Flight to Mars (1951) {The Film Detective Blu-ray Review}

Reviewed By Jason Lockard

Even though I didn't grow up in the 50s, I have such a love for those 50s sci-fi and horror films. Walter Mirisch was a producer of some of the most iconic films in cinema history including, Some Like It Hot, The Magnificent Seven, West Side Story, The Great Escape and The Pink Panther. But before any of these in 1951 he produced Flight to Mars.

Now for the 70th anniversary of this films initial release, the great folks at The Film Detective are giving this sci-fi classic a deluxe Blu-ray release. And I couldn't be more excited for it than I am.

The film follows the first flight to Mars. This expedition is led by physicist Dr. Lane (John Litel),  but also includes Professor Jackson (Richard Gaines), engineer Jim Barker (Arthur Franz), and his assistant Carol Stadwick (Virginia Huston). They are also joined on this history mission by journalist Steve Abbott (Cameron Mitchell).

When they arrive on Mars they greeted by seemingly friendly and advanced inhabitants. But they soon find out they have much more sinister plans to use their ship to invade Earth. Can they thwart the plan or is Earth doomed? You'll have to see the film to find out.

Flight to Mars is the prototypical 50s science fiction film. The story is well written and the acting is very believable. There is no over acting. The special effects for early 1950s was amazing and is still believable 70s years later. Which is a testament to the production personnel.

Flight from Mars has been restored via a 4K transfer sourced from the original 35mm Cinecolor separation negatives. It is in 1080p but retains it's original full screen format of 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The audio is a English DTS-HD Master 2.0. There is also English and Spanish subtitles.




When examining this new transfer I must say this film restoration looks and sound absolutely stunning! The audio is clear as a bell and the picture is crisp and the colors are vibrant with no signs of damage to the print. The film has never looked better. But The Film Detective didn't stop with just an incredible looking film. They added some amazing bonus features. Take a look at what is included.

* Audio Commentary by author/film historian Justin Humphreys
(A Very insightful commentary with a lot of good information.)

* Walter Mirisch: From Bomba to Body Snatchers
(A brand new documentary from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. This documentary track the history of  Monogram Pictures.)

* Interstellar Travelogues: Cinema's First Space Race
(A fascinating new documentary with science fiction artist/historian Vincent Di Fate from Ballyhoo Motion Pictures)

* Full color insert booklet
(This includes an essay entitled "Mars at the Movies" by Don Stradley.)


The Film Detective have been impressing physical media fans with their latest releases on Blu-ray. The first two deluxe Blu-rays are Giant from the Unknown and Hercules and the Captive Woman. Now Flight to Mars joins the collection of releases. I am proud to display these releases in the Classic Cinema Plus Archive. I can't wait to see what The Film Detective has up next!

If you are a fan of 50s Sci-fi movies as much as me, you are going to want to add The Film Detective Blu-ray of Flight to Mars to your collection. Head over to Amazon.com and get your copy today!




Out of 4 Film Reels (4 being the best) Film Detective's Flight to Mars Blu-ray receives...