Reviews (1)

Excellent combat photography, courtesy of the U.S. Navy

As fiction, this is third rate. Sterling Hayden made his usual fairly flat performance, which suited the part of a Navy fighter squadron commander. His permanent scowl--or perhaps sneer--suited the role of the tough, battle-hardened flying ace trying to whip a new, untested squadron into an effective fighting force with tough love and good tactics. Richard Carlson, as his executive officer, was effective as the second-in-command who was too buddy buddy with the pilots, and thus often lost sight of the real mission: to kill Japs and win the war.

The plot is as old as fiction, and the movie is obviously low budget.

A great deal of the splendid photography came from the excellent World War II documentary film, "The Fighting Lady" (not to be confused with the Van Johnson fiction movie, "Men of the Fighting Lady"), which was filmed during actual combat on the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise--the original "Big E"--whose combat record was very impressive. The shots of carrier deck action, landings, wing camera shots of enemies being shot down and ground installations being bombarded and strafed were beautiful and dramatic, and recorded actual combat with real people being killed.

The movie would certainly rate five stars, were it simply based on the photography of the action. But...

But, the problems that made it a source of derision, for me at least, were the ludicrous consequences of trying to patch together a film composed of file footage from other sources. For example, a squadron is landing F4U Corsairs aboard the flattop, (reputedly the U.S.S. Princeton, although much of the footage was actually of the U.S.S. Enterprise, which I recognized) when one member of the very same squadron made a rough landing in an AD; an Korean War era aircraft which was not even in service during the 1944 period to which the movie reputedly referred.

Or, the squadron commander was flying along in his F4U, while clearly visible though the mock-up cockpit was his squadron--flying stock footage of F6F Grumman "Hellcats." Or when the squadron, which is referred to as the "Rosebuds" (the Navy used designations like VF-13, rather than names), is attacking a ground target in Corsairs, an excellent fighter with inverted gull wings, when suddenly, for no discernible reason, one or more of them are transformed by editing and splicing in the excellent documentary footage into an SB2C Curtis "Helldiver" dive bomber. Or when they are supposedly taking off in the pre-dawn darkness, the unmistakable flaps of an SBD Douglas "Dauntless" dive bomber are shown belching exhaust on takeoff.

Other faults abound: Navy pilots bunking in tiers of bunks in a large room, rather than two or three man staterooms, or ready rooms always shown bathed in red light, even when night flying was not the next action (red light was used to protect night vision.)

The movie was ruined for me, so far as the story was concerned, by such faux pas. It is almost as bad as the stock Pearl Harbor attack photos which replay over and over, in which the supposed Japanese attackers are shown flying the revered SBD Dauntlesses. Whoever made the first sequence of that footage should be shot for that particular mis-characterization of a famous old airplane.

But the movie is worth the price for the photography alone. Forget the story, or laugh derisively along with me.

Joe Pierre, USN (Ret)

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Description

Hopalong Rides Again (1937) to lead 1,000 head of cattle through dangerous rustler country. To ingratiate himself with Hoppy and his friends, "Professor" Hepburn pretends he's an esteemed "bone hunter." Determined to stop Bar-20's plans for the upcoming cattle drive, the Professor dynamites a cliff, crushing the chuck wagon carrying Hoppy. "Heart of Arizona" (1938) - Two-faced cowpoke Twister steals a herd of cattle and pins the blame on Hoppy's unfortunate friend, Lucky. But Hoppy and Windy aren't buying Twister's tale and set out to clear their buddy's name. Guns are blazin' on Belle Starr's ranch in the Heart of Arizona for a final showdown between the good guys and the bad guys! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A Fan
I have some of the other Hoppy dvd's and I enjoy them. If this is any like the others I'm sure you will enjoy them As Well........ ... Read more

Description

Four men and a girl crash-land on the red planet Mars after suffering severe damage in a meteor storm enroute. Finding an advanced and seemingly benevolent civilization living in underground cities, help is given in the repair of the rocketship--however, a sinister plot is discovered that could mean the annihilation of Earth by an invading Martian army. Tense, terrifying action on a planet of forbidden dangers. Produced by Academy Award-winning producer Walter Mirisch in other-worldly hues of two-color Cinecolor, "Flight to Mars" is '50s nostalgia at its imaginative best and is a must for science fiction and adventure lovers. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Bad Original Print
I collect 1950s era Sci-Fi and I have been replacing my VHS versions with DVDs. Unfortunately, I need to keep my VHS version for this movie because the print that Image Entertainment made this from was in such poor shape. The VHS version by UAV Entertainment (The Wade Williams Collection) is MUCH better. Hopefully, UAV will come out with a DVD version soon.

Great movie -- bad transfer.
This is yet another great SciFi classic that I first saw as a kid way back in the mid 20th century. I've seen it since on TV and VHS and I was very excited when I heard it was to be realeased on DVD. That excitement was soon dampened when I viewed this DVD. The original image used for transfer is absolutely horrible. There is fading, graining, and many splices that make the film jump and in some spots causes choppy dialog - and those are the minor faults. Almost immediatly after the film begins there appears a very distracting brown smuge directly in the middle of the screen. A very anoying blemish that changes shape and contorts for nearly a third of the movie.
Unfortunately, this is the only DVD copy of this film available so I whole-heartedly recommend it as a buy for collectors. Most of the movie looks pretty good, but the defaults really make it a dissapointment. Too bad they couldn't find a better print to copy from. Guess I'll have to keep my VHS edition as a back-up.

Not a bad Fifties science fiction film, but rather boring
"Flight to Mars" is not really a bad 1950s science fiction film, it just happens to be a rather boring film with what is probably the most abrupt ending in the genre's history. It is not that the script is so awful (there are philosophical discussions on whether each corpuscle is an entire universe) or that the acting is bad (it is actual decent for this sort of movie). But the film just does not seem to click. Maybe it is because a half-century later we have seen every bit of this plot in a dozen other films. "Flight to Mars" clearly divides into two parts. The first focuses on the flight to Mars and is fairly scientific in its approach to the proceedings (somewhat reminiscent of Herge's classic two-part comic book of Tintin going to the Moon, but not even half as god).. The second, once the crew arrives on Mars, turns into a sort of Flash Gordon-type space opera (with specific effects on about the same level).

The first rocket of exploration launched by the United States decides to bypass the moon and head straight for Mars (the reasoning for this curious choice is clearly cinematic; we know there is nothing on the moon in 1951 but who knows what we might find on Mars). The crew for this monumental expedition consists of Dr. Jim Barker (Arthur Franz), who created the rocket, his assistant Carol Stafford (Virginia Huston), a pair of older scientists, Dr. Lane (John Litel) and Professor Jackson (Richard Gaines), and a war reporter, Steve Abbott (Cameron Mitchell). At first I was wondering why these were letting too older guys go on this dangerous mission and I thought it might be because they were old and wise, but it turns out to be because this way only Jim and Steve join Carol in the film's love triangle.

Once they arrive on Mars they discover a complex underground civilization. There are delights to be seen and offers of help from the ruling council, but it turns out to be a sham. The Martians want to use the rocket to get off their dying planet and colonize earth. But that is okay. The Martians might want to take over the earth but Jim gets them back: he teaches the natives how to play bridge ("They will never forgive you," warns one of the professors). Meanwhile, Steve is interested in Carol, but Carol has been pining for Jim for three years. Jim has been too busy being a scientist to notice Carol, but he falls for local gal Alita once they get on Mars. When Carol finally adds up the score she dissolves into tears while Steve spends an hour playing solitaire waiting for her to wise up. Amazingly enough when the rocket was sabotaged and they were all going to die in space or on Mars Carol never shed a tear.

"Flight to Mars" is directed by Lesley Selander, who primarily made Westerns and directed eight other films in 1951. The film is made in color, which matters little except for the red costumes of the Martian's ruling council, which are kind of neat looking. Made during the Cold War there is an inclination to see an appropriate sub-text to "Flight to Mars," especially with those red outfits, but that seems to be a bit of a reach in this case. Again, this film ultimately reminds me more of a Flash Gordon serial than anything else. Besides, it proves once again that not even an advanced civilization on a distant planet can stand up to a small group of Americans with a plan and a strong right hook.

Good movie Bad transfer
This is a fun piece of cheese from the time when not a lot was known about space or space travel. Well acted, just plain enjoyable for those of us who love our 50's sci-fi. Now the down side. The source material for the transfer is pretty poor. Image usually does a great job on their DVD's and perhaps the print used was the best available, after all this movie is over 50 years old. No matter, a movie about a trip to Mars which is inhabited by beautiful women and coniving men cant be all bad. And watch out for those meteors.

Flawed print can¿t dampen fun of 1950s SF camp classic
Fans of cheesy 1950s space operas will no doubt be pleased that this is out on DVD, although unfortunately the quality of the source print leaves a bit to be desired. Flight to Mars was rushed out by Monogram to capitalize on the success of Destination Moon, and really has no grounding in serious science fiction. Not yet famous and powerful, producer Walter Mirisch (Magnificent Seven, In the Heat of the Night) was still making Bomba the Jungle Boy movies, scripter Arthur Strawn had penned Karloff's The Black Room and a handful of potboilers, while director Lesley Selander (Vampire's Ghost, Catman of Paris) and associate producer/editor Richard Heermance cranked out mostly lotsa cheap westerns before and after Flight to Mars, everyone's sole SF credit. Genre fans will appreciate the presence of Cameron Mitchell (Gorilla at Large, Nightmare in Wax) as glib "newspaperman" Steve Abbott, Arthur Franz (Invaders from Mars, Monster on the Campus, Atomic Submarine) as bland, pipe-smoking Dr. Barker, and John Litel (perhaps most recognizable as Henry Aldrich's perpetually exasperated father) as Dr. Lane. Ubiquitous genre icon Morris Ankrum gets probably his meatiest SF role as Martian leader Ikron (he looks quite ludicrous in his 'Captain Marvel' costume and cape), while Virginia Huston and Marguerite Chapman fill out the parts of brainy lady scientist (pining for the oblivious Dr. Barker) and brainy Martian babe Alita, respectively. Apparently they could only afford one set of space suits (for the Martians) so everyone just wears bomber jackets and aviator's caps on the takeoff and spaceflight. All the requisite elements of cheap 50s space epics are here: the threatening (animated) meteor shower; patronizing, sexist dialogue; technical inaccuracies (e.g. the Martian surface is covered with snow; no zero-G effect in-flight); quaintly obvious miniatures and model work; pseudophilosophical discussions that go nowhere; and of course the whirlwind love quadrangle of Mitchell, Huston, Franz, and Chapman. Somehow they survive a point-blank crash into a Martian mountain without injury (!), and of course [spoiler alert] the "friendly" Martians are really plotting against Earth and plan to use the repaired ship to attack us. Mitchell makes his play for Huston as Franz and Chapman get hot and heavy, the Earth people forge a secret plan (with Alita) to escape, and all is saved in a rather hasty and abrupt conclusion. While Flight to Mars gets a little talky at times (it's really not a hysterical knee-slapper on the order of Queen of Outer Space or Missile to the Moon) it will nonetheless appeal to any fan of campy low-budget space flicks such as Cat-Women of the Moon, Rocketship X-M, Project Moon Base (highly, highly recommended!!), Fire Maidens of Outer Space, etc. Serious SF aficionados beware.
This is another in Image's Wade Williams Collection and while probably the best print to be had suffers in comparison to most of its peers. There is light to medium speckling, spotting, and sporadic lining throughout (noticeably heavier around a couple of reel changes), although some stretches of the film are reasonably clean. There is also a very small but noticeable flickering emulsion 'ding' at the lower center of the frame that comes and goes through nearly the entire movie. More annoying are a half-dozen or so jump-cuts scattered throughout the film; a couple show up at reel changes, and several are clustered in a climactic dialogue scene. Ouch! Purists who whined about the quality of Image's Destination Moon DVD will be similarly distressed by this release. That said, the brightness, contrast, and detail are fine; resolution is not razor-sharp but quite acceptable; and the bargain-basement Cinecolor looks as good as it probably ever did: heavy on the blue-greens and oranges in the palette, but well saturated, with reasonably accurate fleshtones. Not a stellar print, but a crisp, clean transfer; no doubt an improvement over any VHS version, and probably the best we'll see for the forseeable future. (Apparently Warner Bros. owns the old Monogram and Allied Artists catalogs and is sitting tight on them. And who knows if they even have a better print at this point?) The disc also includes two approximately 25-minute episodes of an early-80s Santa Monica, CA cable TV show, hosted by Scarlet Street contributor David Del Valle, with guest Cameron Mitchell. The interview is light in tone but informative and wide-ranging, covering Flight to Mars, Gorilla at Large, Death of a Salesman, Nightmare in Wax, the six (!) films Mitchell made for Mario Bava, and numerous other topics. The only downside is that the video quality on these segments is poor, like a mid-grade videotape (apparently the hi-def masters were lost). Still a nice extra, especially for Cameron Mitchell fans. A very-good-to-excellent-quality, lightly speckled trailer (with the same fluttering emulsion ding!) for Flight to Mars and five 'bonus' trailers for other Wade Williams titles are included. The photo gallery promised on the box was nowhere to be found on my copy. With the flaws in the feature source print, the unfortunately mediocre picture quality of the interview segments, and missing photo gallery, objectively would I have to give the disc three stars, but this is still an essential (four-star) buy for fans of low-budget 1950s SF or Cameron Mitchell. ... Read more

Description

Cassidy of Bar 20 - Hopalong and his sidekick Lucky find themselves facing trumped-up charges and wind up assigned to the ranch of chief malefactor Allison to work off the sentence. A hair-raising jailbreak and an exciting gun duel ensue during Hoppy's attempt to bring Allison to justice. "Partners of the Plains" - Jealousy rears its green head when ranch foreman Hoppy becomes the target of the boyfriend of the English girl who owns the property. In cahoots with one of Hoppy's old enemies, the English villain lures Hoppy to the path of a blown-up dam, followed by a raging prairie fire! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

"great for all ~ young and old ~ Hoppy you're our hero"
Paramount Pictures came up with a fine screenplay from Norman Houston based on a novel by Clarence E. Mulford "Me An' Shorty", released with a new title "Cassidy of Bar 20". This 1938 film is just as fresh today with action, rustling and Texas gunmen. Only one man can tame this small army of gunmen ~ our man from the Bar 20...Cassidy. Director Lesley Selander takes full advantage with his cast of players William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Russell Hayden (Lucky Jenkins), Frank Darien (Pappy), Nora Lane (Nora Blake), Robert Fiske (Clay Allison), Margaret Marquis (Mary Dillon), John Elliott (Tom Dillon) and Edward Cassidy (Sheriff Hawley). Hoppy stands up to Clay Allison putting an end to the marauders.

With the "Partners of the Plains" another Paramount release in 1938, screenplay by Harrison Jacobs based on "The Man From Bar-20" (Clarence E. Mulford) with the guiding hand of director Lesley Selander and the watchful eyes of Harry Sherman give our fine cast of William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy), Russell Hayden (Lucky Jenkins), Harvey Clark (Baldy Morton), Gwen Gaze (Lorna Drake), Hilda Plowright (Aunt Martha) and Al Hill (Doc Galer). Revenge is the main theme, mixed with get even with the man who sent him to the penitentiary ~ who happens to be our hero Hoppy. A familiar pattern of action and adventure takes the audience into raging fires, but Hoppy takes matters into his own hands ~ with the help of the wranglers from the Bar 20.

William Boyd was my hero, this collection of two films are perfect, clear and give me hope for the future. Our youth should have such a hero to look up to today. Must mention the fact that I still miss one of my all-time-favorite sidekicks though, George "Gabby" Hayes, you're durn tootin'! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

My Hero
Not only did Clayton Moore try to live up to his role as the Lone Ranger, so did I. Thank God I had role models like this when I was growing up. What a different country this would be if kids still tried to emulate the silver screen cowboys of yesteryear. As for the movie, it has everything. Rich color, beautiful scenery, some of the best fight scenes ever put on film, and a subtext about the evils of racism. Put aside your modern world cynicism and just enjoy this movie and every other film you can put your hands on about this great American hero.

The End of the Run!
Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels established the definitive Lone Ranger and Tonto characterization for all ages. They started in 1949 and had a successful TV series running for many years ending sometime after the mid 1950's. John Hart's Lone Ranger was a filler when Clayton went into a hiatus from the series. The TV series was capped by the "Lone Ranger" movie in 1957, which epitomized what a Lone Ranger cinematic presentation should be, unequalled in production design and grandiose in presentation. However, "The Lone Ranger and the City of Gold" is a lesson on how not to follow-up a successful movie with a sequel, as this pales in comparison. This is like a TV movie transposed to the big scren. But this film is significant for it signalled the end of the Moore-Silverheels film rendition of these western heroes. And about time too. This movie shows both actors getting old as the wrinkles of age are markedly obvious in this excellent VCI refurbishing of the film. The colors and sharpness are outstanding. That is the main reason why this must be part of one's DVD collection. This is labelled as a Region 1 DVD but appears to be a Region 0 disc as I was able to open it up in my Region 3 player. Thank heavens for that. Now all other Lone Rangers fans anywhere in the world can truly enjoy this one. This is why I rate it 4 stars.

Who was that masked man?
The Lone Ranger and Tonto ride to the rescue when a gang of hooded-raiders spreads murder and terror searching for a legendary treasure on Indian land. As a nostalgic treat, this Western movie is perfect for those who remember those thrilling days of yesteryear. Clayton Moore's portrayal of the Lone Ranger is part of childhood memories for many loyal fans. Jay Silverheels will be forever identified as "his faithful Indian companion, Tonto." Amidst a plethora of cereal commercials, The Lone Ranger and Tonto chased the bad guys right off our B&W TV screens back in the baby-boomer '50s. This is the second of two feature length films produced after the TV series ended first-run episodes in 1956. The color photography enhances the excitement of larger-than-life heroes. The script and other production values are Grade B, at best, but, who cares? When The Lone Ranger, on his fiery horse, Silver, rides over the horizon outlaws are out of luck. The Lone Ranger's distinctive manner of dress (red neckerchief, white hat, and blue jump suit) identifies him as a real American hero. The trademark black mask, silver bullets, and gleaming six-guns effectively round out the mysterious and heroic image. As an interesting aside, the movie makes some thoughtful observations of the racial injustice suffered by Native Americans. As usual, good triumphs over evil, and traditional values are preserved. This is a great way to introduce today's high tech kids to the legned of The Lone Ranger. Simple pleasures are the best. Enjoy the ride, right down to the final "Heigh-Yo, Silver, away!" ;-)

A Great Lone Ranger Movie!
This Lone Ranger movie is action-packed from the beginning until the end, and it's even in color, too! This was the last Lone Ranger movie ever made, and it was the last film in which Clayton Moore was the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels was Tonto. A great finale to their careers! The whole plot centers on five silver medallions cut from the same plaque that, put together, lead to a long-lost city of gold. These medallions belong to Indians, three of whom have been killed by the Hooded Raiders who wish to obtain the riches for themselves. Can the Lone Ranger and Tonto stop the Hooded Raiders from killing the two remaining Indians? Buy the film and find out. Anyone who loves the Lone Ranger will love this movie! A must-have for any Lone Ranger fan!!! ... Read more