operative. Once again John Smith reluctantly re-enters the world of espionage when Max threatens to deport his girlfriend. Smith gets involved in a plot to undermine a Soviet spy network, which requires him to travel to Russia. A number of convoluted double-dealings ensue, driving Smith to attempt to outwit both the British and the Soviets. 

I wasn't all that impressed with THE SPY KILLER (which I covered a few weeks ago), and FOREIGN EXCHANGE is even more lackluster. There's very little action, and the plot is confusing at times. (Needless to say, no one on this production got anywhere close to actually filming in Russia.) One big drawback is Robert Horton, an actor who in his performances always seemed to be annoyed by something. He's really annoyed here--his John Smith is a cynical guy with a chip on his shoulder who is constantly moaning about the situation he is in. If the lead character of a story is disaffected by what is going on, then the viewer will more than likely be disaffected watching what he is doing. Jill St. John has even less to do here than in THE SPY KILLER, and the only supporting player of note is Eric Pohlman, who plays a Russian colonel. 

I haven't read the Jimmy Sangster novels upon which THE SPY KILLER and FOREIGN EXCHANGE are based, and I doubt that what was on the written page was any more interesting than what wound up on screen. Sangster was trying to make John Smith as anti-007 as possible, but he overdid it, with the result that John Smith's "adventures" are as dull and dreary as he is. Considering what the state of American television was in the late 1960s--early 1970s, I'm surprised some network executive didn't demand that these movies be juiced up in some way. 

If you are interested in Jimmy Sangster's overall work as a screenwriter, especially outside Hammer, these two TV movies are available on YouTube, but I wouldn't place them among Sangster's best efforts. 

THE FATAL WITNESS

 

THE FATAL WITNESS is a 1945 B movie from Republic Pictures that is fairly run-of-the-mill for the most part. Its climax, however, is so unexpected that the movie winds up being more memorable than one would expect. 

The movie, set in England, stars the elegant Universal Scream Queen Evelyn Ankers as Priscilla Ames, the ward of the curmudgeonly Lady Ferguson (Barbara Everest). The old woman is found strangled in her stately manor, and suspicion immediately falls on her dissolute nephew John Bedford (George Leigh). Bedford seemingly has an airtight alibi--he was in jail the night Lady Ferguson was killed, after causing a disturbance in a pub. The investigator on the case, William Trent (Richard Fraser), is convinced that Bedford is guilty, and he goes to great trouble to prove it--while also finding time to romance Priscilla. 

THE FATAL WITNESS isn't so much a whodunit, or even a how-he-done-it, as it is a will-he-get-caught? The murderer and how he was able to perform the deed is very clearly shown to the audience, and George Leigh makes John Bedford a very slimy and obnoxious individual. Inspector Trent's final attempt to get Bedford to reveal himself leads to an incident that throws the story into a totally different direction. What makes this twist more striking is that nothing in the earlier parts of the film even hints at such a resolution. I'm not going to spoil the ending, since it is the movie's high point--but I will say that it reminds one of various episodes from the many 1960s suspense anthology American network TV shows. (The plot of THE FATAL WITNESS was actually based on an episode of the radio anthology show SUSPENSE.) 

It is rather appropriate that Evelyn Ankers gets top billing in this film, as THE FATAL WITNESS feels in many ways like a Universal movie made during the same period. The story appears to be set in contemporary times, but there's no mention of World War II, and the England it portrays is rather generic in tone. These are attributes that showed up in plenty of Universal's B pictures. Director Lesley Selander (a prolific low-budget veteran) even throws in a foggy sequence set on the London docks that could have come from a Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes picture. One thing THE FATAL WITNESS lacks compared to Universal is that studio's stable of notable supporting character actors, although long-time Universal stalwart Harry Cording does show up as a pub owner. 

If you happen to be a fan of the Universal chillers of the 1940s, or you are someone looking for a B movie with a twist that won't take up too much of your time, I highly recommend THE FATAL WITNESS. 

THE SPY KILLER

 

The SANGSTER DIRECTS HAMMER box set from Severin has encouraged me to seek out some of Jimmy Sangster's American television work. THE SPY KILLER is a 1969 TV movie, first broadcast on the ABC Network. Jimmy Sangster produced the movie, and he wrote the script, which was based on his novel. 

One thing that stands out about THE SPY KILLER is that it is a Hammer film in almost everything but name only. The movie was filmed in England, and one of the locations was good old Black Park. It was directed by Roy Ward Baker, a name well-known to English Gothic fans. The behind-the-camera credits list has several names very familiar to Hammer fanatics, such as Arthur Grant, Scott MacGregor, Bert Batt, Neil Binney, and Phillip Martell. One of Hammer's best performers, Barbara Shelley, even shows up (though very briefly). 

Other than the Hammer connections, there isn't all that much to THE SPY KILLER. Robert Horton (WAGON TRAIN, THE GREEN SLIME) plays an American private eye based in London named John Smith (hard to believe Sangster couldn't have come up with a better moniker for the guy). Smith used to work for British Intelligence, but he got fed up with the life of a spy and quit. Smith is thrust back into the espionage game when he comes upon a notebook containing material wanted by the British and the Chinese. 

THE SPY KILLER is more John Le Carre than Ian Fleming, although I'd doubt Le Carre would appreciate the association. The movie runs about 75 minutes (it was made for a 90-minute TV slot), but it feels longer. It is a very talky story, and it very much resembles the early 1950s B movies made by Hammer, right down to the underwhelming American leading man. 

The London locations do make THE SPY KILLER stick out from the usual American TV fare of the period, but there isn't much done with them. (A later sequence does make good use of an abandoned RAF airfield.) The story is one in which nearly every character is lying or setting up others, and Robert Horton isn't much of an appealing lead--his John Smith is sardonic and sarcastic (and he doesn't seem to be much of an agent either). 

Sebastian Cabot plays the "M" equivalent (who is more devious than the supposed bad guys), and Jill St. John is Smith's girlfriend, the obligatory attractive young woman. As mentioned before, Barbara Shelley is in this as well, but unfortunately she contributes nothing more than a glorified cameo. 

Barbara Shelley in THE SPY KILLER

Jimmy Sangster also produced and wrote another TV movie focusing on John Smith, called FOREIGN EXCHANGE. This also featured most of the cast & crew of THE SPY KILLER. (I intend to view that as well.) I assume that Sangster was hoping ABC might pick up the activities of John Smith as a regular series, but it's easy to see why they didn't. John Smith (at least in the first TV movie) isn't all that charismatic a person, and Sangster's low-key dialogue-heavy portrayal of the spy world doesn't make for exciting TV viewing. THE SPY KILLER can be accessed on YouTube, and its most notable aspect is that it is a Hammer non-horror that officially isn't. 

JOHNNY GUITAR

 

Believe it or not, I had never seen JOHNNY GUITAR (1954) until I recently purchased the special edition DVD of it (at a major discount of course) recently. This is one of the biggest cult movies of all time, a title that has been discussed and analyzed in dozens and dozens of books and articles. 

Plenty of film geeks go gaga over JOHNNY GUITAR. It has been called an expressionist Western, an existentialist Western, a feminist Western, a queer Western, a baroque Western, a neurotic Western, and a statement on the Hollywood blacklist. Many film buffs have read all sorts of symbols and meanings into it, and that's probably why I never went out of my way to view it--whenever the so-called intellectuals go all in on any type of filmed entertainment, I immediately get suspicious. 

It is a striking and unusual production, that's for sure....but is it a great Western?? For all its stylized theatrics, the movie didn't affect me the way it has its legions of fans. I would call it interesting, but not brilliant. There's so much emotional angst in this film that your blood pressure goes up just by watching it. Nearly every scene involves people arguing, confronting, or challenging one another. 

The title character of JOHNNY GUITAR is not played by Joan Crawford, by the way. Sterling Hayden is Johnny, a vagabond and former gunslinger who shows up at a saloon run by the commanding Vienna (Crawford). Vienna knows that the land she owns lies next to a soon-to-be-built railroad line, and she's planning to make the most out of the situation. The citizens of the local town don't want the railroad coming through, and they also don't like Vienna. One woman in particular, Emma Small (Mercedes McCambridge) hates and is jealous of Vienna with a seething passion. The townsfolk link Vienna with The Dancin' Kid (Scott Brady), her former flame and a presumed bandit. Johnny Guitar is also a former flame of Vienna's, and all the heightened attitudes wind up boiling over. 

JOHNNY GUITAR was directed by Nicholas Ray, a man who is revered by a number of film buffs. I'm not one of them, and that's another reason why I was doubtful of this movie's reputation. Ray takes a basic Western situation and inflates it to a point where it becomes almost camp. The interior of Vienna's saloon resembles the lair of a James Bond villain, and Crawford's wardrobe seems more attuned to a fashion magazine layout instead of the requirements of the Old West. 

Mercedes McCambridge gives one of the most over-the-top performances in any major 1950's American film that I've ever seen. Her overwhelming hatred of Crawford's Vienna borders on the absurd--one expects a scene that gets to the heart of the reasons for her feelings, but it doesn't happen. It wouldn't be much of a surprise to know that McCambridge and Crawford didn't get along. 

Crawford didn't get along with Sterling Hayden either, and the two of them don't have much chemistry in the movie. Despite being the title character Hayden acts as if he would rather be somewhere else (I'm sure he realized Crawford and McCambridge were going to get all the attention). The movie does have a fine supporting cast, with such Western veterans as Ward Bond, Ernest Borgnine, John Carradine, Royal Dano, Paul Fix, and Denver Pyle. 

One notable aspect of the film is the Trucolor cinematography by Harry Stradling. Another is how it reminded me of various Euro Westerns made over a decade later. Sergio Leone was apparently influenced by JOHNNY GUITAR.....if Leone had actually directed it, that would have really been something. 

JOHNNY GUITAR is a weird, strange Western that has way more style than substance. Its overwrought nature makes it stand out, but if you're the type of person that just wants to watch good mainstream entertainment instead of getting bogged down in film theories, you may not be that impressed with it. It is worth watching just to see what all the fuss over it was about. 

MODEL FOR MURDER

 

MODEL FOR MURDER is a 1959 low-budget British film that reminds one of the many B pictures made by Hammer Films in the early 1950s. This movie features several performers associated with Hammer: Hazel Court (THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN), and Michael Gough, George Benson, and Barbara Archer, who all appeared in HORROR OF DRACULA. 

MODEL FOR MURDER also has a somewhat dull American male lead in Keith Andes, a factor that was a constant in many low-budget British would-be noirs and crime stories in the 1950s. Andes plays David Martens, a merchant seaman who has come to England to clear up some issues involving his late brother. Andes becomes involved with Sally (Hazel Court), who happens to work in the design department at the same couture house that his brother's ex-girlfriend models for. The ex-girlfriend is killed during a jewel robbery at the modeling establishment, and Martens is framed for the crimes. Sally helps Martens to clear his name. 

The best aspect of MODEL FOR MURDER is its cast. The movie itself lasts about 70 minutes, and it's not all that thrilling. The viewer is shown what happens during the robbery/murder, which means the only suspenseful element is how Martens is going to get out of his predicament. It doesn't help that Keith Andes takes a very low-key approach. Instead of a man desperate to prove his innocence, he comes off as someone who is mildly annoyed by the situation. Why the appealing Hazel Court (who looks better than the models that she works alongside) immediately falls for Martens and does everything she can to help him is the real mystery. 

Michael Gough does what he can to enliven things, as he gives another of his slimy, sardonic portrayals as the man who runs the couture house. (Could you imagine a sitcom revolving around a modeling house with Gough as the unctuous owner??) Patricia Jessel (CITY OF THE DEAD) is a grande dame fashion designer who acts very suspicious, but winds up being just a red herring. 

Terry Bishop directed MODEL FOR MURDER. Bishop did a lot of TV work during the same period, and this film feels very much like an hour long episode of a series. (There's even some "cute" music on the soundtrack during what is supposed to be some lighthearted moments.) The entire movie has a very perfunctory feel to it, and it wastes a promising cast. If you want to know how a crime story set in a modeling house should really be presented, go check out Mario Bava's BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.