This was the planet Mars
as my crew and I first saw it.
Dangerous,
treacherous...
Alive with something we
came to know only as...
Death.
This is what we faced
when our spaceship
cracked up in landing
just six months ago...
In January of this year, 1973.
But it seems as if
six centuries passed
before a rescue ship arrived...
For today, of all my crew,
I, col. Edward Carruthers
of the United States
space command,
am the only one alive.
Now, I will be going back to
face my superiors on earth
in Washington.
And perhaps there, too,
I will find another
kind of death.
Ladies and gentlemen
of the press,
as you know, the first attempt
to send a spaceship
to the planet Mars
was made 6 months ago.
We knew that that ship,
the Challenge 141,
had reached its destination.
But that's all we knew.
Teleradio communication
with Mars ceased immediately.
And we were forced to assume
that the ship and
crew had been lost.
The man in charge
of this expedition
was a man who had become
known to the world
as the first man
to be shot into space.
The man who pioneered
interplanetary space travel.
Col. Edward Carruthers.
2 months ago, we sent
a second ship to Mars
to learn the fate of
col. Carruthers and his crew.
The president has asked me
to pass on to you
this significant news.
Col. Edward Carruthers
has been found alive on Mars.
But there is a tragic side
to this history-making event.
Col. Carruthers was
the sole survivor
of this first expedition.
1 hour ago, we received a
teleradio communication
from col. Van heusen,
commander of the
second spaceship.
This ship is now
ready to take off
for its return trip to
the earth from Mars.
And col. Carruthers
is being brought back
for a court-martial
to face trial for the murders
of the rest of the crew.
The rescue ship is
ready to return to earth.
I am to spend the next
4 months with strangers,
a crew of men and women who have
but one single purpose...
To see that I face
a military firing squad.
The emergency air lock
in c compartment
has been left open. What gives?
Sorry, sir, that was me.
I was dumping some empty
crates overboard a while ago.
Name check.
Eric Royce, secure.
Mary Royce, secure.
Ann Anderson, secure.
Maj. John Purdue,
secure.
Bob Finelli, secure.
Lt. James Calder, secure.
All right! Countdown.
Minus 10, 9,
8, 7,
6, 5, 4,
3, 2,
1!
Carruthers?
Carruthers?
What are you thinking about?
Those 9 bodies
you left down there?
Yes.
But I didn't kill them.
Still sticking to your story
about a mysterious creature.
Do you expect a court-martial
to believe it?
It's all I can tell them.
I wish we could've stayed
and searched for the bodies.
However, there's still
enough evidence
to put you in front
of a firing squad.
You honestly believe I'd
murder 9 of my closest friends
in order to survive on Mars?
Isn't it logical, colonel?
The Challenge 141
cracks up in landing.
You know you're
marooned indefinitely
on Mars until
another ship is sent.
If another ship is sent.
You know the food
and supplies aboard
would last the entire
crew only a year,
but they'd last you 10 years,
if the others were dead.
Those people were
killed by something.
Not me.
I want to show you another
something, Carruthers.
After you.
At least I appreciate
the freedom of a ship.
Why not? Can you think
of a better prison?
Aren't you afraid I'll murder
you all in your sleep?
Either It. Calder or myself
will be with you
every second of the trip.
Take a look at this.
We brought the dental records
of the first crew from earth.
This is frank kenner.
Kenner?
We found it near
the Challenge 141,
the day after we found you.
There's only one kind of
a monster that uses bullets.
The second we hit earth,
I'm gonna jump
through that air lock
all the way to the ground.
Then I'm gonna roll around and
stretch like a cat in the sun.
Oh, boy, the sun.
We'll be 50 million
miles closer to it.
Even when I was a kid, I could
never stand being cold.
How'd you ever win the
ardmore fellowship
in low temperature physics?
I wore long underwear. Ha ha ha.
Aah. That figures.
What do you look forward to?
Girls!
Oh, you!
I think I remember,
a fascinating research.
Won't a geologist do?
You're, uh, military
property, Ann.
Occupied territory.
Every time van
sees you, he floats,
even though the ship is equipped
with artificial gravity.
These days, van seems more
concerned over a manhunt,
than a woman hunt.
It's just that Eric believes
Carruthers' story, I don't.
I don't believe it, necessarily.
Nor do I disbelieve it.
However, one thing's sure:
He does believe it.
He had to force himself to
believe it or he'd go insane.
And I didn't do that, did I?
Missed your dinner,
col. Carruthers.
I'm tired of ruining appetites.
I'd just like a coffee,
if I may, miss Anderson.
Of course, colonel.
Better stay here, Carruthers.
Jimmy?
Yeah.
Here's some last-minute
computations
on adjusting the orbit.
Look 'em over when
you get a chance.
Yes, sir.
By the time we reach earth,
I'll have his
confession on tape.
Col. Carruthers!
Thank you.
Such a cold, desolate world.
We saw so little of it.
Sometimes I almost
want to believe you.
I killed them or I didn't.
It was me or something.
I've only heard the
story through van.
Now you'd like to
hear my version?
All right.
It's a long story,
but I'll make it brief.
We were all outside the ship,
exploring the Southern tip
of syrtis major,
suddenly a sandstorm came up
and we started back.
I was driving the Jeep.
The sand was so thick
we could barely see.
We were almost back
to the ship when...
Cartwright just disappeared.
One minute he was there and
the next minute he was gone.
As if something had just
plucked him out of the Jeep
like... Candy out of a box.
We heard a weird sort of sound.
Then we thought
we saw a dark shape
running near the Jeep
and started shooting at it.
A few moments later,
kenner and all
the rest were gone.
I was the only one who
made it back to the ship.
When the sandstorm quit, I...
Went out and searched all over.
There wasn't a sign of them.
How can you explain the
bullet hole in the skull?
We were all shooting
at this thing...
Maybe the one who got
the bullet was lucky.
You don't believe me, do you?
I don't disbelieve you.
How about you, lieutenant?
Mars is almost as big as Texas,
maybe it's got monsters.
Carruthers is still talking
about his monsters?
Why don't you stop
baiting him, van?
You're not using your
authority very well.
I'm not doing it for kicks.
Believe me, chicken.
I'm just playing the odds.
Your odds, because
you think he's guilty.
Admitted.
But, Anne, there's a time
factor involved here.
He's unstable right now.
If I crack his story,
I can turn him over
to the court-martial tied
up in a little pink ribbon.
What if he's done
nothing to confess?
Then he won't.
But I owe it to the lives
of those 9 men who died
to try and find out.
Don't you owe it to Carruthers
to treat him as
a fellow officer,
not as an animal?
Do you think he's innocent?
I don't know.
It's not for me to decide,
or for you, van.
Ok, chicken. I'll let up
on the third degree.
Looks like I either
have to do that
or get lynched myself.
It's you I'm worried about, van.
I hate to see you so vindictive.
Every move I make's worse.
Ah, come on, Eric, resign...
No!
Aah!
I haven't resigned
a game in 30 years.
I'll be damned if
I'm gonna do it now.
What was that?
What?
I heard something.
What?
I don't know.
I didn't hear anything.
I learned to hear all
over again on Mars.
Who's up there?
Kienholz.
Come, colonel, we
got a game to finish.
Kienholz?
Did you hear anything?
Kienholz?
Now he's hearing things.
Come on, let's get him before
he wakes up the others.
Kienholz?
Carruthers?
Hey, Carruthers,
come on down here.
Kienholz is gone.
Kienholz isn't gone,
he's probably just turned in.
I'll check his cabin.
Kienholz?
Kienholz?
He's not in his cabin.
Kienholz?
Will you stop this
nonsense, currathers?
Kienholz?
Kienholz, do you hear me?
Kienholz?
Kienholz?
Kienholz, answer!
What's he hollering about?
I don't know.
He can't find kienholz.
Kienholz, this is Royce.
Reply at once.
Reply at once.
Joe, can you hear me?
Reply at once.
Report at once
to the quarters level.
If this is one of his jokes,
I'll make him walk home.
Everybody search the ship.
He isn't here.
Come on.
Not a sign of him.
This is ridiculous.
It's just plain crazy.
Kienholz's gotta be here.
Where's your brother?
He's Comin'.
Hey, gino.
Hey, gino!
Funny, he was right behind me.
Hey, gino!
Gino?
Gino!
Gino?
Hey, gino!
Maybe he went below.
But we were here together.
Now there's 2 of them missing.
This is ridiculous.
There's just no place on this
ship for a man to hide.
Ay, gino, where are you?
Gino?
Where can he be?
If he were here, he'd hear us.
Oh, look, maybe he's hurt.
We've got to find him.
Kienholz.
Lord have mercy on his soul.
C compartment.
First storage, c compartment.
Come quick. Come quick.
All hands on the double.
What's the matter?
What happened?
What happened?
Shush!
Hey, maybe gino's up there.
No. No, he's not there.
Over here.
If he's in there, we can get
him through this hatch.
I'll go, I know the
layout in there.
He's in here.
Gino!
Gino!
Gino. He found gino.
Easy, Bob.
He's alive!
Gino?
Gino?
Gino?
Gino!
Gino?
Help!
You're not gonna
leave gino up there.
Get him out of here!
Get my brother outta there.
Get out of here, will ya?
Get a head start. Go!
What are you gonna
do with those?
We can wire 'em
up to the hatches.
Let's do it!
Put up the grille. Hurry up.
There wasn't anything
else to do, Bob.
I know how you feel,
but there wasn't anything
else we could do.
We could've tried.
You heard what Jack said.
Gino was past help...
We should've tried.
Sooner or later, he's gotta
come out of the duct.
Right into the grenades.
There, you'll be all right,
but you have to rest.
Jack, nobody blames you.
Do you know what
happened to kienholz?
Every bone in his body
must be broken.
I'm not sure that's
what killed him.
That shriveled-up effect...
I'll have to do an autopsy.
What is that thing down there?
Carruthers?
What is it?
Do you know what
it is, Carruthers?
No.
I have a theory
based on what you
and Jack told me.
You say it's man-shaped,
humanoid.
Perhaps there was once
a civilization on Mars.
It ended. Disease,
war, something terrible.
The martians that were left
went back to barbarism.
Savage murderers.
Maybe that's what
we've got on board.
Bob?
I was only 3 feet away from him.
He was shaking his head,
trying to warn me.
I was that close and
I couldn't help him.
Instead I ran.
Why don't you hate me, too?
At least Carruthers did
what he thought was right.
If anybody did a wrong
thing, it was me.
But please believe me,
we couldn't of saved him.
Gino knew that.
Gino knew that himself.
I don't blame Carruthers, you,
I don't blame anybody.
It's just that he's down there.
How could that thing
have gotten aboard?
And why? Just to kill us?
What is the usual reason
an intelligent creature kills.
It's hungry?
What makes you so certain
it's intelligent, colonel,
not just an animal?
It opened the door
to c compartment.
Eric?
Those gas grenades
that gino made up.
He joked about them,
said if we ran into
any dinosaurs on Mars,
the grenades would
take care of them,
but... If nothing else
works, maybe gas?
They're in the
chemical cabinet, Eric.
We'll use them as a last resort.
Jim, will you get out
the gas masks?
The second storage hatch.
Close it! Close it!
Bullets, grenades,
nothing stops it.
What do we do now?
What'd you find out?
There's not a molecule of oxygen
or a drop of water
left in kienholz's body.
Water?
Blood,
bone marrow,
glandular secretion,
moisture in the tissues...
Every ounce of edible fluid
in his body is gone.
Probably through
some osmosis process,
there are no punctures.
That's what killed him.
Cellular collapse
and dehydration,
not being crushed
into that duct.
It holds together.
Mars is a world almost totally
without water or oxygen.
The creature's entire
being is probably
organized to feed
in that manner.
It preys on smaller creatures,
which in turn feed
off the sand itself,
converting their intake
and hoarding it as water.
I'm worried about van.
Infection's set in and I
can't seem to control it.
It's exploring, testing.
It can get through
the center hatches.
It has to kill us or starve,
and we've got to kill it or die.
Why is it so quiet now?
Why doesn't it attack?
'Cause it's got gino, huh?
Bob, look, I've got an idea.
How is he?
It's an alien bacteria
of some kind.
So far the infection
isn't critical,
but our drugs don't
even touch it.
Col. Carruthers.
I know this may sound horrible,
but you were right
and we were all wrong.
It's taken this to prove it.
Anne?
Anne?
It's moving around.
Jimmy?
Anne?
Bob and I have a suggestion.
We could get around
behind the creature
by going out the control
room emergency air lock,
moving down the hull
to the emergency air
lock on the motor level.
That would put us
one level below it.
We might be able to
surprise it that way.
If we knew what
to surprise it with.
I've been thinking of something.
At least, it's worth a chance.
Exactly 520 minutes,
10 seconds,
now.
We'll time it to get to
the motor level air
lock at exactly 525.
Start making noise then,
not a lot, just talk,
move around.
Don't make it sound threatening.
Just enough to keep
his attention away
in case we make
noise coming in below.
Good luck,
in case we don't come back.
I said, "good luck,
in case we don't come back."
The plan is a simple one.
While the rest try to hold
the attention of the beast
with their talk and footsteps,
we will attempt to get to
a level below the monster.
Our only hope is
that this will be
the last attempt we have
to make to kill the thing.
I've gotta fix that
pillow for van.
I'm sure they will.
They'll be all right.
I hope they're making noise.
Do you think they're gonna
be all right down there?
Grenades, gas and bullets
have failed to stop the beast,
but perhaps it can
be electrocuted.
There's enough voltage
in these lines
to kill 30 human beings.
The only drawback is,
the thing isn't human.
I know, but they'll be back up.
They'll be all right.
Ah!
Hey!
I can't make it.
My leg's broken!
Get out! Get help!
I've switched the intercom
to pickup his suit-radio.
Calder? Calder, can you hear me?
Loud and clear.
It's nice to have company.
Are you all right?
I'm alive, if that's
what you mean.
I picked a good spot, right
between the induction pumps.
You mean it can't get at you?
It could, if I didn't
have this torch.
To reach me, it has
to stretch down in.
Every time it does, I give it
the torch in the eyes.
Can you reach the lock?
No. No chance.
Looks like I'm here
for the duration.
Oops! Here it comes again.
Calder?
Still here.
The plate on this torch says,
"good for three
hours continuous use."
And to return it for your
money back if unsatisfied.
Hang on, Jim.
We'll leave the intercom on.
Just hang on.
Sure. What else?
Will you keep us informed
of its movements...
we'll try to figure
how to get you out.
Just send care packages.
You know, if that thing should
attack the induction pumps or...
The bank of control relays,
we couldn't maneuver the ship or land it.
we'd just...
Drift right past earth
towards interstellar
space. We'd...
Drift forever.
So I decided after
one bad marriage
to bury myself in science.
I didn't want anybody.
Van changed your mind?
If we get out of this, I'd...
Eric?
The bacteria is attacking
the bone marrow,
resulting in a
leukemia condition.
I can fight it with
drugs, but slowly.
Too slowly.
If they're going to live,
they've got to have
fresh blood constantly...
And there's no more
up here in the dispensary.
Then we've got to
go down and get it.
Sir,
if...
You couldn't help Calder.
You had to...
You had to leave him there.
Well...
What did you do, Carruthers?
Throw him in as bait
so you could get away?
Van.
How...
How come you...
How come you always get
away without a scratch?
He doesn't know
what he's saying.
I heard that.
Tell him he's nuts.
Van heusen's got it all wrong.
Hey, can anybody hear me?
Van heusen's got it all wrong.
We hear you, Jim. Thanks.
Somehow we've got
to get that blood.
Well, this time it's my turn.
I'm going with you.
All right, we'll
make a run for it.
One thing,
remember there's only
10 feet of ladder
between it and us when
we get down there.
So, we better take
it slow and easy.
One sound, and we're dead.
Let's take our boots off, huh.
Here are the inventory numbers.
Type o, compartment x-1,
storage b.
They're all marked.
Calder?
I'm with it.
I'll let out a shout
if the critter even
looks at the ladder.
Right now, it's just
prowlin' around.
Good luck.
Thanks.
Hey, this might be
worth something.
It just went in the
reactor room.
This might be the break
we're waiting for.
It took gino with him.
Calder, listen,
I'm going to close the door
to the reactor room.
Let me know what
he does, will ya?
Roger.
Calder?
What's happening?
Nothing. Not a squawk.
We're Comin' down.
Eric?
Van'll appreciate it. Come back.
Maybe we can get Calder
out of there now.
Bob...
Take a look.
We'd better hurry
and get that blood.
Easy, Bob, easy. No noise!
Okay, Jimmy.
No! Van, no!
No! Let me go!
Let me go!
Let go of me. Van...
I know what I'm doing.
Please, van.
We can unshield the reactor.
The radiation...
The radiation will kill it.
It's too dangerous
while they're down there.
If the creature
breaks loose he'll...
Wait until they come back.
It's a good idea,
but, van, please.
Now is the time.
No, van, please.
Hurry! Van unshielded
the reactor.
I hope that door holds
if it wants out.
Bob, hurry up.
It's enough to kill 100 men.
Get up the stairs.
I'll be all right.
No, I'm not leaving ya.
Ah! Ah!
It's out!
It's out!
It won't die.
Eric, hurry. Hurry!
What about Bob?
There's nothing we can do!
Get that blood up
there fast! Don't stop!
Eric.
Get up to the control
level. Hurry!
Be careful, dear.
At least down below
I could've died on a mattress.
You'll be all right.
You'll be all right.
I guess it...
I guess it looks like it's
you and ed now, huh, chicken?
What do you mean?
Uh...
I got good ears. I can hear.
You and him,
just out of nowhere.
Let's talk about it later.
There isn't any later,
the way things look.
That's why I asked now...
I, i...
I just got to know.
Van, please.
Anne, where are the flashlights?
Better get Goin'.
Mary?
Am I going to make it? I mean,
if all of us get away, uh...
Okay, Mary, I understand.
I'm the guy with
all the answers.
There is nothing
to do but wait now,
nothing to do but
see if the beast
will reach us through
the center hatch.
We can go no higher.
We are in the top
level of the ship.
This is where either
we die, or it dies.
Calder?
Still alive.
Don't ask me why I bother.
Good. Can you see it?
Big as death.
It's been sitting here
for the last half hour,
licking its chops.
Incidently if anybody's
interested at this late date
I got it figured how
the critter got aboard.
How?
It Must've followed
us back to the ship,
after we picked you up,
climbed one of the fins
just before takeoff
and got in through
the open emergency hatch
in c compartment.
Sounds right.
How's the air down there?
Pretty bad.
My suit-tank helps,
but it's about empty.
Ed?
It's movin'.
It's going up the ladder.
I can hear it prowlin'
around up there.
Anne, Mary, get those
flashlights on quick.
Ed, it's going up
to first storage,
banging on everything it passes.
It's Goin' nuts.
Can you get to the air lock?
Why? Look at the pretty stars
through my broken faceplate.
Get in the air lock
and hide there.
Eric.
Take a look at this.
The oxygen consumption's way up.
40 percent over every
previous maximum.
40 percent! Perhaps the
gas from the grenades.
No, that wouldn't
affect it that much.
It's not a leak,
the pressure's all right.
Are you thinking the
same thing I'm thinking?
The creature?
It must have enormous lungs
from the thin air on Mars.
Let all the air out of the ship.
If we can do it in time,
we can kill it.
We can build up
our air supply later.
Right!
Get your spacesuits on. Quick!
Aah!
Drive him below
so I can get to the air lock.
Ed!
You have been called here again
to receive further information
about the story which was
given to you last night.
I will read you the text of
a teleradio message
received from the Challenge 142
less than an hour ago.
"This is Eric Royce talking.
"Of the 19 men and women
who have set foot
upon the planet Mars,
6 will return.
"There is no longer
a question of murder,
"but of an alien and
elemental life force.
"A planet so cruel, so hostile,
that man may find it necessary
"to bypass it in his endeavor
"to explore and
understand the universe.
"Another name
for Mars is death."