“Isn’t there any place on this planet that isn’t a death trap?”
In 1975 a manned space craft was sent to orbit Mars for observation. Aboard were Steve (Roger Gentry), "Doc" (Vic McGee), Charlie (Jerry Rannow) and Dorothy (Eve Bernhardt). As they approach the planet and are establishing an orbit something collides with the space craft. To prevent a crash they are forced to jettison the main stage of the ship.
Once they land the astronauts put on their space suits and venture out on to the surface of the planet. Their primary mission, at the moment is to find the main stage of the space ship. Without it they will not survive. They have enough air for four days so it is imperative that they not waste any time. Following a signal from the ship the team paddles down a Martian canal. When a thick fog comes up they are unaware of strange snake-like creatures in the water. The team manages to get away from the creatures and end up in an underground canal. They are then forced to leave the canal and wander through a cave system. The caves end at an underground lava flow. Avoiding the lava they finally find an exit to the caves.
The group, now walking over desert dunes, loses the signal for awhile. Almost out of air and hope they once again find the signal only to find that it is coming from a relic of an old space probe that was sent to Mars two years previous. Steve realizes that the probe still has liquid oxygen in its tanks. They use what is left of the oxygen to replenish their suit tanks. When a sandstorm comes up they huddle in the cold under the probe. After the sandstorm passes they find that it partially uncovered a road made of golden stones.
They follow the stones and find the ruins of an ancient civilization. Inside they find a breathable atmosphere. They remove their space suits and explore the ruins. Inside the city they meet the wizard (John Carradine).
“Horrors of the Red Planet” AKA “The Wizard of Mars” was released in 1965 and was directed by David L. Hewitt. OK so the alternate title of the movie is “The Wizard of Mars” and to get there the four astronauts Dorothy, The Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion and the Scarecrow had to follow the yellow brick road to get to the Red city to speak to the Wizard head. Sounds like an original story to me.
Although a lot happens, nothing really happens. Other than walking and paddling there’s not much in the way of action. Even dialogue is short and mundane. Except for the wizard who has quite a lengthy speech. Granted the characters have a lot of experiences like the raft ride, the underground caves, the lava flows, the sandstorm, the, yes very lame, water creatures and all the other stuff on their trek to the abandoned city. What’s missing is emotion, reaction, inflection, any real feeling. Basically acting. The acting is blah; therefore what is happening to the actors is blah. All they really do is say the words. Not that the words are great, they’re not. Carradine is fine. He always is. He does more acting by just talking than all four of the astronauts do during the entire movie.
What the movie does have is visuals. The textures, colors and hues of the caves and dunes are quite interesting. The variations in the lighting and subtle shadowing enhance the film’s feeling and mood. The visuals are a character itself. Austin McKinney’s talent at cinematography was the best part of the movie. You could actually turn off the sound and enjoy the movie, and pretty much follow along, just by watching it. Then just turn the sound back on when you get to Carradine’s soliloquy.