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Photos | Not Quite NASA: A retro view of Mars

Updated On May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Strap into your rocket and take a trip into the past, with early films that imagined life on another planet before our space missions took off in the 1960s.

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1 / 20

A Trip to Mars (1918): When it was released, this Danish film was called Himmelskibet, and was probably among the earliest space adventure films.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

A Trip to Mars (1918): When it was released, this Danish film was called Himmelskibet, and was probably among the earliest space adventure films.

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Described as a photo play in six parts, it follows researchers who travel to Mars and find a utopian civilisation of pacifist vegetarians.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Described as a photo play in six parts, it follows researchers who travel to Mars and find a utopian civilisation of pacifist vegetarians.

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Aelita (1924): Check out those costumes! The silent film Aelita: Queen of Mars was released in 1924 and was based on Alexei Tolstoy's sci-fi novel which had come out the previous year.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Aelita (1924): Check out those costumes! The silent film Aelita: Queen of Mars was released in 1924 and was based on Alexei Tolstoy's sci-fi novel which had come out the previous year.

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Both tell the story of an engineer who heads to Mars in a rocket ship, where he finds a race of people who are led by a tyrannical group of elders. Russia had overthrown the Tsars less than a decade ago. The film, unsurprisingly, shows the engineer leading a popular uprising to create a better, classless society, with the support of the Martian queen, Aelita.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Both tell the story of an engineer who heads to Mars in a rocket ship, where he finds a race of people who are led by a tyrannical group of elders. Russia had overthrown the Tsars less than a decade ago. The film, unsurprisingly, shows the engineer leading a popular uprising to create a better, classless society, with the support of the Martian queen, Aelita.

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Just Imagine (1930): A film that was set in the future, but is now part of our past.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Just Imagine (1930): A film that was set in the future, but is now part of our past.

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In 1980 on Earth, surgeons experimentally revive a man from 1930, who was struck by lightning while playing golf. He wakes up to flying cars, people with numbers instead of names, whochew pills instead of regular food and who get their babies from vending machines. He goes a little nuts in this future, ending up as a stowaway on a Mars-bound rocket. The red planet’s Queen, Looloo and the King, Loko invite them to an opera performed by orangutans. But there are evil twins too. It all sounds like a silly dream.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

In 1980 on Earth, surgeons experimentally revive a man from 1930, who was struck by lightning while playing golf. He wakes up to flying cars, people with numbers instead of names, whochew pills instead of regular food and who get their babies from vending machines. He goes a little nuts in this future, ending up as a stowaway on a Mars-bound rocket. The red planet’s Queen, Looloo and the King, Loko invite them to an opera performed by orangutans. But there are evil twins too. It all sounds like a silly dream.

7 / 20

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938): Yes. The Flash Gordon from the comic books and TV shows. In this film, Gordon must find out why a mysterious beam of light is disrupting Earth’s atmosphere.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Flash Gordon's Trip to Mars (1938): Yes. The Flash Gordon from the comic books and TV shows. In this film, Gordon must find out why a mysterious beam of light is disrupting Earth’s atmosphere.

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Gordon and his team head to space to find that the ray is originating from Mars. Mongo, an old enemy, has joined forces with the Witch Queen of Mars, who can turn critics into Clay People. Flash has to enlist these clay dissidents to overthrow the ray, Mars’s forest enemies, the queen and a host of other villains.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Gordon and his team head to space to find that the ray is originating from Mars. Mongo, an old enemy, has joined forces with the Witch Queen of Mars, who can turn critics into Clay People. Flash has to enlist these clay dissidents to overthrow the ray, Mars’s forest enemies, the queen and a host of other villains.

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Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950): A post-WWII serial that was eventually recut into a single film, this one wasn’t particularly well received.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Flying Disc Man from Mars (1950): A post-WWII serial that was eventually recut into a single film, this one wasn’t particularly well received.

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Martians, fearful of Earthlings’ new atomic bomb technology, decide to invade our planet. Mota the Martian is hoping to take over control of humans. He blackmails scientists, has an army of criminal henchmen. Can humans hold on to their humanity and beat the invaders?

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Martians, fearful of Earthlings’ new atomic bomb technology, decide to invade our planet. Mota the Martian is hoping to take over control of humans. He blackmails scientists, has an army of criminal henchmen. Can humans hold on to their humanity and beat the invaders?

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Welles staged it like a radio play, with attacks broadcasted like news bulletins. Hysteria broke out across America as listeners assumed that Martians (and their spindly-legged spaceships), had actually landed. With the 1953 film, Mars suddenly seemed closer – check out those sinister spaceships! The genre sparked tales of conquest, horror, survival, romance and a better understanding of our own blue-green home.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Welles staged it like a radio play, with attacks broadcasted like news bulletins. Hysteria broke out across America as listeners assumed that Martians (and their spindly-legged spaceships), had actually landed. With the 1953 film, Mars suddenly seemed closer – check out those sinister spaceships! The genre sparked tales of conquest, horror, survival, romance and a better understanding of our own blue-green home.

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The War of the Worlds (1953): HG Wells’s novel about a Martian invasion of Earth was already 40 years old in 1938, when Orson Welles adapted it for radio.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

The War of the Worlds (1953): HG Wells’s novel about a Martian invasion of Earth was already 40 years old in 1938, when Orson Welles adapted it for radio.

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Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953): No one goes to Mars in this comedy. Instead, two guys dressed in space suits get mistakenly blasted off to New Orleans, where they notice everyone in ridiculous costumes and conclude that they must be on Mars.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953): No one goes to Mars in this comedy. Instead, two guys dressed in space suits get mistakenly blasted off to New Orleans, where they notice everyone in ridiculous costumes and conclude that they must be on Mars.

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Abbott and Costello, in fact, get blasted off to space later. But they land on Venus instead – a planet populated by femme fatales. More comedy ensues, but the heroes manage to save themselves, and the day, in the end.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Abbott and Costello, in fact, get blasted off to space later. But they land on Venus instead – a planet populated by femme fatales. More comedy ensues, but the heroes manage to save themselves, and the day, in the end.

15 / 20

Invaders from Mars (1953): A new level of fear – this was the first feature film to show aliens and flying saucers in colour.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Invaders from Mars (1953): A new level of fear – this was the first feature film to show aliens and flying saucers in colour.

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A UFO has landed in the backyard of an American town. And slowly, all the grown-ups are acting strange. The kids, the police and an astronomer are our only hope. That is, if they can all trust each other!

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

A UFO has landed in the backyard of an American town. And slowly, all the grown-ups are acting strange. The kids, the police and an astronomer are our only hope. That is, if they can all trust each other!

17 / 20

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964): Is there really a Santa Claus? In this film, he’s as real as the Martians.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964): Is there really a Santa Claus? In this film, he’s as real as the Martians.

18 / 20

The comedy has a hilarious premise: Baby Martians deserve a little fun after growing up in the rigid Mars society that allows no creativity or freedom of thought. So Santa is kidnapped from Earth to give baby Martians some presents. This is the first time that audiences knew of (and saw) a Mrs Claus. Sadly, the film is terrible. It shows up often in worst-move lists.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

The comedy has a hilarious premise: Baby Martians deserve a little fun after growing up in the rigid Mars society that allows no creativity or freedom of thought. So Santa is kidnapped from Earth to give baby Martians some presents. This is the first time that audiences knew of (and saw) a Mrs Claus. Sadly, the film is terrible. It shows up often in worst-move lists.

19 / 20

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel gets a sci-fi retelling. Our hero is stranded on Mars after the Gravity Probe 1 runs out of fuel for the return journey.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964) Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel gets a sci-fi retelling. Our hero is stranded on Mars after the Gravity Probe 1 runs out of fuel for the return journey.

20 / 20

It’s desolate and he’s lonely, but there are edible plant sausages to eat. The planet has secrets. Are those alien spacecrafts in the sky? How come they have human-looking slaves. One slave escapes – of course he’s named Friday. But what happens next? Note that the poster describes the plot as “Scientifically Authentic”.

Updated on May 07, 2021 12:02 AM IST

It’s desolate and he’s lonely, but there are edible plant sausages to eat. The planet has secrets. Are those alien spacecrafts in the sky? How come they have human-looking slaves. One slave escapes – of course he’s named Friday. But what happens next? Note that the poster describes the plot as “Scientifically Authentic”.

News / Photos / Ht Weekend / Photos | Not Quite NASA: A retro view of Mars

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