Press Release from Dragon's Domain:
Dragon’s Domain Records proudly presents the eight volume in our ongoing series of music from classic science-fiction films, a quadruple serving of music from four beloved films, THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH, FLIGHT TO MARS, TARGET EARTH and 12 TO THE MOON.
Released in 1962, THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH follows Dr. David Fielding (Kent Taylor), the project director of the first robotic probe to explore the planet Mars, in this modest TWILIGHT ZONE-esque movie from genre producer Robert L. Lippert. After the device is destroyed, he returns to his family, who are staying at a relative’s California estate. Unexpectedly, they begin encountering threatening body doubles of each other, manifestations of non-corporeal Martians determined to stop Earth from invading their homeworld.
The music for THE DAY MARS INVADED EARTH was composed by Richard W. (aka, “Dick”) LaSalle. LaSalle was born in Louisville, Colorado, where he wrote music for local radio while performing in area hotels. His film scoring career began in 1958 with TANK BATTALION, and within two short years he was churning out multiple scores on a regular basis — nine per year in 1961 and 1962 alone. Eventually, his musical talents caught the ear of producer Irwin Allen, who engaged him to score many made-for-TV movies including CITY BENEATH THE SEA, ADVENTURES OF THE QUEEN, FLOOD!, FIRE! and the mini-series THE RETURN OF CAPTAIN NEMO.
Released in 1951, FLIGHT TO MARS tells the story of the first scientific expedition to “The Red Planet,” led by Jim Barker (Arthur Franz) and Steve Abbott (Cameron Mitchell), which crashes its spacecraft and is rescued by humanoid Martians. Living below the desolate surface in a technologically advanced city, the leader (Morris Ankrum) offers to help the Earthlings repair their ship, which he secretly plans to use to invade Earth...
Released in 1960, 12 TO THE MOON follows an international crew of 12 astronauts as they make the first landing on the moon, where they fall victim to many threats. One couple (who are secretly lovers), is captured by the unseen lunar inhabitants, who want to study emotions, love in particular. The surviving crew members are ultimately ordered off the Moon, but prevented from landing on Earth due to an attack that freezes all of North America. They manage to hatch a plan that will cause a volcanic eruption by launching bombs from a shuttlecraft, which thaws the ice-covered continent.
Released in 1954, TARGET EARTH was a Cold War allegory produced by genre maven Herman Cohen (KONGA). A young woman (Kathleen Crowley) survives a suicide attempt only to awaken and find her (unnamed) city strangely devoid of life. Eventually, she comes across the survivor of a violent beating (Richard Denning) and another couple (Virginia Grey, Richard Reeves) who reveal that the city has been evacuated due to a mysterious army marching in from the north. As it turns out, the enemy is not a regiment of “Commies,” but robot invaders from Venus...
This eighth volume in Dragon’s Domain Records series has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland, featuring exclusive liner notes by Starlog Magazine’s David Hirsch and Sam Scali.
SPECIAL NOTE: These recordings were originally taken from analog masters and music & effects tracks and therefore certain limitations from the source tapes may be evident. We have tried to preserve as closely as possible, the quality of the original recordings.
