Russians in Space

 

 (imdb)

BATTLE BEYOND THE SUN-1959-A narrator tells us about the US's big plans for colonizing the moon and beyond. Toy models are shown. In the year 1997, after the "great atomic war", the Earth is divided into "The North Hemis" and "The South Hemis". In the South Dr. Gordon and his wife Ruth head a project called "Red Planet". It's mission is to land a spaceship on Mars. According to rumors, the North is also working on such a trip. After the Mars team lands on a space station where the rocket ship will be launched, they get a distress call from a Northern Hemis ship asking if they can land and make repairs. Permission is granted. At dinner the south announces their intentions of going to Mars. This upsets the North pilots as this was their mission too. Against orders the North decide to go to Mars first. Taking off they injure one of the cosmonauts, I mean a South astronauts. Later the arrogant, self assured and reckless US astronauts, I mean the North astronauts have their rocket ship destroyed by the sun. The south doesn't quite make it to Mars and they are attacked by monsters. Despite the failure the four man crew return safely as heroes. 

This movie was actually a USSR produced film entitled NEBO ZOVYOT and has two directors. The US version had a third. Roger Corman bought the film and had Francis Ford Coppola (and Jack Hill) re-edit and dub it into English removing all the Anti-American propaganda and the two competing countries into “hemis”. Coppola also added the scenes with the space monsters.

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