Producer -- George Pal (tom thumb 1958, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, 1964)
Director -- Byron Haskin (The War of the Worlds 1953, Robinson Crusoe on Mars, 1964)
Released in the thick of McCarthyism and the Cold War this was no alien as monsters science fiction thriller. This wasn’t a science fiction movie at all; it was a science fact mixed with a “give-me-that-old-time-religion” message. Much like its immediate predecessor Destination Moon this was sci-fi without monsters. It was a movie about travel in outer space and what happens to the brave souls who make the trip (with their God).
Opening v/o – “This is a story of tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, when men have built a station in space, constructed in the form of a great wheel, and set a thousand miles out from the Earth, fixed by gravity, and turning about the world every two hours, serving a double purpose: an observation post in the heavens, and a place where a spaceship can be assembled, and then launched to explore other planets, and the vast universe itself, in the last and greatest adventure of mankind, the plunge toward the...”
“The Wheel” is an international space station, but it is clear that the Americans are in charge and compose the crew with the exception of a token Russian (Ross Martin)as a scientist and a Japanese astronaut acting as an apologist for WWII (“Some years ago, my country chose to fight a terrible war …”) round out the international crew.
After completing the space ship the General and his crew learn they are going to Mars and not the Moon as originally planned. Despite Byron Haskin’s interest in science fact such a change in plans amounts to only a “hop, skip and jump” difference in distance. However the science fact part of the story has many of the personnel suffering from “space fatigue.” A select crew of five are picked to make the trip to Mars.
Rather than running into Martians or other demonic aliens the crew deals with general leading the expedition who becomes a religious nut whose new views include that the Mars mission is an abomination, as it isn't mentioned in the New Testament (which the General keeps handy throughout the trip). This sets up the second half of the picture as a philosophical battle as to whether or not it is blasphemous for man to venture into outer space. And this dose of religion mixed with “space fatigue” cause the General to have a “nervous break down” now believing that man’s “exploration” really amounts to an “invasion” -- “God didn't want man jetting off to new planets.”
I’m reminded by the excellent science fiction and fantasy blog Moria how much religion George Pal pumped into his movies.
“Most of George Pal’s films had a strong religious undertow – Pal himself was a Catholic. In The War of the Worlds the ironic ending of the atheist H.G. Wells’s novel with the Martians being destroyed by the “smallest thing on God’s Earth” was transformed into a full-blown religious Passover with humanity praising the Almighty for their deliverance; while When Worlds Collide played the film’s Noah’s Ark allegory up for all it possibly could. Conquest of Space ends on a note of cautious optimism by again resorting to religion – the astronauts are stranded on Mars but on Christmas Day it begins to snow (amid ringing bells on the soundtrack) and plant life begins to sprout – “only God can make trees” one character notes – which provides the astronauts with their unexpected salvation.”
This heavy-handed use of religion (and Christianity in particular) is what makes this movie interesting as a time capsule.
Despite the presence of visible matte lines the effects are impressive and the use of Technicolor was a major asset when the audience was used to seeing science fiction movies in black and white. The visuals are particularly exciting when one remembers that in 1955 people were watching black and white television and many sci-fi movies of the day were also shot in black and white.
Consistent with movies of its day (and the pattern left by B-war movies) the crew is cast with notable faces from the genre, each playing their stereotypical role – talk about type casting.
Mickey Shaughnessy, (who at 35 is playing a man in his fifties with obliviously touched-up sideburns) as the tough as nails master sergeant described as being, “30 years in the army and still too brainless to obey an order” his character is a stowaway aboard the spaceship to bring” its captain his tooth brush”. Shaughnessary is practiced at playing his character for comic relief here his Irish brogue is less purposely convincing the more he speaks.
Ross Martin (The Wild, Wild West), Andre Fodor UN personnel. When we see his mother wish him a successful mission we know that he’s toast and will not be making the voyage home. We also have William Hopper (we know him best as Paul Drake in Perry Mason as Dr. George Fenton; the G-Man responsible for the trip and best of all, Eric Fleming (we know him from CBS-TV's long-running western "Rawhide" as the trail boss Gil Favor) as Captain. Here he plays son of the commander of the expedition General Merritt played by the venerable Walter Brooke.
Perhaps the best time capsule element is a movie that is being shown to the crew prior to departure with Rosemary Clooney singing “On the Deset Sand” (from an unidentified film).
At a time when American hegemony was a governmental hope (if not plan) Conquest In Space works hard to make every American believe that God is on our side.
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