Flight to Mars (1951) Movie Script
Mars.
They'll be leaving
day after tomorrow.
I wonder if they'll make it.
And what they'll
find if they do.
Life maybe.
Life of some sort.
Perhaps someday
we'll have a telescope
powerful enough to see that far.
Dr. Lane, that's the highest
priority secret message
we've ever had at the
Pentagon, and we've had some!
How does it feel to be the head
of a project as
immense as this one?
Truthfully, it's
a little terrifying.
Ah, but you mustn't
print that, Steve.
Well, I should think
it would be terrifying!
I know enough about
rocket propulsion to believe
there's an outside
chance you'll make it there,
but aren't you worried
about getting back?
I used to climb the Swiss Alps.
Our greatest ambition
then was to climb
the highest possible peak.
We worried later
about getting back.
Can I print that, Doctor?
If you wish.
Well, Steve, this is a
plum assignment for you,
making a trip of this sort
merely to report what you see.
Yep, I'm the only one
going who isn't a scientist.
And you deserve it.
You made a wonderful
reputation as a war correspondent.
You've been reading the
jacket cover of my last book.
Dr. Lane,
I once heard of a
man who climbed
a higher mountain
than anyone else alive,
but he was never
able to get down again
and what's left of
him is still up there.
The point is, Steve, he made it.
Where are you going?
Pref light interviews with
everybody making the trip.
I think I've gotten as much
from Dr. Lane as
he's gonna give.
Oh, I'll give you the scientific
reasons why I wanna go-
I'm the non-scientist,
remember, Doctor?
No, I wanna write about
the personal human reasons
why a man would risk
death to go out into space.
You've given me yours.
I gather you don't
think they're too good.
I'm on my way to see Jim Barker.
Maybe your chief engineer
has a different reason
for wanting to go.
Oh, I'm sure he must have.
Steve, I'm a little puzzled.
You're gonna write this all up,
but how you gonna
file a story on Mars
to be printed back here?
Well, General, I'm
afraid I can't give you
the answer to that one yet.
But, don't forget, while
en route, we're gonna drop
these self-propelled space
cylinders aimed at Earth.
They should land here.
We'll be waiting for them.
See you tomorrow at the takeoff.
So long.
And so the exact time and place
of the takeoff will remain
a closely-guarded secret.
As to the immediate reactions
to the sensational announcement,
Congress is demanding
to know why knowledge
of so stupendous an undertaking
has been kept so
long from the public.
Several senators
have even questioned
the advisability of
the very project itself.
The feeling expressed
by many of them,
whether we should
stay where we are.
Government officials
were quick to label
these remarks as isolationist.
Oh, here we go again!
Well, let's get on
with the interview.
You know, if we make
it, both the isolationists
and the interventionists
will take their bows.
Wait a minute, you
said if we make it?
Tell me, Jim, what
do you really think
our chances are
of getting there?
Well, everything we know
about astronomy, propulsion,
and rocket navigation
tells us that we will.
Well, yeah, but there's
a lot we don't know.
There's a whole
universe out there, Steve.
Totally unknown, beyond
anyone's comprehension.
We try to figure it out when
we're kids, but we never can.
Yeah.
Yeah, let me
see if I can't frame
my lead article featuring you!
You see, I wanna
accent the human terms.
About Jim Barker,
chief engineer,
whose genius was
largely responsible
for the construction
of the rocket.
The man with a
dream who couldn't
live or think or
breathe anything else,
who worked and planned for years
to make this
expedition possible.
The man with a skylight
in his Baltimore apartment,
so he could sleep
under the stars.
You make it sound poetic.
Excuse me.
Oh, how are you, Carol?
Oh, Carol, I'd like you
to meet Steve Abbott,
he's the newspaperman
who's going on the trip with us.
Uh, Steve, this
is Carol Stafford.
How do you do?
Hello.
Uh, what are you
doing here, Carol?
We had a date tonight, Jim.
Oh, uh, he held me up.
Oh, yes, I can see you're
all dressed to go out.
A drink?
No.
I understand you wanted
to interview me, Mr. Abbott.
Well, you couldn't have
picked a better time.
I'm just in the mood to
tell the story of my life.
Her brother was a
physicist, taught her a lot.
She's a smart girl.
I certainly am.
She learned spaceship
engineering in only three years.
Spending each day right at
the elbow of Mr. Jim Barker.
Mr. Abbott, do you think
three years is too long
to spend at somebody's elbows?
Steve.
Call me Steve.
I wasn't gonna let her
take a trip like this but, uh,
she learned so much,
she became indispensable.
I couldn't replace her!
So you see, Mr. Abbott,
what you're looking at
is an indispensable
scientific unit.
The first assistant to
the pilot of a rocket ship.
Well, now you
have the whole story.
I sure have.
Professor William
Jackson is here, sir.
Tell him to come in.
Professor.
Be right with you.
I have only five minutes,
they're waiting to take me
to the television broadcast.
I thought I was
handling public relations?
Look here, I don't
even know you.
I take the time and trouble
to come to your hotel and-
Because I haven't been
able to catch up with you!
It was agreed that none of us
were to appear on radio or TV,
because once we start
giving out interviews
at random, and for
commercial gain-
The world has a right to my
opinions and observations.
That's why I was invited on
this trip, to make observations,
gather geological,
chemical, astronomical data.
Look, Professor Jackson,
you're a famous man,
one of the outstanding
scholars of our time.
That's why you're
coming with us.
But they'll be no
speeches on TV!
Hello?
Get me Dr. Lane at the Radcliff.
I'm considered a scholar,
but, unfortunately, that
hasn't made me rich.
On the contrary,
it's left me quite poor.
I am leaving
behind an ailing wife,
a daughter whose husband
was killed in the war,
and two young grandchildren.
Look, just a minute, Doctor.
I was to be given $3,000 for
my appearance on television.
I wanted to leave it with them.
Oh, sorry, Doctor.
Yes, I wanted to talk to
you, but it isn't important.
It can wait.
Yeah, I'll see you later.
If you do a good job on TV,
it will save me the
trouble of writing it.
So go ahead.
Ah, thank you!
See you tonight, when the
police escort picks us up.
Goodbye.
- Good luck.
- Have a nice trip.
- Goodbye.
- Good luck.
Goodbye, have a good flight.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye!
- Goodbye.
- See you again.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, sir.
- Good luck.
Come on, we'll watch the
takeoff from the control tower.
Well, I guess
that about does it.
Good luck, sir.
. - Thank you.
Only five of us.
Seems lonely already!
Well, it was a matter of how
much weight we could carry.
I would've liked to have
asked a dozen more people.
Hey, what happens when
the rocket finally levels off?
Do we walk on the walls?
Oh, no, our gyro mechanism
keeps this cabin
vertical at all times.
When we're in horizontal flight,
that hatch there will
lead to the tail sections.
You better go there and lie
down and strap yourself in.
All right, Carol, turn on the
oxygen pressure for takeoff.
. Oxygen okay.
Control tower?
Barker calling.
Hello, Jim.
This is Ed in the control tower.
Check my radio?
Give me a reading.
Able George Baker ready, over.
Check.
Able George Baker ready.
It's okay, thanks, Ed.
We're ready for takeoff.
Ground clear.
All ready for takeoff.
And Jim?
Good luck, fella.
Thanks, Ed.
I'll be seeing you.
I hope.
Are you ready, Dr. Lane?
All ready.
10 seconds to takeoff.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Contact.
We're ready, General.
That you, Steve?
You've been out in
space two days now,
got anything to report?
Sure have, big news!
Carol Stafford floated
up to the top of the rocket.
She kept bumping
her head until we got
the magnetic field stabilizer
to equalize the
gravitational pull.
And how do like
those for big words?
Here's Jim Barker, who'll
give you the official rundown.
Everything is going
according to schedule.
At the present rate, we
should be out of the orbit
of the Moon in 10 or 12 hours.
After that, it should
be clear sailing.
Anything else? Over.
Jim, the Press Association here
wants to know whether
we'll get some pictures
to go with Steve
Abbott's stories?
Over.
We'll launch our first
space cylinder in 24 hours.
There'll be photographs
and observations in that.
If we lose radio contact,
Steve can send all
his stuff in the cylinder.
Anything else? Over.
That's all for now, Jim.
- Over.
- Okay.
Rocket ship M-A-R-S
signing off for now.
So long.
I'm glad we don't
have to send all
the technical meter readings.
It was a good idea
you had, Doctor,
of having them transmitted
automatically by radio.
And I think it'd be a good idea
if you got a little rest, Jim.
You've been there
ever since takeoff.
Well, I kinda hate to leave.
Don't be heroic, Jim,
two days without
a break is too long!
Dr. Lane and I will take over.
Well, keep your eye on
the gravitational indicator.
If there's any
variation, call me.
Go on, Jim!
Remember, I helped
to design that indicator.
I guess I must be tired.
I'll see you later.
Mother Earth looks
mighty good from here.
Close enough to the Man
in the Moon to talk to him.
If you do talk to him,
be careful what you say,
the Moon could be a
deadly menace to us!
Had a shift in direction,
a good five degrees.
The gravitational
pull of the Moon?
We'll have to use
power to pull out.
Everybody take your stations!
Where's Jackson?
Professor Jackson?
Coming!
Alright Carol, the pressure?
Pressure okay.
All ready?
All ready.
Here we go!
Well, that did it.
All right, Carol,
cut the pressure!
All you have to do is ask!
Well, at least we
won't land on the Moon.
Well, it's finally happened.
We've lost contact
with the rocket ship.
You'd better inform the general.
Your family, Professor?
My two grandchildren.
They're beautiful.
I often wish I'd married
and had a family,
but astronomy and engineering
have taken up
almost all of my life.
My life's been
sheltered but full.
The things I've learned
I've passed on to others.
You talk as if you
were already dead.
Do you really believe
we're going to come back?
Sure I do!
Personally, I feel
this rocket is my coffin.
I never would've expected
that attitude from you.
As long as we remain alive,
I'll contribute all that I know
to the success
of the expedition.
In the meantime, Professor,
you're contributing
an awful lotta gloom.
He's contributed
more than any of us!
A real wife, a home,
two lovely grandchildren.
I'd trade 10 trips
to Mars for that!
Then you shouldn't
have come along, Carol.
Jim Barker, engineering genius.
Jim? 'Skin it!
It's just that being
confined like this
has gotten on my nerves.
Mine too.
You listening, Carol?
To what?
I think that you are
a prize package.
Is this for Jim's benefit?
And very feminine.
He likes you!
I sure do, Mr. Engineer,
and I don't have to look
in a test tube to find out.
Oh, let's cut out
this bickering.
I am not bickering.
Nice try, but it
didn't get over.
Thanks anyway.
Ah, the Earth seems
so big when you're on it,
and from out here
so small and nothing.
It's like closing your
eyes in the dark.
Suddenly there you
are, alone with your soul.
You're homesick, Steve.
No, Professor, I
haven't got a home.
Sometimes I wonder who I am.
Who any of us are.
There was once a theory advanced
that the universe is
a living giant being
and that we as human
beings, made in its image,
are miniature
universes in ourselves,
containing millions
of corpuscles.
The components of each
corpuscle imagine themselves
to be in a complete
world of their own,
though they are
aware of the universe
of other worlds around them.
Oh, that's fantastic!
Is it?
I wonder.
We understand
so very little, really.
If space is limitless
and endless,
then, don't you see, the
opposite must be true too.
Smallness never ends either,
but continues being
tinier and tinier,
just as the enormity
of the universe
becomes more and more enormous.
Doctor, you're
giving me the creeps.
What happens to us when we die?
The whole universe dies,
just as the universe in
which we ourselves live
may someday be no more.
But, there are endless
universes beyond our own.
I know the theory,
but it makes this trip
seem small and futile.
If we're simply going from
one corpuscle in some
giant being to another,
what will we find?
Crossing over may
provide some of the answers
to things man has wanted to know
since the beginning of time.
If so, we'll be swallowed
in space and forgotten.
Holy mackerel, what's this?
Come here, quick!
What is it?
I don't know, it looks as though
the Earth's being bombarded!
It isn't, though, it's
a storm of meteors.
They're traveling at
tremendous speed.
When they reach the
atmosphere around the Earth,
the friction makes them
explode and disintegrate.
We've all seen such
fragments on summer nights.
Most people call
them shooting stars.
Tell me, Doctor,
are we apt to run into
such a storm out here?
It's possible.
No contact, sir, not
for 48 hours now.
From this point on,
I'm afraid they'll have
to depend on their
space cylinders.
Mars!
Jim, what's the
time and position?
Have you finished
with those computations
for jettisoning the
space cylinder?
Almost, just a second.
We are now at approximately
two degrees, S-400x,
102 Solar Time.
Well, that's about
all there is to go.
I hope the homing device
works, I'd hate to have this land
in the middle of
the Sahara Desert.
Didn't Steve have
something to go?
' Oh, yes!
Would you mind seeing if
Steve's material is ready yet?
Of course, Professor.
Everything's in the space
cylinder but your notes.
I wouldn't wanna hold
up the space cylinder,
but if the last paragraph isn't
up to my usual high standard
it'll be your fault
for rushing me.
How do you find so
much to write about?
Isn't easy.
This trip's getting
a little monotonous.
Too monotonous?
Do you feel that
bitter about him?
I don't know what you mean.
A little revenge, huh?
That oughta make
him good and mad!
I don't intend to tell him.
How can you make a guy jealous
if he doesn't know about it?
It's possible.
On?
Glad to have been of service.
What's the matter with you?
For a lady scientist,
you aren't very objective.
No, I guess I haven't been.
Next time you get
sore at him, call on me.
Anytime.
You shouldn't wait
to the last minute
before getting your notes to me.
What's the big hurry?
We've plenty of time and space!
I hope the homing apparatus
on this cylinder
functions properly.
What was that?
Did you have any trouble
getting that space cylinder off?
Why no, of course not!
Look at all those space rocks!
Good heavens, we're
heading right into them!
They will destroy us!
We have to get out of here!
That means we'll
have to go off course.
We have no other choice.
All right, everybody
take your stations!
Strap yourselves in!
I have to give her full speed!
Are you ready, Dr. Lane?
We're ready!
Here goes!
Carol, the emergency lights!
Right!
I think we went through it.
Is everybody all right?
- Yes, I am.
- Gonna have to look.
I think we're all clear now,
but we're
considerably off course.
Jim, you better check
the ship for damage
and Carol and I
will plot the course.
Steve, you and the
professor check the tail section
for any possible damage,
especially the wires and cables.
I'll check forward and
see what I can find there.
Steve, come here.
Have you found a break?
Yes, and something
worse, take a look.
Our landing gear.
Got our radio batteries too.
That's what cut the
cable, probably shorted it.
Can it be fixed?
I think Jim can fix
the cable all right,
but not the batteries
and that shaft.
Not a chance in the world.
How will we land?
Maybe we won't.
Well, folks, we
have a real problem.
The landing gear we
depended on is now useless,
we're going to
have to crash land.
Can't we use the
jets to ease us down?
We may have to, but it
will eat into our fuel supply.
Better to use some of that to
find a favorable landing spot.
We have to make a choice.
We can make it back to Earth
and attempt a landing there,
or we can try landing on Mars.
The choice is up to you.
Well, I'm pretty fond
of the world myself,
even if it's only
a little corpuscle.
If we get back, maybe
we can make another trip?
Not much chance of that.
If anything, it would
discourage future flights.
Assuming anyone
does survive on Mars,
what will he be able to do?
Will he be able to report
back what he finds?
There's a remote possibility.
The atomic power head might
not have been damaged too much
to get off a space cylinder.
It doesn't look very
promising either way.
But if there's any
chance of sending back
any data or
information about Mars,
I'm in favor of going on.
After all, that was
the object of our flight.
Our survival is of
secondary importance.
We can be on Mars
within 24 hours.
At least that's
the shorter trip.
If that's an advantage
under the circumstances.
We're almost at the
top of that mountain
you wanted to climb.
What do you think, Carol?
Well, it doesn't
look like we're going
to come out alive either way,
but, after all, we did
set out to do something.
That says it for me.
I knew that it would.
Okay, I'll make it unanimous.
Good!
I'm glad we're all
together in spirit too.
Jim, what's your plan?
Well, I can't tell you,
not 'til I see the terrain.
We'll have to use
our jets to look around,
but it'll be rough at best.
Well, it's in your hands.
All right, strap yourselves in!
What about you, Jim?
Forget about me!
I see a place to land.
If we make it, we may
be able to take off again.
All right, hang on!
He's coming around now.
It's nothing serious.
Don't tell me we made it.
The concussion of our crash
must've caused the avalanche.
The snow's covered
us completely!
Oh, no it hasn't!
Look over here!
They look like chimneys.
They're regularly spaced.
They may be the
work of living creatures!
Come on, let's go out
and have a look at them!
Are you all right?
Yeah, sure, I just feel
a little short of breath.
Well, no wonder!
We'd better put on
our oxygen masks.
It's made of stone or brick,
and very well made too.
Obviously by civilized
creatures of some sort.
Hm, but it's very old, very!
Maybe the race is extinct now.
That's being a little
pessimistic, Professor.
No, no, Professor
Jackson may be right!
We know that, ages ago,
Mars was a much warmer planet.
In cooling off, it lost
much of its atmosphere.
If people did live
here, it may well be
that the change killed them off.
They don't seem to serve
any purpose, do they?
They may have been erected
as some sort of
religious symbols,
like the great stones the
druids erected at Stonehenge
or the pyramids in Egypt.
Let's follow them along
and see if there's
any change in them.
Yeah.
We have been expecting you.
Expecting us?
You...
You speak English?
For many years we have picked up
your radio broadcasts
and deciphered them.
Many of us have even learned
to speak some of your languages.
I am lkron, president
of our council,
which rules this planet.
We are happy to meet you,
and honored by the
presence of your eminence.
You say you pick
up our broadcasts?
Yes, your first two cylinders
arrived back on Earth safely.
Since then they have
lost contact with you
and there is a worldwide vigil
awaiting news of your party.
Can we get through to them?
No.
Although for years we have
been able to receive broadcasts,
we are still unable
to send them.
Our best efforts have
been reported by Earthmen
only as, "Faint signals
coming from Mars."
You will come with us now.
You may do the same, you
won't need them anymore.
Hey, this thing's moving!
Yes, our cities are underground.
This is magnificent!
Where do you get
your air and light?
We make them.
There is a mineral called corium
from which we extract
hydrogen and oxygen.
You'll find that
we live rather well.
That's a masterpiece
of understatement.
I think the council's waiting.
You will find we have
much in common.
As you have no doubt
already observed,
we owe our continued
existence here to science.
All of our facilities will
be placed at your disposal.
Thank you!
You've made us
feel very welcome.
And I don't think
that scientists
have ever had a
richer field to explore.
As you know, we have
tried interplanetary flights.
Though, for all our science,
we have had no
success such as this.
I am very much interested
in what you have done.
Tell me, this atomic power
which I have heard so much about
in broadcasts from you world-
Uh, just a moment, lkron.
We can exchange questions
and answers endlessly,
there'll be time for that.
Now I suggest that
our visitors be permitted
to rest and refresh themselves.
This is Tillamar,
our senior advisor
and former chief of our council.
Terris will show you
to your dwelling and,
after you have had
time to adjust yourselves,
we will talk further.
Thank you.
This is where you will live.
Your sleeping rooms and
other quarters are on either side.
Thank you.
What I wanna see is the kitchen!
The kitchen?
Yes, where food is prepared.
Oh, we don't have kitchens.
We call it the food laboratory
and we have a large
one for each district.
You order your food and it is
delivered ready to be served.
This is a woman's paradise!
As a matter of fact, I
assumed you might be hungry
and ordered some things for you.
They should be here by now.
Everything is here,
ready to be eaten.
When you've finished,
you just put everything back,
close it up, and
press this button.
That's all there is to it.
No dish washing?
Well, that's taken
care of mechanically.
Mars, I love you!
Oh yes, a tailor will be here
to measure you
for your wardrobe.
You'll be needing
clothes, of course.
You mean, um-
You can have more
like those if you wish.
No, no, we wouldn't think of it!
When on Mars, do
as the Martians do.
We find these very comfortable.
Well, I'll leave you now, I
know you're tired and hungry.
If you want me, you can
reach me over the speaker.
Thank you.
Well, if no one objects,
I think I'll start
setting out the food.
Yeah, I'll help you.
I can hardly wait to see
their chemical laboratories.
What a remarkable place.
The scientific skills
and techniques
of these people
are truly incredible.
A man could spend
years doing research here.
Mm.
And you were all set to die!
You were talking
about Mars being the top
of some big mountain
we just climbed.
Well, how do you
propose we get back down?
And you're talking about
doing years of research?
What good will it
do if we can't get
the information back to Earth?
Or are we planning to spend
the rest of our lives here?
I can think of worst places
to spend the rest of our lives.
No, no, Jim is right.
Our whole project is a failure
unless we can get our
findings back to Earth.
But how?
Our rocket is wrecked!
Can we build another?
I don't know that yet.
We might be able to salvage
some of the essential parts
and maybe build
others, but it's a big job,
and we'll need the help
of the government here.
Without it, we don't
stand a chance.
Even with it, it's
no sure thing.
I don't know why
they wouldn't help us.
Ikron said they were
interested in interplanetary flight.
Well, there's only
one way to find out.
As soon as we get
settled, Jim and I will go
before the council and
ask for their assistance.
If our rocket ship is
to be reconstructed,
we'll need all the
help you can give us.
That's why we are here,
to ask for your
approval and assistance.
Do you really think the
rocket can be repaired?
That depends on how
much of it can be salvaged.
It shouldn't be too much
trouble to construct a new shell,
but the big problem will be
if the atomic power heads
have been destroyed.
Well, in that case, you could
not undertake such a flight!
Well, we'd have to
work on some substitute,
possibly from your corium.
We will send a party
to salvage your ship,
whenever you are ready.
We want to help,
however this is a matter
that must be discussed
by our council.
We will let you know
our decision shortly.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I was anxious that it was
not made to sound too easy,
however the approval
will be granted.
Do you still object to my plan?
To destroy these people
and all the people
on their world as well?
Yes I do.
We will build others
from the same design.
A fleet of them,
a hundred fleets.
And when we finish with
the ruins of their world,
what then, a plan to
conquer the universe?
More rocket ships?
Where is the end of it?
I seek only the sanctuary
of a place to live
for our people.
Our planet is dying!
The corium will be gone!
What plan do you
suggest to save ourselves?
That we make a pact with them,
for certain areas of the Earth!
The people who have come here
have no power or
authority to make pacts!
Once we let them escape,
once their ship is gone,
it may well be our
last chance for survival.
Surely they'll make other trips.
What if they return in power
and force and conquer us?
They will kill us!
I ask for a vote of the council.
My plan or Tillamar's?
- Ikron's.
- Tillamar's!
- Ikron's!
- Tillamar's!
Ikron's.
Ikron's plan is carried
by a vote of four to three.
I need hardly caution
the senior counselor
of the secrecy of this decision.
The space travelers
will not be warned.
We will let them proceed
with the rebuilding of their ship
in the naive belief that we
will let them return to Earth.
Once the rocket is ready,
they will become our prisoners.
Fellow counselors, soon now,
soon,
the evacuation from a
dead planet will begin.
First the armies,
then the civilians.
This factory you've
given us to work in
is certainly ideal
for our purpose.
Some of those amazing new
light metals you've shown me
should be able to take
the pressure perfectly.
I have developed several
that I think will be suitable.
And this assistant
that I'm sending to you
will see that you have the
very best workmen available.
You've undertaken
quite a job, my friend.
Well, most of the
instruments are still intact.
Oh I don't think it should
be too difficult for Jim,
Justin, not with your knowledge
and advice available to him.
You're right, Dr. Lane,
Justin is our most eminent
physicist and engineer,
you couldn't be in better hands!
I've already learned that.
And I have arranged
for our astronomers
to put aside their present
projects to help you
make any observations
necessary to plot your return trip.
How long do you
think its going to take?
Well, the sooner, the better.
As you know, when we
took off the Earth and Mars
were at their closest.
The distance between them
grows greater every day,
as does the amount
of fuel we'll need.
That, Doctor, is
our big problem.
As you know, the
atomic power heads
were destroyed in the crash,
but from what Justin tells me,
I think we should be
able to substitute corium.
' I hope so!
Interplanetary flight
has always been
a very great interest of mine.
Feel free to call on us
if you need any help.
That, from lkron, is
a very generous offer.
Corium is our most
precious substance.
Are you Jim?
Mm-hm, that's right.
Your new assistant has arrived.
Oh, thanks, show him in.
There's no one to show
in, I'm your new assistant.
My name's Alita.
What's the matter,
is something wrong?
Well, no, uh, no,
it's just that I, uh...
Um...
I, oh, sit down.
I, um...
I'm sort of puzzled
on these, uh,
uh, these new metals!
Well, this is the one you want.
Both can take the pressure,
but this has a better
coefficient of expansion
for temperature variations.
You'll do!
I should've know Justin
knew what he was doing.
Do you like him?
Oh, I think he's
a wonderful man.
Then I think you'll do too.
He's my father.
Oh, he's your...
Oh, well, then, uh,
let's get to work, um...
Say, this food is really great!
There's a reason.
In those hydroponic
chemicals they used,
they put every
vitamin we know of,
plus several other
tissue-building elements.
No wonder there's so
few sick people here.
These are really delicious!
An amazing people.
Great demonstration
of what science can do.
Who would think that,
forced to live underground,
they've mastered the
highly complex problem
of raising food to survive on.
In a way, they're better off.
Instead of fields in the open,
subject to the
uncertainties of weather,
they have great
tanks, miles of them.
With their controlled
temperatures,
they raise practically
everything they wish.
They've made this into
a kind of Garden of Eden.
If you'll excuse me.
You're not going
back to the lab again?
I have to, I have a few
problems I have to solve.
Well, can I help you,
can I come with you?
Thanks, Carol,
but no, I'll be alright.
If you want some more
revenge, just whistle.
Poor Steve.
So busy carrying a typewriter
around the world with him
that he never had
time to fall in love,
then he met a lady scientist.
You're not in love with me.
"No?"
No, I'm just making it up.
Don't ever believe
anything a writer says,
especially a newspaper writer.
Besides, we have
nothing in common!
I'll bet you've never
been to a football game
or seen the Dodgers
in action at Ebbets Field.
Well, it makes sense.
Female scientist
goes for male scientist.
Two of a kind!
Me?
I'm just a guy.
You know, I think we
both need a couple drinks.
I've just made a
big play for you.
I know.
No soap, huh?
No soap, Steve.
But you're wrong, I have
been to lots of football games.
I'm really not such
a test tube specimen
as you seem to think!
And if I'm an idiot about
Jim, it's something I can't help.
Maybe you should try harder.
Oh, good evening.
What are you doing
here at this hour?
I lost a magnetic gauge.
I thought I might've
dropped it in here today.
You won't need
it until tomorrow.
If I find it, I'll have
it put aside for you.
Thank you.
Good night.
Good night.
I have to know when
they're going to be able
to fly it back to Earth.
It's too early to tell yet.
I would've learned more if
the girl hadn't interrupted me.
Well, she doesn't suspect you?
Oh, no, I'm sure of that.
Good.
I must be sure that they're
concealing nothing from me.
Yes, sir.
Well, I didn't expect to
find you working tonight.
I was talking to Father
about this at dinner.
He gave me an idea, I
couldn't wait to try it out.
.Yes?
Well, he thinks if we
increase the temperature
more rapidly the molecules
will release more energy.
It's what you call a
higher sparking power
for the trigger mechanism.
Oh, I hope he's right.
If he is, it'll save
us a lot of time.
Is it ready?
Almost!
You can connect
those cables now.
I know it'll work this time.
That's fine.
Well, this will tell the story.
Now it's got to
spark to at least 200
or we'll never
get off the ground.
All right, switch on.
Look at that!
I knew it would work!
I've got to tell
Dr. Lane right away!
You go ahead,
I'll close up here.
This is a very good one.
That's the Earth, but it's
partially obscured by mists.
Yes, and it's getting
further away every day!
We tested the new firing
mechanism and it works!
Did it register 200?
It went to almost 300!
You mean we'll actually
be able to get back?
Easily!
But it'll take
about a week or so
to get it built to scale
and get it installed,
but you and Carol can start
figuring out the fuel load now,
As of what date?
You know the
distance is widening.
Figure it a month from now.
Fine, that'll give everyone time
to gather up whatever
we wanna take back.
Come, Carol.
Yes, there's no
question about it,
they will be able to take
off for their own planet.
Let them think so.
Do you know how long
before they'll be ready?
No, but I'll find out in time.
Good.
I want them to complete
their work, then we'll step in.
But there can be no doubt
about it, I heard it myself!
Why does he act this way?
I took it for granted that we'd
show him everything we know.
From what our Alita reports,
he plans to let you
complete your work
and then at the last minute
take it away from you!
My advice to you is to
leave before he realizes
that you're ready to take off.
But we can't.
We let it be known
only this morning
that we plan to
take off in a month.
But you could be ready
in two weeks, couldn't you?
Oh, it's useless, he
has spies everywhere
that know every
step of our progress!
Jim, I think I know
something we can do.
Try to get that section
finished as soon as you can.
It's almost ready.
Don't go in there,
it might explode!
What is it, what happened?
I don't know, I was
working, and suddenly
there was a great flash
and explosion behind me.
Alzar, come here, I need help!
I'm all right now.
Is there much damage?
Just the trigger mechanism,
but it'll take at least
another month to replace it.
That long?
Maybe longer.
Oh, no!
Everybody can go home now,
there's nothing more
you can do today.
Beautiful performance.
Dr. Lane!
Dr. Lane!
Yes?
- Oh- - What's the matter?
We're in trouble, it's serious.
Jim, are you hurt?
No, no.
Well, is the rocket damaged?
No, but I want
everyone to think it is.
I faked an explosion.
I've learned there's a plot
to keep us from leaving.
Ikron's government
plans to take the rocket
away from us as
soon as it's finished.
Are you sure of this?
Positive!
Well, what can we do?
We can leave in two weeks.
They think it's gonna
take at least another month
for us to repair the damage.
Well, can we get away
without their knowing it?
It's our only chance,
we've got to try!
Well, we better tell
the others right away!
No, no, not yet.
It's too dangerous a secret.
Just get them to
speed up their work.
Jim, you're tired, you...
you ought to try and
get a little rest and relax.
Yes, I intend to, tonight.
I think maybe we'll
play a little bridge.
Bridge?
If you introduce that
game on this planet,
the people will
never forgive you!
Four hearts.
Pass.
Buy?
. BUY
Well, I've got
good help for you.
That's wonderful support.
I'll make it easily.
Where did you ever
learn to play bridge?
Jim taught me.
I'm surprised at you, Carol.
Haven't you noticed that Jim
and Alita are, uh, that way?
You're supposed
to say it isn't true.
Of course it isn't true!
Sit down, Jim,
I'll go after her.
Why did you say
a thing like that?
Wake up, genius!
I was once a
lonely hearts editor.
Sorry that happened.
I understand.
No, I don't think you do.
Oh, yes, I do.
You even taught me that.
Your works means everything.
Then I must be crazy.
How many years you
been in love with him?
Three.
How many tears
do you think it'll take
to wash out three years?
Go away, Steve!
I can't.
I'm about to win
a game for myself.
You ever play solitaire?
I've been playing
it for a long time.
Please go!
But it gets tiresome,
just like some girls I know.
What do you mean?
You've been crying for exactly
one hour and 17 minutes.
Well, nobody asked
you to sit in on it.
No, it's the idiot in me.
Steve!
That gets tiresome too.
All right, that'll be
all for today fellas.
All right.
I'd like to make that
installation myself.
Oh, and by the way, you
can have tomorrow off,
there won't be anything for
you to do until the day after.
Well, thanks!
They don't know
it, but they've done
their last work on this baby.
What about that?
The emergency lights?
Two minutes work, I
can do that after takeoff.
You know, I can't believe it.
It's finished, ready to go.
It's great, isn't it?
Yes, yes it is.
What's the matter, Alita?
Oh, you'll be going!
Of course, I'm
happy for your sake,
you'll be able to get back now.
That's right, I'll
be leaving, won't I?
Well, it isn't as though
you're going so far.
After all, the Earth is only
35 or 40 million
miles from here.
You know, the way we've
constructed this thing,
there's a good chance
we might be able
to bring back a
couple of extra people.
I didn't wanna tell you
until I was sure of it,
but you're going back with
me, you and your father.
No.
Why?
There's a reason why our
government wants a rocket ship.
10 years from now,
there'll be no more corium.
After that, all life
here will be extinct,
unless something is done.
You mean what lkron wants to do?
No, there are other solutions.
Yes, but unfortunately,
he's in power.
There's Tillamar.
He's a great leader.
It would be better for
the people of our planet
if he and my father went.
Yes, but can we trust Tillamar?
Can we tell anyone
we're ready for takeoff?
Alita, if I confide in Tillamar,
I'm risking the fate
of my whole group.
Five people?
Yes, I see your point.
Whatever we decide
here, you have my promise
that I will not reveal you plan.
Will you yourself,
Tillamar, come with us,
as spokesman for your planet?
As a statesman to
plead your cause?
We pick up Earth's
broadcasts, Tillamar,
and you can deliver
whatever news there is
from the world beyond.
Perhaps to replace corium,
Earth with grant us uranium
in exchange for many
things we have here,
inventions far beyond anything
Earthmen have yet achieved?
Interplanetary trade relations!
You'll go then, Tillamar?
Yes, I will go, but
once I am gone
lkron will declare me a traitor.
Oh, perhaps at first,
but when you have
talked to our people
through Earth's broadcasts,
when you tell them of your plan
and that you're on
a mission for them,
there will be a new
vote in the council,
lkron will be overthrown.
Well, how can
you be sure of that?
Because I will stay here
as your representative,
and organize the
active opposition.
- But- - Don't worry, Alita,
you are going, not I,
but I'll see you again,
I have confidence
in Tillamar that I will!
I've called you all
together to tell you that,
thanks to Jim, the
repairs on the rocket ship
are now complete.
We'll take off tomorrow!
Well, how do you know
it'll function properly?
You haven't been able
to make any real tests.
That's the chance
we'll have to take,
but I'm positive it'll work.
What's to keep them
from stopping us?
That's just it, they don't
know that it's ready,
and if we handle it right
and are very careful,
we'll be gone
before they know it.
We've worked out plans
whereby each one of us
will enter the ship
tomorrow at different times,
without arousing suspicion,
and remain there until takeoff.
Everything must be done
with extreme secrecy,
lkron apparently has
spies everywhere.
So let's get packing.
Uh, just a moment,
if you don't mind, uh...
There's one more thing
I'd like to bring before you,
and that is that
I've asked Alita
to come back with
me and be my wife.
- Certainly!
- Great.
- Grand idea, bring her along!
- Thank you.
Am I supposed to say something?
Sure, some kinda witty remark.
Tillamar will accompany us also.
Why don't we take
a few more people?
Carol, I...
I'd like to tell you how much
I appreciate all you've done.
Oh, don't apologize, Jim,
I think it's just
marvelous to take
two live specimens back with us.
Well, anybody seen
that deck of cards?
What do you want
with a deck of cards?
I feel a game of
solitaire coming up.
Come on.
Professor?
Yes?
Here.
Everything all right?
Yes.
This gets all the
important stuff.
The others will be
aboard later in the day.
Yes, Terris?
I'm worried about
the rocket, sir.
Something is going on,
it looks very suspicious.
Why do you think so?
First of all, no workmen
have been allowed
inside of the rocket
in the last 24 hours,
and, secondly, the corium tanks,
which were to hold
fuel for their return,
have been moved
from the laboratory.
You mean they may have
been placed in the rocket?
Oh, I don't know.
Even if they are on the
ship, it may mean nothing,
but I thought you ought to know.
You might wanna
question one of them.
Well, there is one
we can question.
The girl, Alita.
Good, I will bring her here.
No, no, no, not here!
In the council room.
I will call a meeting at once!
Very good, sir.
Hey, don't I know
you from somewhere?
Girl scientist!
Oh, yes, now I remember.
You know, I've been thinking.
If we make it back to Earth,
I'd like to do a
series of articles.
Enchanting idea,
very worthwhile.
But, you see, I,
I'm not an author,
I'd need a ghostwriter.
Do you suppose that you-
- How long would it take?
Oh, I don't know.
Maybe the rest of our lives?
If you're kidding,
I'll break your neck!
I'm not kidding,
I think you'd make a
wonderful collaborator.
I'm not happy leaving you here.
But think of the
adventure before you.
I'll miss you.
But not for long, my child,
and I'm sure you're going
to be very happy with him.
I think so too.
Are you going aboard
the rocket now?
Yes.
Goodbye, Alita.
Oh, what, what is this?
Terris?
You'll come with us.
Yes, the tanks are on the
rocket ship, but I told you why.
The new outlet valves
have to be tested.
Why are they new?
The old ones didn't fit!
They were damaged
during the explosion.
And you say they
cannot possibly be ready
for another two
weeks for a takeoff.
I only know what Jim says
and I heard him say
that just yesterday!
Everyone else on board?
Yes.
Well, I'll be off.
I'll follow you in 10 minutes.
Weren't Alita and Tillamar
supposed to meet you here?
Yes, that was the plan.
They should've been here by now!
Jim, are you sure
everything is all right?
Yes, don't worry about it.
It's a long trip, you'd
better get started, Doctor.
Where's Alita? It's
almost time to go!
That's what I came to tell you.
You must leave
immediately while you can.
Alita's being held before
the council for questioning!
But then she and
Tillamar are both there.
' Yes!
Tillamar has double-crossed us.
There's no proof of that!
She may be in
danger of her life!
Forget Alita, leave in the
rocket while you still can!
No, we'll go to the
council meeting.
Tillamar may even have
done something to the rocket!
Will you tell us the
truth or go on lying?
I suggest we hold her
and send our men to
seize the rocket at once!
The council will vote on it.
Wait!
If she's telling the truth,
what will be gained
by seizing the rocket?
According to her,
it isn't ready to go!
And if we take
over the rocket now,
it may never be
ready for flight.
We need the
Earthmen working on it!
If she's lying, it'll depart
and we will be
left with nothing!
Ikron, I have trust in
the things of the universe
and in the creator!
You are a naive
fumbling old man!
A vote, lkron's
plan or Tillamar's?
This is time for
action, not words!
Those who favor lkron-
Wait!
Why are you here?
We should request his permission
to have our men
investigate the rocket.
Why should it be
investigated at all?
What is all this?
I have the promise of your help!
We have good and just reason
for believing that
you have betrayed us.
If that is so, you will find
our generosity is at an end
and the sort of
hospitality we will show
will have a different taste.
A vote, lkron's
plan or Tillamar's?
Ikron's!
Very well!
The rocket is to
be seized at once!
These people are to be held!
Alita!
Guard!
Jim should've
been here long ago.
I don't understand it!
I do, there's trouble.
Something must've gone wrong.
I think I see Jim
and Tillamar now!
With Alita!
Open the sky hanger!
It isn't opening!
It won't open!
Turn on the oxygen!
Can we get out?
Take your stations!
Strap yourselves in!
Everyone ready?
All ready!
They'll be leaving
day after tomorrow.
I wonder if they'll make it.
And what they'll
find if they do.
Life maybe.
Life of some sort.
Perhaps someday
we'll have a telescope
powerful enough to see that far.
Dr. Lane, that's the highest
priority secret message
we've ever had at the
Pentagon, and we've had some!
How does it feel to be the head
of a project as
immense as this one?
Truthfully, it's
a little terrifying.
Ah, but you mustn't
print that, Steve.
Well, I should think
it would be terrifying!
I know enough about
rocket propulsion to believe
there's an outside
chance you'll make it there,
but aren't you worried
about getting back?
I used to climb the Swiss Alps.
Our greatest ambition
then was to climb
the highest possible peak.
We worried later
about getting back.
Can I print that, Doctor?
If you wish.
Well, Steve, this is a
plum assignment for you,
making a trip of this sort
merely to report what you see.
Yep, I'm the only one
going who isn't a scientist.
And you deserve it.
You made a wonderful
reputation as a war correspondent.
You've been reading the
jacket cover of my last book.
Dr. Lane,
I once heard of a
man who climbed
a higher mountain
than anyone else alive,
but he was never
able to get down again
and what's left of
him is still up there.
The point is, Steve, he made it.
Where are you going?
Pref light interviews with
everybody making the trip.
I think I've gotten as much
from Dr. Lane as
he's gonna give.
Oh, I'll give you the scientific
reasons why I wanna go-
I'm the non-scientist,
remember, Doctor?
No, I wanna write about
the personal human reasons
why a man would risk
death to go out into space.
You've given me yours.
I gather you don't
think they're too good.
I'm on my way to see Jim Barker.
Maybe your chief engineer
has a different reason
for wanting to go.
Oh, I'm sure he must have.
Steve, I'm a little puzzled.
You're gonna write this all up,
but how you gonna
file a story on Mars
to be printed back here?
Well, General, I'm
afraid I can't give you
the answer to that one yet.
But, don't forget, while
en route, we're gonna drop
these self-propelled space
cylinders aimed at Earth.
They should land here.
We'll be waiting for them.
See you tomorrow at the takeoff.
So long.
And so the exact time and place
of the takeoff will remain
a closely-guarded secret.
As to the immediate reactions
to the sensational announcement,
Congress is demanding
to know why knowledge
of so stupendous an undertaking
has been kept so
long from the public.
Several senators
have even questioned
the advisability of
the very project itself.
The feeling expressed
by many of them,
whether we should
stay where we are.
Government officials
were quick to label
these remarks as isolationist.
Oh, here we go again!
Well, let's get on
with the interview.
You know, if we make
it, both the isolationists
and the interventionists
will take their bows.
Wait a minute, you
said if we make it?
Tell me, Jim, what
do you really think
our chances are
of getting there?
Well, everything we know
about astronomy, propulsion,
and rocket navigation
tells us that we will.
Well, yeah, but there's
a lot we don't know.
There's a whole
universe out there, Steve.
Totally unknown, beyond
anyone's comprehension.
We try to figure it out when
we're kids, but we never can.
Yeah.
Yeah, let me
see if I can't frame
my lead article featuring you!
You see, I wanna
accent the human terms.
About Jim Barker,
chief engineer,
whose genius was
largely responsible
for the construction
of the rocket.
The man with a
dream who couldn't
live or think or
breathe anything else,
who worked and planned for years
to make this
expedition possible.
The man with a skylight
in his Baltimore apartment,
so he could sleep
under the stars.
You make it sound poetic.
Excuse me.
Oh, how are you, Carol?
Oh, Carol, I'd like you
to meet Steve Abbott,
he's the newspaperman
who's going on the trip with us.
Uh, Steve, this
is Carol Stafford.
How do you do?
Hello.
Uh, what are you
doing here, Carol?
We had a date tonight, Jim.
Oh, uh, he held me up.
Oh, yes, I can see you're
all dressed to go out.
A drink?
No.
I understand you wanted
to interview me, Mr. Abbott.
Well, you couldn't have
picked a better time.
I'm just in the mood to
tell the story of my life.
Her brother was a
physicist, taught her a lot.
She's a smart girl.
I certainly am.
She learned spaceship
engineering in only three years.
Spending each day right at
the elbow of Mr. Jim Barker.
Mr. Abbott, do you think
three years is too long
to spend at somebody's elbows?
Steve.
Call me Steve.
I wasn't gonna let her
take a trip like this but, uh,
she learned so much,
she became indispensable.
I couldn't replace her!
So you see, Mr. Abbott,
what you're looking at
is an indispensable
scientific unit.
The first assistant to
the pilot of a rocket ship.
Well, now you
have the whole story.
I sure have.
Professor William
Jackson is here, sir.
Tell him to come in.
Professor.
Be right with you.
I have only five minutes,
they're waiting to take me
to the television broadcast.
I thought I was
handling public relations?
Look here, I don't
even know you.
I take the time and trouble
to come to your hotel and-
Because I haven't been
able to catch up with you!
It was agreed that none of us
were to appear on radio or TV,
because once we start
giving out interviews
at random, and for
commercial gain-
The world has a right to my
opinions and observations.
That's why I was invited on
this trip, to make observations,
gather geological,
chemical, astronomical data.
Look, Professor Jackson,
you're a famous man,
one of the outstanding
scholars of our time.
That's why you're
coming with us.
But they'll be no
speeches on TV!
Hello?
Get me Dr. Lane at the Radcliff.
I'm considered a scholar,
but, unfortunately, that
hasn't made me rich.
On the contrary,
it's left me quite poor.
I am leaving
behind an ailing wife,
a daughter whose husband
was killed in the war,
and two young grandchildren.
Look, just a minute, Doctor.
I was to be given $3,000 for
my appearance on television.
I wanted to leave it with them.
Oh, sorry, Doctor.
Yes, I wanted to talk to
you, but it isn't important.
It can wait.
Yeah, I'll see you later.
If you do a good job on TV,
it will save me the
trouble of writing it.
So go ahead.
Ah, thank you!
See you tonight, when the
police escort picks us up.
Goodbye.
- Good luck.
- Have a nice trip.
- Goodbye.
- Good luck.
Goodbye, have a good flight.
- Thank you.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye!
- Goodbye.
- See you again.
- Goodbye.
- Goodbye, sir.
- Good luck.
Come on, we'll watch the
takeoff from the control tower.
Well, I guess
that about does it.
Good luck, sir.
. - Thank you.
Only five of us.
Seems lonely already!
Well, it was a matter of how
much weight we could carry.
I would've liked to have
asked a dozen more people.
Hey, what happens when
the rocket finally levels off?
Do we walk on the walls?
Oh, no, our gyro mechanism
keeps this cabin
vertical at all times.
When we're in horizontal flight,
that hatch there will
lead to the tail sections.
You better go there and lie
down and strap yourself in.
All right, Carol, turn on the
oxygen pressure for takeoff.
. Oxygen okay.
Control tower?
Barker calling.
Hello, Jim.
This is Ed in the control tower.
Check my radio?
Give me a reading.
Able George Baker ready, over.
Check.
Able George Baker ready.
It's okay, thanks, Ed.
We're ready for takeoff.
Ground clear.
All ready for takeoff.
And Jim?
Good luck, fella.
Thanks, Ed.
I'll be seeing you.
I hope.
Are you ready, Dr. Lane?
All ready.
10 seconds to takeoff.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Contact.
We're ready, General.
That you, Steve?
You've been out in
space two days now,
got anything to report?
Sure have, big news!
Carol Stafford floated
up to the top of the rocket.
She kept bumping
her head until we got
the magnetic field stabilizer
to equalize the
gravitational pull.
And how do like
those for big words?
Here's Jim Barker, who'll
give you the official rundown.
Everything is going
according to schedule.
At the present rate, we
should be out of the orbit
of the Moon in 10 or 12 hours.
After that, it should
be clear sailing.
Anything else? Over.
Jim, the Press Association here
wants to know whether
we'll get some pictures
to go with Steve
Abbott's stories?
Over.
We'll launch our first
space cylinder in 24 hours.
There'll be photographs
and observations in that.
If we lose radio contact,
Steve can send all
his stuff in the cylinder.
Anything else? Over.
That's all for now, Jim.
- Over.
- Okay.
Rocket ship M-A-R-S
signing off for now.
So long.
I'm glad we don't
have to send all
the technical meter readings.
It was a good idea
you had, Doctor,
of having them transmitted
automatically by radio.
And I think it'd be a good idea
if you got a little rest, Jim.
You've been there
ever since takeoff.
Well, I kinda hate to leave.
Don't be heroic, Jim,
two days without
a break is too long!
Dr. Lane and I will take over.
Well, keep your eye on
the gravitational indicator.
If there's any
variation, call me.
Go on, Jim!
Remember, I helped
to design that indicator.
I guess I must be tired.
I'll see you later.
Mother Earth looks
mighty good from here.
Close enough to the Man
in the Moon to talk to him.
If you do talk to him,
be careful what you say,
the Moon could be a
deadly menace to us!
Had a shift in direction,
a good five degrees.
The gravitational
pull of the Moon?
We'll have to use
power to pull out.
Everybody take your stations!
Where's Jackson?
Professor Jackson?
Coming!
Alright Carol, the pressure?
Pressure okay.
All ready?
All ready.
Here we go!
Well, that did it.
All right, Carol,
cut the pressure!
All you have to do is ask!
Well, at least we
won't land on the Moon.
Well, it's finally happened.
We've lost contact
with the rocket ship.
You'd better inform the general.
Your family, Professor?
My two grandchildren.
They're beautiful.
I often wish I'd married
and had a family,
but astronomy and engineering
have taken up
almost all of my life.
My life's been
sheltered but full.
The things I've learned
I've passed on to others.
You talk as if you
were already dead.
Do you really believe
we're going to come back?
Sure I do!
Personally, I feel
this rocket is my coffin.
I never would've expected
that attitude from you.
As long as we remain alive,
I'll contribute all that I know
to the success
of the expedition.
In the meantime, Professor,
you're contributing
an awful lotta gloom.
He's contributed
more than any of us!
A real wife, a home,
two lovely grandchildren.
I'd trade 10 trips
to Mars for that!
Then you shouldn't
have come along, Carol.
Jim Barker, engineering genius.
Jim? 'Skin it!
It's just that being
confined like this
has gotten on my nerves.
Mine too.
You listening, Carol?
To what?
I think that you are
a prize package.
Is this for Jim's benefit?
And very feminine.
He likes you!
I sure do, Mr. Engineer,
and I don't have to look
in a test tube to find out.
Oh, let's cut out
this bickering.
I am not bickering.
Nice try, but it
didn't get over.
Thanks anyway.
Ah, the Earth seems
so big when you're on it,
and from out here
so small and nothing.
It's like closing your
eyes in the dark.
Suddenly there you
are, alone with your soul.
You're homesick, Steve.
No, Professor, I
haven't got a home.
Sometimes I wonder who I am.
Who any of us are.
There was once a theory advanced
that the universe is
a living giant being
and that we as human
beings, made in its image,
are miniature
universes in ourselves,
containing millions
of corpuscles.
The components of each
corpuscle imagine themselves
to be in a complete
world of their own,
though they are
aware of the universe
of other worlds around them.
Oh, that's fantastic!
Is it?
I wonder.
We understand
so very little, really.
If space is limitless
and endless,
then, don't you see, the
opposite must be true too.
Smallness never ends either,
but continues being
tinier and tinier,
just as the enormity
of the universe
becomes more and more enormous.
Doctor, you're
giving me the creeps.
What happens to us when we die?
The whole universe dies,
just as the universe in
which we ourselves live
may someday be no more.
But, there are endless
universes beyond our own.
I know the theory,
but it makes this trip
seem small and futile.
If we're simply going from
one corpuscle in some
giant being to another,
what will we find?
Crossing over may
provide some of the answers
to things man has wanted to know
since the beginning of time.
If so, we'll be swallowed
in space and forgotten.
Holy mackerel, what's this?
Come here, quick!
What is it?
I don't know, it looks as though
the Earth's being bombarded!
It isn't, though, it's
a storm of meteors.
They're traveling at
tremendous speed.
When they reach the
atmosphere around the Earth,
the friction makes them
explode and disintegrate.
We've all seen such
fragments on summer nights.
Most people call
them shooting stars.
Tell me, Doctor,
are we apt to run into
such a storm out here?
It's possible.
No contact, sir, not
for 48 hours now.
From this point on,
I'm afraid they'll have
to depend on their
space cylinders.
Mars!
Jim, what's the
time and position?
Have you finished
with those computations
for jettisoning the
space cylinder?
Almost, just a second.
We are now at approximately
two degrees, S-400x,
102 Solar Time.
Well, that's about
all there is to go.
I hope the homing device
works, I'd hate to have this land
in the middle of
the Sahara Desert.
Didn't Steve have
something to go?
' Oh, yes!
Would you mind seeing if
Steve's material is ready yet?
Of course, Professor.
Everything's in the space
cylinder but your notes.
I wouldn't wanna hold
up the space cylinder,
but if the last paragraph isn't
up to my usual high standard
it'll be your fault
for rushing me.
How do you find so
much to write about?
Isn't easy.
This trip's getting
a little monotonous.
Too monotonous?
Do you feel that
bitter about him?
I don't know what you mean.
A little revenge, huh?
That oughta make
him good and mad!
I don't intend to tell him.
How can you make a guy jealous
if he doesn't know about it?
It's possible.
On?
Glad to have been of service.
What's the matter with you?
For a lady scientist,
you aren't very objective.
No, I guess I haven't been.
Next time you get
sore at him, call on me.
Anytime.
You shouldn't wait
to the last minute
before getting your notes to me.
What's the big hurry?
We've plenty of time and space!
I hope the homing apparatus
on this cylinder
functions properly.
What was that?
Did you have any trouble
getting that space cylinder off?
Why no, of course not!
Look at all those space rocks!
Good heavens, we're
heading right into them!
They will destroy us!
We have to get out of here!
That means we'll
have to go off course.
We have no other choice.
All right, everybody
take your stations!
Strap yourselves in!
I have to give her full speed!
Are you ready, Dr. Lane?
We're ready!
Here goes!
Carol, the emergency lights!
Right!
I think we went through it.
Is everybody all right?
- Yes, I am.
- Gonna have to look.
I think we're all clear now,
but we're
considerably off course.
Jim, you better check
the ship for damage
and Carol and I
will plot the course.
Steve, you and the
professor check the tail section
for any possible damage,
especially the wires and cables.
I'll check forward and
see what I can find there.
Steve, come here.
Have you found a break?
Yes, and something
worse, take a look.
Our landing gear.
Got our radio batteries too.
That's what cut the
cable, probably shorted it.
Can it be fixed?
I think Jim can fix
the cable all right,
but not the batteries
and that shaft.
Not a chance in the world.
How will we land?
Maybe we won't.
Well, folks, we
have a real problem.
The landing gear we
depended on is now useless,
we're going to
have to crash land.
Can't we use the
jets to ease us down?
We may have to, but it
will eat into our fuel supply.
Better to use some of that to
find a favorable landing spot.
We have to make a choice.
We can make it back to Earth
and attempt a landing there,
or we can try landing on Mars.
The choice is up to you.
Well, I'm pretty fond
of the world myself,
even if it's only
a little corpuscle.
If we get back, maybe
we can make another trip?
Not much chance of that.
If anything, it would
discourage future flights.
Assuming anyone
does survive on Mars,
what will he be able to do?
Will he be able to report
back what he finds?
There's a remote possibility.
The atomic power head might
not have been damaged too much
to get off a space cylinder.
It doesn't look very
promising either way.
But if there's any
chance of sending back
any data or
information about Mars,
I'm in favor of going on.
After all, that was
the object of our flight.
Our survival is of
secondary importance.
We can be on Mars
within 24 hours.
At least that's
the shorter trip.
If that's an advantage
under the circumstances.
We're almost at the
top of that mountain
you wanted to climb.
What do you think, Carol?
Well, it doesn't
look like we're going
to come out alive either way,
but, after all, we did
set out to do something.
That says it for me.
I knew that it would.
Okay, I'll make it unanimous.
Good!
I'm glad we're all
together in spirit too.
Jim, what's your plan?
Well, I can't tell you,
not 'til I see the terrain.
We'll have to use
our jets to look around,
but it'll be rough at best.
Well, it's in your hands.
All right, strap yourselves in!
What about you, Jim?
Forget about me!
I see a place to land.
If we make it, we may
be able to take off again.
All right, hang on!
He's coming around now.
It's nothing serious.
Don't tell me we made it.
The concussion of our crash
must've caused the avalanche.
The snow's covered
us completely!
Oh, no it hasn't!
Look over here!
They look like chimneys.
They're regularly spaced.
They may be the
work of living creatures!
Come on, let's go out
and have a look at them!
Are you all right?
Yeah, sure, I just feel
a little short of breath.
Well, no wonder!
We'd better put on
our oxygen masks.
It's made of stone or brick,
and very well made too.
Obviously by civilized
creatures of some sort.
Hm, but it's very old, very!
Maybe the race is extinct now.
That's being a little
pessimistic, Professor.
No, no, Professor
Jackson may be right!
We know that, ages ago,
Mars was a much warmer planet.
In cooling off, it lost
much of its atmosphere.
If people did live
here, it may well be
that the change killed them off.
They don't seem to serve
any purpose, do they?
They may have been erected
as some sort of
religious symbols,
like the great stones the
druids erected at Stonehenge
or the pyramids in Egypt.
Let's follow them along
and see if there's
any change in them.
Yeah.
We have been expecting you.
Expecting us?
You...
You speak English?
For many years we have picked up
your radio broadcasts
and deciphered them.
Many of us have even learned
to speak some of your languages.
I am lkron, president
of our council,
which rules this planet.
We are happy to meet you,
and honored by the
presence of your eminence.
You say you pick
up our broadcasts?
Yes, your first two cylinders
arrived back on Earth safely.
Since then they have
lost contact with you
and there is a worldwide vigil
awaiting news of your party.
Can we get through to them?
No.
Although for years we have
been able to receive broadcasts,
we are still unable
to send them.
Our best efforts have
been reported by Earthmen
only as, "Faint signals
coming from Mars."
You will come with us now.
You may do the same, you
won't need them anymore.
Hey, this thing's moving!
Yes, our cities are underground.
This is magnificent!
Where do you get
your air and light?
We make them.
There is a mineral called corium
from which we extract
hydrogen and oxygen.
You'll find that
we live rather well.
That's a masterpiece
of understatement.
I think the council's waiting.
You will find we have
much in common.
As you have no doubt
already observed,
we owe our continued
existence here to science.
All of our facilities will
be placed at your disposal.
Thank you!
You've made us
feel very welcome.
And I don't think
that scientists
have ever had a
richer field to explore.
As you know, we have
tried interplanetary flights.
Though, for all our science,
we have had no
success such as this.
I am very much interested
in what you have done.
Tell me, this atomic power
which I have heard so much about
in broadcasts from you world-
Uh, just a moment, lkron.
We can exchange questions
and answers endlessly,
there'll be time for that.
Now I suggest that
our visitors be permitted
to rest and refresh themselves.
This is Tillamar,
our senior advisor
and former chief of our council.
Terris will show you
to your dwelling and,
after you have had
time to adjust yourselves,
we will talk further.
Thank you.
This is where you will live.
Your sleeping rooms and
other quarters are on either side.
Thank you.
What I wanna see is the kitchen!
The kitchen?
Yes, where food is prepared.
Oh, we don't have kitchens.
We call it the food laboratory
and we have a large
one for each district.
You order your food and it is
delivered ready to be served.
This is a woman's paradise!
As a matter of fact, I
assumed you might be hungry
and ordered some things for you.
They should be here by now.
Everything is here,
ready to be eaten.
When you've finished,
you just put everything back,
close it up, and
press this button.
That's all there is to it.
No dish washing?
Well, that's taken
care of mechanically.
Mars, I love you!
Oh yes, a tailor will be here
to measure you
for your wardrobe.
You'll be needing
clothes, of course.
You mean, um-
You can have more
like those if you wish.
No, no, we wouldn't think of it!
When on Mars, do
as the Martians do.
We find these very comfortable.
Well, I'll leave you now, I
know you're tired and hungry.
If you want me, you can
reach me over the speaker.
Thank you.
Well, if no one objects,
I think I'll start
setting out the food.
Yeah, I'll help you.
I can hardly wait to see
their chemical laboratories.
What a remarkable place.
The scientific skills
and techniques
of these people
are truly incredible.
A man could spend
years doing research here.
Mm.
And you were all set to die!
You were talking
about Mars being the top
of some big mountain
we just climbed.
Well, how do you
propose we get back down?
And you're talking about
doing years of research?
What good will it
do if we can't get
the information back to Earth?
Or are we planning to spend
the rest of our lives here?
I can think of worst places
to spend the rest of our lives.
No, no, Jim is right.
Our whole project is a failure
unless we can get our
findings back to Earth.
But how?
Our rocket is wrecked!
Can we build another?
I don't know that yet.
We might be able to salvage
some of the essential parts
and maybe build
others, but it's a big job,
and we'll need the help
of the government here.
Without it, we don't
stand a chance.
Even with it, it's
no sure thing.
I don't know why
they wouldn't help us.
Ikron said they were
interested in interplanetary flight.
Well, there's only
one way to find out.
As soon as we get
settled, Jim and I will go
before the council and
ask for their assistance.
If our rocket ship is
to be reconstructed,
we'll need all the
help you can give us.
That's why we are here,
to ask for your
approval and assistance.
Do you really think the
rocket can be repaired?
That depends on how
much of it can be salvaged.
It shouldn't be too much
trouble to construct a new shell,
but the big problem will be
if the atomic power heads
have been destroyed.
Well, in that case, you could
not undertake such a flight!
Well, we'd have to
work on some substitute,
possibly from your corium.
We will send a party
to salvage your ship,
whenever you are ready.
We want to help,
however this is a matter
that must be discussed
by our council.
We will let you know
our decision shortly.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I was anxious that it was
not made to sound too easy,
however the approval
will be granted.
Do you still object to my plan?
To destroy these people
and all the people
on their world as well?
Yes I do.
We will build others
from the same design.
A fleet of them,
a hundred fleets.
And when we finish with
the ruins of their world,
what then, a plan to
conquer the universe?
More rocket ships?
Where is the end of it?
I seek only the sanctuary
of a place to live
for our people.
Our planet is dying!
The corium will be gone!
What plan do you
suggest to save ourselves?
That we make a pact with them,
for certain areas of the Earth!
The people who have come here
have no power or
authority to make pacts!
Once we let them escape,
once their ship is gone,
it may well be our
last chance for survival.
Surely they'll make other trips.
What if they return in power
and force and conquer us?
They will kill us!
I ask for a vote of the council.
My plan or Tillamar's?
- Ikron's.
- Tillamar's!
- Ikron's!
- Tillamar's!
Ikron's.
Ikron's plan is carried
by a vote of four to three.
I need hardly caution
the senior counselor
of the secrecy of this decision.
The space travelers
will not be warned.
We will let them proceed
with the rebuilding of their ship
in the naive belief that we
will let them return to Earth.
Once the rocket is ready,
they will become our prisoners.
Fellow counselors, soon now,
soon,
the evacuation from a
dead planet will begin.
First the armies,
then the civilians.
This factory you've
given us to work in
is certainly ideal
for our purpose.
Some of those amazing new
light metals you've shown me
should be able to take
the pressure perfectly.
I have developed several
that I think will be suitable.
And this assistant
that I'm sending to you
will see that you have the
very best workmen available.
You've undertaken
quite a job, my friend.
Well, most of the
instruments are still intact.
Oh I don't think it should
be too difficult for Jim,
Justin, not with your knowledge
and advice available to him.
You're right, Dr. Lane,
Justin is our most eminent
physicist and engineer,
you couldn't be in better hands!
I've already learned that.
And I have arranged
for our astronomers
to put aside their present
projects to help you
make any observations
necessary to plot your return trip.
How long do you
think its going to take?
Well, the sooner, the better.
As you know, when we
took off the Earth and Mars
were at their closest.
The distance between them
grows greater every day,
as does the amount
of fuel we'll need.
That, Doctor, is
our big problem.
As you know, the
atomic power heads
were destroyed in the crash,
but from what Justin tells me,
I think we should be
able to substitute corium.
' I hope so!
Interplanetary flight
has always been
a very great interest of mine.
Feel free to call on us
if you need any help.
That, from lkron, is
a very generous offer.
Corium is our most
precious substance.
Are you Jim?
Mm-hm, that's right.
Your new assistant has arrived.
Oh, thanks, show him in.
There's no one to show
in, I'm your new assistant.
My name's Alita.
What's the matter,
is something wrong?
Well, no, uh, no,
it's just that I, uh...
Um...
I, oh, sit down.
I, um...
I'm sort of puzzled
on these, uh,
uh, these new metals!
Well, this is the one you want.
Both can take the pressure,
but this has a better
coefficient of expansion
for temperature variations.
You'll do!
I should've know Justin
knew what he was doing.
Do you like him?
Oh, I think he's
a wonderful man.
Then I think you'll do too.
He's my father.
Oh, he's your...
Oh, well, then, uh,
let's get to work, um...
Say, this food is really great!
There's a reason.
In those hydroponic
chemicals they used,
they put every
vitamin we know of,
plus several other
tissue-building elements.
No wonder there's so
few sick people here.
These are really delicious!
An amazing people.
Great demonstration
of what science can do.
Who would think that,
forced to live underground,
they've mastered the
highly complex problem
of raising food to survive on.
In a way, they're better off.
Instead of fields in the open,
subject to the
uncertainties of weather,
they have great
tanks, miles of them.
With their controlled
temperatures,
they raise practically
everything they wish.
They've made this into
a kind of Garden of Eden.
If you'll excuse me.
You're not going
back to the lab again?
I have to, I have a few
problems I have to solve.
Well, can I help you,
can I come with you?
Thanks, Carol,
but no, I'll be alright.
If you want some more
revenge, just whistle.
Poor Steve.
So busy carrying a typewriter
around the world with him
that he never had
time to fall in love,
then he met a lady scientist.
You're not in love with me.
"No?"
No, I'm just making it up.
Don't ever believe
anything a writer says,
especially a newspaper writer.
Besides, we have
nothing in common!
I'll bet you've never
been to a football game
or seen the Dodgers
in action at Ebbets Field.
Well, it makes sense.
Female scientist
goes for male scientist.
Two of a kind!
Me?
I'm just a guy.
You know, I think we
both need a couple drinks.
I've just made a
big play for you.
I know.
No soap, huh?
No soap, Steve.
But you're wrong, I have
been to lots of football games.
I'm really not such
a test tube specimen
as you seem to think!
And if I'm an idiot about
Jim, it's something I can't help.
Maybe you should try harder.
Oh, good evening.
What are you doing
here at this hour?
I lost a magnetic gauge.
I thought I might've
dropped it in here today.
You won't need
it until tomorrow.
If I find it, I'll have
it put aside for you.
Thank you.
Good night.
Good night.
I have to know when
they're going to be able
to fly it back to Earth.
It's too early to tell yet.
I would've learned more if
the girl hadn't interrupted me.
Well, she doesn't suspect you?
Oh, no, I'm sure of that.
Good.
I must be sure that they're
concealing nothing from me.
Yes, sir.
Well, I didn't expect to
find you working tonight.
I was talking to Father
about this at dinner.
He gave me an idea, I
couldn't wait to try it out.
.Yes?
Well, he thinks if we
increase the temperature
more rapidly the molecules
will release more energy.
It's what you call a
higher sparking power
for the trigger mechanism.
Oh, I hope he's right.
If he is, it'll save
us a lot of time.
Is it ready?
Almost!
You can connect
those cables now.
I know it'll work this time.
That's fine.
Well, this will tell the story.
Now it's got to
spark to at least 200
or we'll never
get off the ground.
All right, switch on.
Look at that!
I knew it would work!
I've got to tell
Dr. Lane right away!
You go ahead,
I'll close up here.
This is a very good one.
That's the Earth, but it's
partially obscured by mists.
Yes, and it's getting
further away every day!
We tested the new firing
mechanism and it works!
Did it register 200?
It went to almost 300!
You mean we'll actually
be able to get back?
Easily!
But it'll take
about a week or so
to get it built to scale
and get it installed,
but you and Carol can start
figuring out the fuel load now,
As of what date?
You know the
distance is widening.
Figure it a month from now.
Fine, that'll give everyone time
to gather up whatever
we wanna take back.
Come, Carol.
Yes, there's no
question about it,
they will be able to take
off for their own planet.
Let them think so.
Do you know how long
before they'll be ready?
No, but I'll find out in time.
Good.
I want them to complete
their work, then we'll step in.
But there can be no doubt
about it, I heard it myself!
Why does he act this way?
I took it for granted that we'd
show him everything we know.
From what our Alita reports,
he plans to let you
complete your work
and then at the last minute
take it away from you!
My advice to you is to
leave before he realizes
that you're ready to take off.
But we can't.
We let it be known
only this morning
that we plan to
take off in a month.
But you could be ready
in two weeks, couldn't you?
Oh, it's useless, he
has spies everywhere
that know every
step of our progress!
Jim, I think I know
something we can do.
Try to get that section
finished as soon as you can.
It's almost ready.
Don't go in there,
it might explode!
What is it, what happened?
I don't know, I was
working, and suddenly
there was a great flash
and explosion behind me.
Alzar, come here, I need help!
I'm all right now.
Is there much damage?
Just the trigger mechanism,
but it'll take at least
another month to replace it.
That long?
Maybe longer.
Oh, no!
Everybody can go home now,
there's nothing more
you can do today.
Beautiful performance.
Dr. Lane!
Dr. Lane!
Yes?
- Oh- - What's the matter?
We're in trouble, it's serious.
Jim, are you hurt?
No, no.
Well, is the rocket damaged?
No, but I want
everyone to think it is.
I faked an explosion.
I've learned there's a plot
to keep us from leaving.
Ikron's government
plans to take the rocket
away from us as
soon as it's finished.
Are you sure of this?
Positive!
Well, what can we do?
We can leave in two weeks.
They think it's gonna
take at least another month
for us to repair the damage.
Well, can we get away
without their knowing it?
It's our only chance,
we've got to try!
Well, we better tell
the others right away!
No, no, not yet.
It's too dangerous a secret.
Just get them to
speed up their work.
Jim, you're tired, you...
you ought to try and
get a little rest and relax.
Yes, I intend to, tonight.
I think maybe we'll
play a little bridge.
Bridge?
If you introduce that
game on this planet,
the people will
never forgive you!
Four hearts.
Pass.
Buy?
. BUY
Well, I've got
good help for you.
That's wonderful support.
I'll make it easily.
Where did you ever
learn to play bridge?
Jim taught me.
I'm surprised at you, Carol.
Haven't you noticed that Jim
and Alita are, uh, that way?
You're supposed
to say it isn't true.
Of course it isn't true!
Sit down, Jim,
I'll go after her.
Why did you say
a thing like that?
Wake up, genius!
I was once a
lonely hearts editor.
Sorry that happened.
I understand.
No, I don't think you do.
Oh, yes, I do.
You even taught me that.
Your works means everything.
Then I must be crazy.
How many years you
been in love with him?
Three.
How many tears
do you think it'll take
to wash out three years?
Go away, Steve!
I can't.
I'm about to win
a game for myself.
You ever play solitaire?
I've been playing
it for a long time.
Please go!
But it gets tiresome,
just like some girls I know.
What do you mean?
You've been crying for exactly
one hour and 17 minutes.
Well, nobody asked
you to sit in on it.
No, it's the idiot in me.
Steve!
That gets tiresome too.
All right, that'll be
all for today fellas.
All right.
I'd like to make that
installation myself.
Oh, and by the way, you
can have tomorrow off,
there won't be anything for
you to do until the day after.
Well, thanks!
They don't know
it, but they've done
their last work on this baby.
What about that?
The emergency lights?
Two minutes work, I
can do that after takeoff.
You know, I can't believe it.
It's finished, ready to go.
It's great, isn't it?
Yes, yes it is.
What's the matter, Alita?
Oh, you'll be going!
Of course, I'm
happy for your sake,
you'll be able to get back now.
That's right, I'll
be leaving, won't I?
Well, it isn't as though
you're going so far.
After all, the Earth is only
35 or 40 million
miles from here.
You know, the way we've
constructed this thing,
there's a good chance
we might be able
to bring back a
couple of extra people.
I didn't wanna tell you
until I was sure of it,
but you're going back with
me, you and your father.
No.
Why?
There's a reason why our
government wants a rocket ship.
10 years from now,
there'll be no more corium.
After that, all life
here will be extinct,
unless something is done.
You mean what lkron wants to do?
No, there are other solutions.
Yes, but unfortunately,
he's in power.
There's Tillamar.
He's a great leader.
It would be better for
the people of our planet
if he and my father went.
Yes, but can we trust Tillamar?
Can we tell anyone
we're ready for takeoff?
Alita, if I confide in Tillamar,
I'm risking the fate
of my whole group.
Five people?
Yes, I see your point.
Whatever we decide
here, you have my promise
that I will not reveal you plan.
Will you yourself,
Tillamar, come with us,
as spokesman for your planet?
As a statesman to
plead your cause?
We pick up Earth's
broadcasts, Tillamar,
and you can deliver
whatever news there is
from the world beyond.
Perhaps to replace corium,
Earth with grant us uranium
in exchange for many
things we have here,
inventions far beyond anything
Earthmen have yet achieved?
Interplanetary trade relations!
You'll go then, Tillamar?
Yes, I will go, but
once I am gone
lkron will declare me a traitor.
Oh, perhaps at first,
but when you have
talked to our people
through Earth's broadcasts,
when you tell them of your plan
and that you're on
a mission for them,
there will be a new
vote in the council,
lkron will be overthrown.
Well, how can
you be sure of that?
Because I will stay here
as your representative,
and organize the
active opposition.
- But- - Don't worry, Alita,
you are going, not I,
but I'll see you again,
I have confidence
in Tillamar that I will!
I've called you all
together to tell you that,
thanks to Jim, the
repairs on the rocket ship
are now complete.
We'll take off tomorrow!
Well, how do you know
it'll function properly?
You haven't been able
to make any real tests.
That's the chance
we'll have to take,
but I'm positive it'll work.
What's to keep them
from stopping us?
That's just it, they don't
know that it's ready,
and if we handle it right
and are very careful,
we'll be gone
before they know it.
We've worked out plans
whereby each one of us
will enter the ship
tomorrow at different times,
without arousing suspicion,
and remain there until takeoff.
Everything must be done
with extreme secrecy,
lkron apparently has
spies everywhere.
So let's get packing.
Uh, just a moment,
if you don't mind, uh...
There's one more thing
I'd like to bring before you,
and that is that
I've asked Alita
to come back with
me and be my wife.
- Certainly!
- Great.
- Grand idea, bring her along!
- Thank you.
Am I supposed to say something?
Sure, some kinda witty remark.
Tillamar will accompany us also.
Why don't we take
a few more people?
Carol, I...
I'd like to tell you how much
I appreciate all you've done.
Oh, don't apologize, Jim,
I think it's just
marvelous to take
two live specimens back with us.
Well, anybody seen
that deck of cards?
What do you want
with a deck of cards?
I feel a game of
solitaire coming up.
Come on.
Professor?
Yes?
Here.
Everything all right?
Yes.
This gets all the
important stuff.
The others will be
aboard later in the day.
Yes, Terris?
I'm worried about
the rocket, sir.
Something is going on,
it looks very suspicious.
Why do you think so?
First of all, no workmen
have been allowed
inside of the rocket
in the last 24 hours,
and, secondly, the corium tanks,
which were to hold
fuel for their return,
have been moved
from the laboratory.
You mean they may have
been placed in the rocket?
Oh, I don't know.
Even if they are on the
ship, it may mean nothing,
but I thought you ought to know.
You might wanna
question one of them.
Well, there is one
we can question.
The girl, Alita.
Good, I will bring her here.
No, no, no, not here!
In the council room.
I will call a meeting at once!
Very good, sir.
Hey, don't I know
you from somewhere?
Girl scientist!
Oh, yes, now I remember.
You know, I've been thinking.
If we make it back to Earth,
I'd like to do a
series of articles.
Enchanting idea,
very worthwhile.
But, you see, I,
I'm not an author,
I'd need a ghostwriter.
Do you suppose that you-
- How long would it take?
Oh, I don't know.
Maybe the rest of our lives?
If you're kidding,
I'll break your neck!
I'm not kidding,
I think you'd make a
wonderful collaborator.
I'm not happy leaving you here.
But think of the
adventure before you.
I'll miss you.
But not for long, my child,
and I'm sure you're going
to be very happy with him.
I think so too.
Are you going aboard
the rocket now?
Yes.
Goodbye, Alita.
Oh, what, what is this?
Terris?
You'll come with us.
Yes, the tanks are on the
rocket ship, but I told you why.
The new outlet valves
have to be tested.
Why are they new?
The old ones didn't fit!
They were damaged
during the explosion.
And you say they
cannot possibly be ready
for another two
weeks for a takeoff.
I only know what Jim says
and I heard him say
that just yesterday!
Everyone else on board?
Yes.
Well, I'll be off.
I'll follow you in 10 minutes.
Weren't Alita and Tillamar
supposed to meet you here?
Yes, that was the plan.
They should've been here by now!
Jim, are you sure
everything is all right?
Yes, don't worry about it.
It's a long trip, you'd
better get started, Doctor.
Where's Alita? It's
almost time to go!
That's what I came to tell you.
You must leave
immediately while you can.
Alita's being held before
the council for questioning!
But then she and
Tillamar are both there.
' Yes!
Tillamar has double-crossed us.
There's no proof of that!
She may be in
danger of her life!
Forget Alita, leave in the
rocket while you still can!
No, we'll go to the
council meeting.
Tillamar may even have
done something to the rocket!
Will you tell us the
truth or go on lying?
I suggest we hold her
and send our men to
seize the rocket at once!
The council will vote on it.
Wait!
If she's telling the truth,
what will be gained
by seizing the rocket?
According to her,
it isn't ready to go!
And if we take
over the rocket now,
it may never be
ready for flight.
We need the
Earthmen working on it!
If she's lying, it'll depart
and we will be
left with nothing!
Ikron, I have trust in
the things of the universe
and in the creator!
You are a naive
fumbling old man!
A vote, lkron's
plan or Tillamar's?
This is time for
action, not words!
Those who favor lkron-
Wait!
Why are you here?
We should request his permission
to have our men
investigate the rocket.
Why should it be
investigated at all?
What is all this?
I have the promise of your help!
We have good and just reason
for believing that
you have betrayed us.
If that is so, you will find
our generosity is at an end
and the sort of
hospitality we will show
will have a different taste.
A vote, lkron's
plan or Tillamar's?
Ikron's!
Very well!
The rocket is to
be seized at once!
These people are to be held!
Alita!
Guard!
Jim should've
been here long ago.
I don't understand it!
I do, there's trouble.
Something must've gone wrong.
I think I see Jim
and Tillamar now!
With Alita!
Open the sky hanger!
It isn't opening!
It won't open!
Turn on the oxygen!
Can we get out?
Take your stations!
Strap yourselves in!
Everyone ready?
All ready!