drystyx This is a very good looking science fiction film about an expedition to Mars.It has great cinema, with an attractive, although fake look, about it. The boredom of Reality is sacrificed for the spectacle of Fantasy, which makes this very easy viewing, particularly during the scene when they're watching dancing girls on a screen.The story is easy to follow, and the characters easy to like. Five men set off for Mars, along with a stowaway, which is probably the hardest part to accept, even for the juvenile viewer.The visuals are very easy to watch. They look like classic age India Ink comic book representations, but the characters are very good. One is a comic relief man, whose presence already makes this a very good film. The action and drama is well balanced, and there is never a lull. In this day of video, you'll likely keep rewinding to the dancing girls, who are more than scenic.It becomes a story of moderation and mediation. The final peril sees four men left, hoping to leave Mars. The two that have died at this point represent opposite extremes, the most honorable, and the least honorable, the most likable and the least likable, the best and the worst.Adventure films tend to either make survivors out of "extreme" personalities, or "moderate" ones. Here, as in most films, we see the trend towards the "moderate" character.This is probably Eric Fleming's "stick out" film, easily his best. Ross Martin (who most people still know as Artemis Gordon) does his best to steal the show, but all of the actors are exceptional at this. It is a delight to watch.

vtcavuoto "Conquest of Space" is a fine film however it isn't on the same level as George Pal's other classics: "When Worlds Collide", "War of the Worlds" and "Destination Moon". This isn't to say the film is weak, not at all. The special effects , set pieces and costumes are typical of his films. The acting is above average-Eric Fleming, William Hopper, Michael Fox and Phil Foster (Frank DiFazio from "Laverne and Shirley) do a credible job. There is enough action to sustain viewer interest and the music score is good. The outer space scenes are well thought out and interesting and there is some good chemistry between the actors. A film worth seeing.

Michael O'Keefe Although it has George Pal written all over it; it is not his best project, but a pretty darn good Sci-Fi flick for its time. A team of American astronauts assemble a space station called "The Wheel" to enable a spaceship to be built. Gen. Samuel Merritt(Walter Brooke)and his crew that includes his son Captain Barney Merritt(Eric Fleming) believe their mission is to eventually land on the Moon. Change of orders; new destination...Mars. Special effects are redeemable with the most striking color and depiction of the 'angry red planet'. Religion and human emotions are the subplots, because in the mid 50s we want to see space travel. Most of the cast will be remembered for later work: William Hopper, Benson Fong, Ross Martin, Mickey Shaughnessy and Phil Foster.

Bob-45 Having produced the first "science fact/science fiction" film with "Destination Moon," George Pal should have been the perfect choice to produce "Conquest of Space." However, what Pal has assembled is a mess; for "Conquest of Space" consists largely of substandard special effects and plot implausabilities. Space is blue with stars that look like dots of white paint. When the space station moves erratically, it looks like the tiny model it is, since Pal didn't have it photographed using high speed cameras. The writers would have us believe "Sergeant Siegle" (Phil Foster), a character who would be more at home in a Jerry Lewis comedy is an "electronics genius" and that a man with virtually no knowledge of space travel would be "hand picked" to fly to Mars.I have few problems with the plot device of having the psychologically unstable "religious fanatic" commander suddenly questioning the mission and space exploration in general. Modern audiences might find this baffling or illogical; but, those who viewed "Conquest …" in 1955 were likely familiar with stories of J. Robert Oppenheimer and other scientists who worked on the atom bomb and later denounced its development. More recently, Admiral Hyman Rickover, father of the US nuclear submarine program did much the same thing, in testimony before Congress.WARNING: SPOILERS I had slightly more problems with the Martian quake that conveniently begins just before the spaceship is to blast off from Mars. While this could easily happen in "real life," it would have been more dramatically plausible had there been a few "gentle" tremors during the year the crew was stranded on the planets surface.I had a slightly bigger problem with the deliberate "spill" of hypergolic fuel by the unhinged commander. That stuff is nasty, toxic and VERY corrosive. However, even that could be overlooked because of the crew's protective space suits.The movie makes a big issue of the crew conserving water and energy during their long period of being marooned on Mars. Yet the interior of the ship is always show brightly lit. It's also virtually impossible for the crew to have survived without heat on the surface of Mars, and this information was well known at the time.END OF SPOILERS"Conquest of Space" was a missed opportunity for George Pal. I can think of only two other purely "science fact/science fiction" films, "Destination Moon" and "Riders to the Stars." "Conquest of Space" is the weakest of the three, despite having much better special effects than "Riders ..." I give it a "4".