A Trip to Mars
About A Trip to Mars
Navy captain Avanti Planetaros, pushed by his astronomer father, and the scientist Dr. Krafft build the spaceship Excelsior over the mockery of Professor Dubius. On Mars a force ray draws the ship in. The people are pacifists. Their leader is the Prince of Wisdom. Avanti falls in love with his daughter Marya, who chooses to return to Earth with him so that peace might win there too. On Earth the expedition is given up for lost until Dr. Krafft flashes the constellation Corona, a message to Avanti's sister. Dubius then claims he had backed the voyage all along, and is struck by lightning. The ship lands to cheers, and Marya steps out hoping peace can win on Earth.
Cast & crew
More about A Trip to Mars
Holger-Madsen directed. Sophus Michaëlis and Ole Olsen are the Wikidata writers. Louis Larsen and Frederik Fuglsang photographed it. Alexander Schirmann is the Wikidata composer. Nordisk released it on 22 February 1918. Gunnar Tolnæs plays Avanti. Lilly Jacobsson plays Marya. The Danish title is Himmelskibet. English Wikipedia's infobox says 81 minutes. Wikidata says 97. A video timing on the English page is 1 hour 20 minutes 16 seconds. The Danish Film Institute restored it and issued a DVD in 2006.
Themes
Background
Released on 22 February 1918, while the First World War was still being fought. The Martian society in the film is pacifist.
Reviews
Phil Hardy treats it as the start of screen space opera. Jörg Hartmann and Matthew Coniam both read the pacifism against the war still going in 1918.
Look
Louis Larsen and Frederik Fuglsang were the cinematographers.
Music
Alexander Schirmann is the composer listed on Wikidata.
Preservation
The Danish Film Institute restored the film and released it on DVD in 2006.
Notes
- Phil Hardy calls it the film that began the space-opera strand of science fiction, and notes that Denmark did not make another science-fiction feature until Reptilicus in 1961.
- Jörg Hartmann writes that Marya decides for herself to leave Mars and carry a pacifist message through her love for the captain.
- Matthew Coniam calls the meeting of Martians and Earthlings one of the least antagonistic on screen, made while the First World War was still going.
- Professor Dubius dies by lightning after trying to take credit for the voyage.
Scenes
- A force ray pulls the Excelsior down to Mars.
- Krafft flashes the constellation Corona so Earth will know the crew is alive.
- Lightning kills Dubius as he tries to claim the expedition.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Himmelskibet (1918) by Holger-Madsen.webm)
