A Message from Mars

Ramiel (E. Holman Clark), a Martian law-breaker, is sentenced to travel to Earth where he is to "redeem the most selfish of mortals" (Horace Parker, played by Sir Charles Hawtrey). He does so by forcing Parker to experience life as a tramp, during which the wealthy but thoughtless man realizes the value of friendship and kindness. While often cited as Britain's first full-length science-fiction film, 'The Message from Mars' is only nominally science fiction. The 'Martians' could have just as easily been a group of angels (they refer to Earthlings as 'mortals' and "Ramiel" is the name of an archangel in the apocryphal Book of Enoch) and there is no Martian 'technology' contributing to the story (Ramiel simply appears and disappears at will). The film is very slow moving and stagy (not surprising considering its provenance). The acting is typical of the era: lots of exaggerated gestures and posturing (po-faced Ramiel spends most of his time on Earth crossing his arms and frowning in disapproval). The film does mix indoor and outdoor filming and the recently released BFI edition includes the original colour tinting. There are a number of routine substitution splices but the only really interesting 'special effect' is the 'shaking' that Ramiel gives an initially belligerent Parker. The film is often compared to "A Christmas Carol" but unlike Dickens' complex story, Parker needs only to briefly experience life as indigent person to find enlightenment. Hawtrey, who had played Parker in the 1899 stage play is too old for the role of the suitor who thoughtlessly jilts his girlfriend Minnie (he is 55 years old to ingénue Crissie Bell's 23 years). The restored BBC version was scored by Matthew Herbert, and the minimalist machine-music is often out of place and dull. At about 60 minutes in length, 'The Message from Mars' is watchable but will likely only be on any real interest to film historians or to fans of the genre.

To be allowed to return home to the Kingdom of Mars, a Martian must make good of Horace Parker, the most selfish man on Earth.

You never quite know what goodies are going to pop up on Talking Pictures; it makes me question why on Earth I'm paying for Sky Movies, which I seldom watch. A message from Mars is frustrating for most modern-day audiences, I should think, but as a piece of history, it's quite fabulous. For a silent film made so many years ago, I think it's quite remarkable.

Credit goes to the team involved in its restoration; they achieved jaw-dropping results with it, and the result is quite something. The story is easy to follow, and when you think of how limited the technology was for them, they did a grand job.

Sure, the Martians look a little unusual; it's fair to say they're not quite the little green men you may think of, but they are definitely an unusual group. It is astonishing to see the streets of London so empty and so clean! Trafalgar Square and several other locations.

6.5/10.

A MESSAGE FROM MARS is an intriguing little sci-fi movie with two distinguishing factors: it's a silent film, released in 1913, and there aren't too many of them around; also, it's British, which is unusual in itself from this era. We have the BFI to thank for recently cleaning up the print and putting it on general release.

As for the film itself, I think it's fair to say this is no classic. I was expecting a low rent British version of A TRIP TO THE MOON from the title, but what we get instead is a morality story along the lines of A Christmas CAROL. The plot involves a disgraced Martian who, in order to reintegrate into his society, must help a selfish human see the error of his ways in order to become a better person.

A MESSAGE FROM MARS is an hour long production with accompanying music and sound effects and tinted scenes varying between sepia, blue, and red. The acting is exaggerated, as you'd expect from the era, but the storyline is quite involved. Although the Martians themselves are disappointingly dated, the 'zap' effects are cleverly staged, and there's a decent set-piece involving a burning building. The camera-work is static for most of the time but there's a good rolling shot of a moving vehicle which must have been tough to stage. I should imagine that this was electrifying stuff for audiences at the time although nowadays it's more of a quaint curio than anything else.

The BFI version was screened on the Talking Pictures TV channel in January 2025. Bearing in mind the film was made in 1913 it is easy to be critical of its shortcomings but this was still the early days of British cinema. The film is not completely studio bound and features several outdoor scenes some of which give interesting contemporary background street scenes. The basic story of converting a bad person to a good person by some practical or magical means was not new and has been used in many films since. Picture quality is very good and the film is quite watchable both from the historic perspective and the style of acting used in silent films. Interestingly, according to IMDb several of the players never appeared in any other films and of those who did, none made it into the sound era.

The original Charles Hawtrey recreated his stage success in this fanciful piece of what would today be called science fiction in which - in a fashion reminiscent of Ebenezer Scrooge - he receives a visitation to persuade him to mend his selfish ways.

In this telling the meanie answers to the name of 'Horace' - first seen carefully avoiding eye contact with the lower orders - while the Martians look on in disapproval, and decide to send a messenger to make him change his ways.

Followed by the messenger - presumably an invisible one, since none of the other Earthlings ever seem to notice him - Horace initially grudgingly complies by giving a coin to a flower seller, before going on to demonstrate that he's truly a changed character by (SPOILER COMING:) rescuing a child from a burning building.

Meanwhile back on Mars all this has been viewed with approval by the assembled Martians on a big glass globe, and the messenger is rewarded by being restored to all his former Martian finery. The End.