Sci-Fi Film Fiesta, The Swingin' 60s - Volume 2 Far Out Battles Without and Within by Chris Christopoulos - HTML preview

BUT

5. “what would the world want with weapons if every country was rich and

prosperous?”

A case of the development of new technology not in itself necessarily being evil, but rather how it is applied or the uses it is put to and for what purpose.

“You're not such a perfect Marxist”

One of the Russian scientists has in the meantime been ordered to test fly the saucer and has consequently paid with his life. His death and subsequent burial raises some interesting questions about what unites human beings as opposed to what divides them. No matter where people live they generally mourn and revere the dead and engage in rituals that suggest some belief in or hope for an afterlife that goes beyond the merely material and rational view of existence.

The Russian scientist’s death also ensures that Fred and Anna will be working together seeing that Fred’s flight engineer earlier had an accident that resulted in a broken wrist.

Peters however is not in favour of such close cooperation and believes that “we're not here to share knowledge with them, we're here to get a monopoly, if possible a monopoly that would make our military position invincible.” Still, the situation will have to dictate what is to happen as the saucer’s controls “are too much for a one-handed man” and the Russians don’t have a pilot. Besides, no-one else is qualified to attempt the take-off.

It is also decided that in the interests of unity in this Russian-American project guns are not longer necessary.” However, the new found feeling of optimism and cooperation is somewhat dampened by Sam’s warning that “Red patrols in the area have been very heavy this morning more so than usual” and that “they've become aware of a kind of a suppressed excitement in the village” resulting in their suspicions being aroused.

“You keep wanting to blow each other up”

It seems that the suspicions of the Russian and American leaders have remained somewat intact as they have each decided to carry concealed weapons. Dubovsky has meanwhile put his weapon to good use by holding the American team at gunpoint with the intention of getting Fred to fly the saucer to Moscow or he will kill them all.

After an act of defiance on the part of Anna and a Russian scientist, Zagorsky and a subsequent shoot out, Dubovsky is eventually disarmed and restrained. The question remains as to what to do with Dubovsky and the Russians if they can’t be held as prisoners due to it being impractical and it can’t be risked letting them get the information about the saucer back to Moscow. The notion of loyalty to one’s own side could as implied by Peters dictate eliminating ther Russians.

While they are arguing over what to do, they notice Sam and his compatriots silently watching them. Sam provides the ominous answer to the question of who is to gain if they decide to exterminate one another: “I'll tell you who's to gain - the Red Chinese, that's who.”

“We all need each other”

Peters and Sam venture outside and spot a group of Chinese PLA soldiers radioing for reinforcements stationed in the nearby village. What the Russians and the Americans can agree on is that the saucer even if it can’t be destroyed, can’t be left in the hands of the Red Chinese. The only option then is to fly the saucer out of the country. But how, with so much still to learn about its functions? Suddenly, like magic, Anna whips out a piece of paper containing crucial calculations needed to get them airborne. All that is needed is 30 minutes to run through the figures.

As to be expected Cold War calculations suddenly intervene with Dubovski insisting that the saucer be flown to Moscow while Peters is equally determined that it be flown “to the nearest American air base, Formosa.” Once again, what can be agreed is that both sides are equally determined not to allow the Red Chinese to get their hands on the saucer. With that in mind, Peters allows his Russian counterpart to arm himself as the Russians and Americans prepare to exit the church to hold off the PLA soldiers. Meanwhile Anna, Fred and Jack Garson enter the saucer to work on getting it airborne.

“Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes”

The first assault by the Red Chinese soldiers is successfully repelled but the defenders are aware that “they know our position and strength” and that “it won't be so easy next time.” With grenades running low, Zagorsky volunteers to go back to the church to get more but is shot in the process. He may have not been as much use there, but the world has now lost a brilliant and talented scientist. Fred then runs the same gauntlet as Zagorsky to bring the supply of grenades to the defenders.

With the Chinese coming at them from both the front and right flanks, Fred returns to the saucer under covering fire while Sam and Ephram make their way to the right flank to cover that approach thereby hopefully enabling them to fall back to the church when the signal is given that the saucer is ready. The plan does in fact prove to be overly optimistic as the overwhelming number of attacking troops proves to be too much for the few defenders and they are all killed in a heroic Alamo-style defence. The one-time implacable enemies, Dubovsky and Peters die fighting side-by-side, both now on the same side as their respective countries had done in a previous war against a common enemy.

“This ship is running away with us”

The silencing of the gunfire outside informs the others in the saucer about what has taken place. There is nothing for it but to get the saucer operational and leave with alacrity. The intention is to “reset for horizontal flight” but the saucer apparently has other ideas with the result that they have “taken off like a rocket and straight up.” Fred is unable to level off as the saucer has been placed on automatic pilot and is taking its occupants away with it.

With no response from the controls, it has taken just a few moments for the saucer to break free of the earth’s gravity and travel thousands of miles. But how? Anna suggests that they are approaching the speed of light. It also appears that the automatic pilot is locked on to a preset course and that the saucer is being drawn to some magnetic attraction, perhaps a planet or “maybe even some distant star many light years beyond our solar system.” By some happy coincidence, their course takes them right by the moon, then past Mars, just avoiding collision with an angry asteroid and finally heading straight for a strange-looking Saturn that appears to be like a psychedelic lozenge surrounded by an inflated inner-tube.

The occupants of the saucer come to the rather disconcerting realisation that they are heading directly toward Saturn and certain doom. Manual control might be achieved but only by entering the correct sequence of circuit combinations. The problem is that there are an infinite variety of combinations with the ones they do know. Who knows how long that would take and how long they have to do it? Anna hits on the idea of eliminating some of the permutations mathematically (whatever that means, but it sounds good) and in the meantime running as many combinations as possible.

With time running out and the saucer heading on a dead collision course with Saturn, Fred offers the cheery news that “the weight of Saturn's atmospheres are so immense that long before we hit anything solid this ship will be crushed and compressed to the size of a baseball.” Gee, thanks for that Fred! Oh yes, and on top of that, time has just about run out, you bastard!

Just in the nick of time, Anna pulls yet another one out of a hat by reducing the problem to four circuits except that she doesn’t know which sequence to enter out of the 24. Oh, come on woman, get your act together! With tension mounting, Anna rattles off the sequences one-by-one as each is entered by one-hand Jack. I’m just about ready to pee myself. They eventually manage to restore manual control and sling-shot around Saturn and find themselves on a course back to earth.

When the saucer hits earth’s atmosphere, it is violently buffeted and is subjected to intense heat from the friction experienced during re-entry. Control of the saucer is eventually regained and it is decided that they would “like to try for a landing at Geneva.” There they will apparently be able to breathe the invigorating air of neutrality. Too add to the aura of over-optimism and naivety, Fred declares that “we'll have to meet them face-to-face one day” and that “all the nations of this earth better be ready to stand together.”

Image by Chatgpt

Points of Interest

In relation to Fred’s final comment above, would this happen before or after he returns to the US only to be likely tried for treason or when Anna returns to Moscow most likely to face execution by firing squad or sent to a Siberian prison? By “they” does Fred mean the alien species that created the saucer or the Red Chinese? And by “stand together” does he mean unity for the purpose of peace or war? Would the two super powers be content to just sit back and allow such a monumental discovery as the alien saucer to remain the hands of an ostensibly neutral country? Well, in the film there appears to be acceptance of the idea of a nation feeling justified to carry out incursions into another sovereign country if it suits the requirements of national interest. Modern history is replete with such examples both large and small of nations deciding to both covertly and overtly violate the territorial integrity of other nations on the grounds of national security. So what is poor old Geneva going to do should a superpower decide that it is in its national interest to get its hands on advanced alien technology that would give it an overwhelming advantage? Or at least prevent anyone else possessing it?

This was the final film for actor Dan Duryea who featured in various noir films of the 1940s and 1950s often playing crooked characters who nevertheless seemed to possess redeeming qualities.

In 1954 Jerry Fairbanks was reported as preparing his first theatrical motion picture, titled Project Saucer that was to be filmed in widescreen and color.

In relation to the film’s screenplay, Fairbanks was informed by Assistant Secretary of Defense in response to enquiries made that any references to the CIA should be deleted. There were also objections made as to the accuracy of the the flying saucer investigation as well as to the use of the Air Force in an air drop inside Chinese air space.

With changes made to the screenplay, the film was re-titled The Bamboo Saucer. The film was re-released in 1969 under the title Collision Course with a reduced edited runtime of 90 minutes.

The experimental X-109 aircraft was actually Air Force stock footage of a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter.

Some viewers might raise the point that the film feels more like a throw-back to sci-fi films of the 1950s and compare it unfavourably to such films as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Perhaps, but at least the film has an engaging plot with a good mixture of entertainment, action, pacing, drama and some humour. It doesn’t seem to be laying claim to being a ‘work of art’ that’s in search of a good story to tell and which could result in audiences nodding off or losing the will to live! And yes, the film is peppered with stereotypical elements in terms of gender and Cold War national and ethnic cliches, but so what? It is easy enough to treat it as a snap shot of a particular time in history and consider whether or not we really have made that much progress in almost 60 years. After all, we’ve yet to “meet them face-to-face!”

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Mission Mars (1968)

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A rather plodding, dull and amateurish sci-fi film that eventually is redeemed by an

alien encounter.

Directed by Nick Webster

Screenplay by Mike St. Clair

Story by Aubrey Wisberg

Produced by Everett Rosenthal

Cinematography: Cliff Poland

Edited by Paul Jordon

Music by Berge Kalajian, Gus Pardalis, The Forum Quorum Production company: Red Ram Productions[1][2] Distributed by Allied Artists Pictures

Running time: 90 minutes

Cast

Darren McGavin: Col. Mike Blaiswick

Nick Adams: Nick Grant

George De Vries: Duncan

Michael DeBeausset: Cliff Lawson

Heather Hewitt: Edith Blaiswick

Shirley Parker: Alice Grant

Elsewhere I have alluded (perhaps somewhat unfairly) to the fact that compared to the US, the British seemed to have the knack of constructing good quality films (including science fiction films) despite budgetary constraints and questionable plot lines. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for many sci-films that have come out of the US and the film, Mission Mars is just one example of a film that is on the whole rather dull, pedestrian and plainly amateurish.

When the film was made in the 1967- 68, Apollo 8 was set to herald humanity’s first breakaway from its earthly bonds on a journey to orbit another heavenly body. This mission provided the human race with a view of our beautiful but fragile planet suspended in the void of space and offered us with an glimpse of our place in the scheme of things. From that mission, we then set our sights for mankind’s first physical presence on the surface of another world – our moon.

As a 12 year old at the time, I envisioned human beings establishing bases or colonies on the moon sometime in the 1970s. From this, I believed that human beings would probably set foot on Mars sometime during the 1980s. How wrong I was! Nearly 60 years later, we are possibly about to somewhat replicate Apollo 8s achievement and many in the space industry are (over?) confidently anticipating that we will have a human (American) presence on the moon’s surface by 2027. That is if the Chinese don’t get there first in the new ‘race’ to the moon. From this it is projected that we will use the moon as a springboard to having a human presence on Mars and of course – beyond. As to when? Well, pick a number, any number! Let’s now go back to the late 60s to the film, Mission Mars as the United States prepares to launch three astronauts on a mission to land on the planet, Mars….

We are at first confronted with titled credits to the accompaniment of a poppy sixties song “No More Tears” that appears to have little to do with the film’s subject matter and is as far away from any kind of science fiction theme as one could get.

We are then presented with the usual feast of stock footage of Cape Kennedy with a sense of mounting tension in the form of a countdown of time to the moment when the United States launches three astronauts on a mission to land on Mars in a rocket so imaginatively called, ‘M-1.”. Lots of chronometers, rockets, control rooms and personnel. Even at this early point the film has the feel of being a throwback to the previous decade!

The mission crew consists of Colonel Mike Blaiswick, navigator Duncan and civilian geologist, Nick Grant.

“You could never tell what might happen up there”

A sense of foreboding surrounding the upcoming mission comes in the form of Mike having a restless night before the flight and his hot wife, Edith having frightening nightmares.

Mike and his wife spend what little time remains before the mission gallivanting on the beach in what is really a very corny scene full of equally corny dialogue. It makes one wonder why Mike would want to leave this planet and with his beautiful wife on such a beautiful day and trade the sand on the beach for the Ferris oxide dust of Mars! Man, that dust is much worse than sand, it gets everywhere, in every nook and cranny!

Meanwhile, Nick is having issues with his girlfriend Alice whose eyelashes appear to be quite lethal. They bat away nineteen to the dozen as she earbashes him over the phone about his always chasing after one more Adrenalin hit and that there’ll “never be an end of it, there'll always be that one more place where nobody's ever been before” till one day he just won't come back. She’s afraid that it is destroying their relationship. Nick promises that this mission is his last adventure……..

So, despite the heroism and courage of those who go boldly where no man has gone before, spare a thought for those loved ones who are left behind to bravely and stoically carry on with their lives always wondering and worrying.

It’s not long until lift-off and at mission control we see the mission director, Cliff Lawson who to our surprise sports a very hairy face that would not be out of place amongst Russian and British royalty of the 19th and early 20th centuries! Where’s the buzz cut?

After the crew have undergone their medical checks, conversation moves on to the matter of a previous flight made by Russian cosmonauts that unaccountably disappeared and was never heard from again. Of course, in keeping with Cold War suspicions it’s thought that the Russians are keeping quiet about what might have happened.

As the astronauts enter the capsule atop the rocket which is yes, technically a “missile,” (or bomb) a media commentator tries to capture the enormity of the enterprise:

“…...astronauts Duncan and Grant are now inside the cone-shaped capsule resting atop the missile. The spacecraft towers above the field waiting the final seconds of the countdown. This will mark the beginning of a journey that will last approximately nine months. Hundreds at Mission Control and millions across the nation will wait patiently for words of man's first steps on Mars.

In1958 the United States announced its plans to start a program aimed at manned orbital flight. Now having accomplished that feat man is reaching past the stars to the distant planet Mars!”

Image by Chatgpt

Someone needs to inform the commentator that the stars actually exist far beyond Mars!

Anyhow, apart from earthly personal domestic issues and a bit of rattling and shaking, the three men successfully launch into space. I’m not even going to attempt to comment on the interior of their craft except to say, talk about low-budget throwbacks!

“Nothing can go wrong, can it?

I mean nothing is going to go wrong, is it?”

“No of course not”

Mission Control reports that orbit is achieved before they switch over to manual control. The crew report that the space module is operating smoothly and that they are able to walk about freely. Well, it seems that the problem of weightlessness has been overcome by means of some kind of artificial gravity which will put less strain on the film’s budget.

The crew soon tuck into a sad-looking first meal of omelette after the usual demonstration of meal preparation using dehydrated crap and adding some water. At least Nick had the sense to bring along some real food.

Next we proceed on to a tedious sequence involving rendezvous and docking with the supply ship. Why not just send the supply ship ahead to Mars and have it land on the planet’s surface instead of heaving about the extra mass?

As the crew continue their flight to their next stop Mars, we see flight director Cliff waddling like a jolly teddy bear past a poolside smorgasbord of sixties bikini-clad babes. Perhaps his thoughts are turning to a possible controlled landing manoeuvre and planting a flag on one of these heavenly bodies! Anyway, Cliff plunks himself down at the table where Edith and Alice are seated. Edith is hoeing away at a disgusting culinary conglomeration consisting of pickles, chocolate ice cream and mangoes. Yeah, Ok, she’s pregnant, we get it. Alice’s eyelashes are beating away in time to the mounting outrage she feels over the possibility that Nick could be nominated for the position of director. This little meeting then ends on the question of whether anything could go wrong with the mission. Yes indeed, some viewers at this point might be losing the will to live!

Oh, God, with 115 days having elapsed we’re only at the half-way mark of the voyage. Oh, but guess what? We’re about to be treated to a litany of fun facts in the form of “a series of in mission briefing sessions” about Mars – at least what was known about the planet at the time. At this point, being cooped up in such confined quarters with these jokers with the prospect of spending time with them on Mars and having to spend 9 more months returning to earth with them, I would surely begin to think of myself as the angel of death and act accordingly.

Thank God! Something has just happened. The crew discover the bodies of two of the Russian cosmonauts floating in space, perhaps buried in space. They are likely from the launch the Soviets made four months earlier. They radio back to Earth to have Cliff notify the Soviet embassy. Notice how the dead cosmonauts look very much like little plastic figures one might get from breakfast serial packets. Notice also how radio transmissions are instantaneous with no interval between sending and receiving messages. Another problem magically solved!

Later on Mike does the old ‘Hey, you OK?’ thing when he notices that Nick seems to be bothered by something. It appears that his mind is filled with concern about Alice and the fact that he’s a mission specialist and not a test pilot. Being oh so helpful, Mike offers the manly advice of, “we all have to make our decisions.” Thanks mate!

What else happened? Oh yeah, the ship passed through a meteor shower because that’s what all spaceships do in sci-fi films and why should we be any different in this one?

Thank the heavens, M-1 is finally about to land on the surface of Mars. Somewhat disturbingly, Mars looks a lot like a spoiled and rotting variety of fruit. During the landing procedure, the supply ship goes into an out of control wibble-wobble and will not end up landing on the spot its supposed to. There’ll be time to worry about that later as M-1 descends to the planet’s surface and makes a successful landing.

“I don't like it. It may be hostile. W#e just don't know!”

The M-1 spacecraft lands safely on the surface of Mars, however the supply capsule is located farther away than intended. The astronauts descend to the surface using their ship’s elevator – just count how many times they end up using the damn thing as they make a multitude entries and exits during their brief stay! The first human foot-step on the Martian surface hardly amounts to a tumultuous affair or apt statement fitting the occasion considering the momentous nature of the feat. But back on earth it is triumphantly announced that “Mission Control has officially announced that the Mars 1 has landed on the planet Mars!” Yay! Anyway, off the trio go toward the supply capsule which lies about 2 or 3 miles away from the M-1, leaving a trail of inflated balloons to mark their passage so that they can easily find their way back.

At one point in their journey, Nick stops to take a rock sample and as he proceeds to catch up with his crew mates, he lets out a Star Trek Chechov scream when he is abruptly confronted by the the frozen body of the third Russian cosmonaut. It appears that his suit’s heating unit had failed. At least the popsicle cosmonaut’s space suit makes more sense than the outfits worn by the American astronauts! Don’t get me started on that. While Nick takes the body back to the M-1 space capsule, Mike and Duncan continue on to the supply capsule.

When they reach the site of the errant supply capsule they discover that there is a hole burned its hull. The supplies also appear to have been deliberately scattered about – but by whom or what? Understandably feeling quite apprehensive, Mike and Duncan gather whatever supplies they can salvage and head back to the M-1 capsule. To their shock they discover that the balloon markers have been removed. Again, by who or what?

Any questions they may have had in regards to this strange occurrence may have just been answered with the unexpected appearance of an oddly shaped metallic creature. Looking like some kind of abstract sculpture, it sports a red glowing eye and appendages ending with disks whose purpose appears to be the capture of the sun’s rays. The two astronauts are momentarily discombobulated by the creature’s emitting of a pulsating blinding strobe-light and heat. In good old John Wayne fashion, Mike shoots the creature in the eye causing it to melt and evaporate. In many sci-films it seems to be mandatory to carry fire arms aboard their space ships. Whatever happened to ‘we come in peace?’ With their space diapers full, the two men beat a hasty retreat back to their ship. At last we now have a sequence of events that are at least half-way interesting. The creature they encountered is also quite effective as an alien presence and even in its most static moments it manages to exudce a kind of disconcerting menace.

Back on earth at ground control theories abound as to the nature of the creature the M-1 crew encountered. The creatures are given the name of “Polarites” and are probably robots controlled by an external intelligence. It is determined that the alien robot is relaying images and sound to a master control located possibly on another planet from which it receives orders. It is concluded that whatever intelligence lies behind it is “hostile and dangerous.” The only course of action is to scrap the mission and return to earth.

From inside the M-1, the crew observe an alien sphere that has appeared close to their craft. It resembles a giant golf ball as if some cosmic giant had knocked it into a planetary sand trap. What else is there to do but investigate this strange phenomenon? And so young happy-go-lucky Duncan, descends that damn elevator and approaches the sphere with his recording and analysis instruments. Unfortunately, his curiosity and bravery is repaid by being shockingly and horribly burned when the sphere opens up and he is then dragged inside by an invisible force. There is nothing his crew mates can do to save him. It is obvious that it’s time to get out of Dodge but when Mike and Nick try to take off, the sphere emits a force field which prevents their spacecraft from lifting off the Martian surface.