Rating: 
Summary: It breathes! It hunts! It kills!
Review: The first mission to Mars brought death to all but the crew chief. A rescue mission from Earth treats the lone survivor, Carruthers, as a criminal. They find it suspicious that he alone survived. He says a Martian creature killed the crew. Everybody gives him the "yeah, right" look. On the trip back to Earth, a murderous Martian stowaway starts picking off the crew, one-by-one. As a B '50s sci-fi flick, this one is better than average. Less than a classic, but worth a look. The tone is one of grim suspense rather than cheesy camp. The monster looks like a hybrid of the Hideous Sun Demon and the Monster of Piedras Blancas. The script borrows from 1951's "The Thing," shifted to a rocket ship in flight. The resourceful Earth people even try to electrocute the monster. The short 74-minute running time is a virtue that keeps the plot from going unduly awry. The cast is bland, and they mainly serve as monster food. By osmosis, the creature consumes every bit of edible liquid from each victim. Expect many grimaces and concerned looks. Strangely, there seems to be a lot of cigarette smoking in outer space. In spite of the pseudo advanced technology displayed, the side arms, rifles, and grenades used to combat the creature is WWII Army surplus. The acetylene torch one guy uses looks as if it was borrowed from a high school shop class. There isn't a light saber or ray gun in sight. It's fun for genre fans of all ages. Fire up the popcorn and go for it. ;-)
Rating: 
Summary: A Precursor for Alien
Review: The movie revolves around the first flight to Mars and its deadly ending. The ship crashes and the crew diappears except for the Captain. When the rescue ship arrives, that ship's captain arrests the surviving captain for murder, on the idea that the crew were killed so the captain would survive. The captain claims an alien monster killed the crew but has no evidence.
Unknown to all, the monster enters the returning ship and begins to kill the crew, draining them of liquid and oxygen. After several failed attempts, the monster is finally killed by draining all the oxygen from the ship. It's a campy film straight from the 50s. Everyone smokes like chimneys and the lead woman is reduced to serving coffee. The effects are bad and superficial. The story is interesting because it parallels the much later and much better Alien movie. The movie drags in several areas as the crew tries various ways to kill the monster.
Rating:
Summary: Fast Flic!
Review: The one thing that stands out about this film unlike many of films of this type is the speed at which it moves. For an older film this movie wastes no time getting started and the action doesnt really stop. This may very well be the best Sci Fi monster flic of its time. Dated effects, sure - but unlike most of todays films this has a story that works. Alien borrowed the story from this film but not the pace. To bad for Alien.
Rating: 
Summary: An intelligent sci-fi movie
Review: The title can mislead you into thinking this is a chessy 1950's sci-fi movie. But it's anything but that. This is a terrific, intelligent movie full of real suspense. In fact, as the DVD box says, the movie "Alien" could be partly based on this film. This is a great movie that shows what one can do when one has a very low budget but plenty of imagination. The only drawback is the fact that the DVD only has a theatrical trailer as an extra. But it's still worth the price.
Rating:
Summary: A monster from Mars is on a crew-filled rocket.
Review: This 1958 film is set in January 1972. Edward Carruthers (Marshall Thompson) is the sole survivor of his crew on Mars. He is now in the rescue rocket with the rescue crew who came to get him. A monster of Mars has snuck aboard the rocket which is now about to take off. Now in outer space headed for Earth, the monster begins to kill this crew too, but can the crew get at "IT" and kill it? In the crew is Dabbs Greer (Little House On The Prairie, The Green Mile [1999]) and Ann Doran (Rebel Without A Cause [1955]). Also in the cast is Shawn Smith, Kim Spalding, Paul Langton, Robert Bice, Richard Benedict, Richard Hervey, Thom Carney and Ray Corrigan played "IT".
Rating:
Summary: A monster from Mars is on a crew-filled rocket.
Review: This 1958 film is set in January 1972. Edward Carruthers (Marshall Thompson) is the sole survivor of his crew on Mars. He is now in the rescue rocket with the rescue crew who came to get him. A monster of Mars has snuck aboard the rocket which is now about to take off. Now in outer space headed for Earth, the monster begins to kill this crew too, but can the crew get at "IT" and kill it? In the crew is Dabbs Greer (Little House On The Prairie, The Green Mile [1999]) and Ann Doran (Rebel Without A Cause [1955]). Also in the cast is Shawn Smith, Kim Spalding, Paul Langton, Robert Bice, Richard Benedict, Richard Hervey, Thom Carney and Ray Corrigan played "IT".
Rating:
Summary: Intelligent Space Monster Epic
Review: This film is years ahead of its time. The predicament that these astronauts are exposed to is intriguing. What they must do to confront the terror is imaginative and intelligent. One great asset of this film is the well defined character development and the conflicts and loyalties that are presented and evolve.
Rating:
Summary: Decent production, fine suspense
Review: This film stands above most other 1950's "rubber suit monster" flicks as a result of the excellent direction, storyline-pacing, and above-average acting, not to mention the scary design of the "monster" (the same designer also did the monsters for "Attack of the Puppet People" and "The She-Creature"). This is one of several good choices for any home library of representative classic '50's horror movies.
Rating:
Summary: A period realism in terror.
Review: This film was a milestone in the period. Apart from the archaic props which should be discounted due to the date in which it was made, the use of the language--or better yet--the dialog is very refreshing. You can actually believe that the caracters are interacting without reading from a script. Aside from that, this picture is a must see for all vintage science fiction buffs. It's fast paced, witty, and has a good basis for story line.
Rating:
Summary: Its It!
Review: This film was made for about $35,000 and it shows. However, with good direction, Marshall Thompson,s narration and some good turns in the editing room ...this film has suspense and is a real sleeper. I saw this film also as a pre teen and it was a unexpected knockout. The film is made so cheaply that it will disarm the viewer into thinking it could be an Ed Wood picture. Diverting and slick.
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