Why is Suspense interested in doing sci-fi, especially about Mars, and starring Jack Benny… as a Martian? This broadcast can be easily dismissed as a silly story and opportunistic publicity event. But it’s not. It’s an amusing and satirical current events commentary that lampoons the sudden public interest in flying saucers, unfolding Cold War tensions, attributes of bad science fiction, and human foibles. It’s not the best of the Benny appearances, but it’s great radio that is richer and deeper than it first seems. Once you understand the background of the times, you realize that Benny is perfectly cast once more.
Of all unlikely roles, Jack plays a man from Mars, which is amusing by itself. He is “Xeno,” an inferior member of a superior race, a lowly factory worker who applies treads to escalator steps. Xeno is assigned to greet the Mars arrival of the first rocket ship from Earth, and he is to do so alone. This befuddles the visitors, because it seems that the Martians have no interest in meeting with them, not even the slightest curiosity about them.
The name “Xeno” is a bit of a joke, from the Greek, meaning “foreigner” or “alien.” Isn’t it funny that the story has a Martian with a name that means “alien.” The meaning is applied to his character precisely because he is a misfit in the eyes of his fellow Martians, as he is like an alien to their mainstream society. After all, he barely knows what “Plan X” is, though every other Martian does!
Plan X news and entertainment context
Radio’s big fascination with Martians came to a head with 1938 War of the Worlds, but there was always some interest, most all of it panic-free. In 1933, there was a kids serial Dr. Decimal Seven that had a very strong Mars plotline https://archive.org/details/dr-decimal-seven-33mmdd-syndicated-pgm-1-fred-shields-is-star Mars, the planet closest to Earth, seemed fascinating.
In the early 1950s, science fiction was getting a higher profile on radio with series such as Dimension X with some of radio’s most compelling stories and productions. Sci-fi was also a common theme of kids serials, though plots tended to be quite thin. The simplistic and forumulaic Tom Corbett, Space Cadet was on radio at the beginning of 1952. There was an adult sci-fi breakthrough in 1951’s movie with Day the Earth Stood Still. It showed that science fiction as serious drama that could appeal to a wide audience. The Thing from Another World was more straightforward science fiction (with marvelous dialogue). Both films involved visitors to Earth. These kinds of sci-fi endeavors stirred the imagination of the public that there were other civilizations on planets in our solar system and beyond.
While adult science fiction was being cultivated as worthwhile entertainment, “flying saucers” were in the news. There was an increasing wave of reports of unidentified flying objects, UFOs, in Spring and especially Summer 1952. There were so many reports that the US Air Force began the famous “Project Blue Book” to investigate and document the sightings. The most shocking reports were that flying saucers appeared over Washington, DC in July. That news became a national sensation. There was another factor in the stories, however. There was concern that the unidentified objects were related to the Cold War. Could such aircraft be part of surveillance or a future attack by one of America’s enemy countries? The saucers might not be from outer space, but might be a new form of weapon. The CIA became worried that unfounded speculations could spiral out of control and create panic and havoc. Those panics could be used by an unfriendly power to destabilize the country. These events and ideas were the groundwork for Plan X. They could either be taken seriously, or made fun of. They chose the latter.
The Plan X story takes place 100 years beyond its broadcast date, 2053, and is based on facts known at that time about Mars and the solar system. We knew so little back then, and the lack of unshakable information is clear in Plan X. Many of its funny scenes and dialogue rely on the planetary ignorance at that time because the actual information had not been discovered yet. The script was written pre-Sputnik, pre-space race, pre-moon landing, pre-Hubble space telescope, pre-robotic rover missions to moons and planets, and so much more. It was believed, through the telescopes of the time, that Mars likely had canals, and that the planet’s color changed because it was covered with seasonal vegetation. Actually, the telescopic views of the planet were blurred by the combination of Earth’s and Mars’ atmospheres. Viewing technologies were primitive compared to the technological advances made since then. Now we know that Mars is essentially a big ball, red from its dusty iron deposits, with lots of rocks and mountain ranges, and ice at its poles (and perhaps some underground), with an atmosphere that is averse to human life. The 1952 Mars was a big question mark, and fertile imaginations could deliver superb science fiction around its possibilities.
Plan X is based on the combination of romantic notions about Mars and the heightened public interest in UFOs. Some took Mars speculation seriously. Some did not, with scriptwriter Richard Powell and Suspense producer Elliott Lewis among them. That’s how Jack Benny could be cast as a Martian in sci-fi satire.
Repeating common science fiction patterns
In the story, Earthlings are visiting Mars and encountering an established civilization. The entire story lampoons and refers to some of the worst science fiction clichés:
Non-Earth civilizations are much more advanced technologically and ethically.
Those civilizations understand English, through observation or by mental telepathy. That’s not really addressed here; they must know English because they are so advanced.
Civilizations are more mature and realized the foolishness of wars long ago, and discovered the secrets of peace. They are generous and unselfish.
There is often a hopeless Cold War aspect to it, that man-made destruction is imminent and seemingly unavoidable.
Martian atmosphere can accommodate Earth-based life forms in terms of air and other essentials life forms. People are mostly the same all over, including other planets.
Technology of the aliens is more advanced, and peacefully deployed, and they have a tradition of understanding of atomic and nuclear power. If anything, it’s downplayed: “atomic escalators” is a very benign concept.
The story
The broadcast begins with the Martians using a computer that will select which of their population will meet a rocket from earth. They don’t select an ambassador, a scientist, a government leader, they select Benny’s character, Xeno. He works on an assembly line applying treads to atomic escalators. What is the implication? Manual labor in the highly advanced society, but is not held in high regard in terms of intelligence required. Somehow they know not to hold the soon-to-arrive Earthlings in high regard, either. This is a condescending meeting of peers being set up by Martian authorities who are not taking the visit from its closest planetary neighbor seriously.
What are Xeno’s qualifications? (This is one of the funniest lines of the script). Xeno was selected because he had “set habit patterns, attention to detail, no strong emotional or biological drives, and complete suppression of imagination.” In other words, he is the least interesting person on the planet!
He is instructed to implement Plan X, something about which every Martian has knowledge… except, it seems, Xeno. He tries to fake his way through it.
The next day the Earthlings land and they are thrilled to meet a real Martian. The meeting is awkward, funny in itself. The head of the expedition tries to introduce himself… and it sounds like awful dialogue from a bad 1930s “cowboy and Indian” movie. That’s the point. How silly it is to think that an alien creature would understand… English. And then they do! The cowboy and Indian theme or perhaps colonizer and indigenous) continues with an attempt to trade beads and cloth! Xeno behaves almost like he was shopping and asked if they had something else to show him.
Soon thereafter there is another funny line when Benny speaks. The Earth ship commander says “He speaks Esperanto!” The joke would have been somewhat funny in 1952. That language was created in the late 1800s, and was intended to become an international “second language” that would facilitate communications, diplomacy, understanding, and practical interactions around the world. There was a period when the Esperanto movement was viewed with great suspicion, with some believing that Esperanto speakers were members of subversive organizations. Stalin, originally a supporter, changed his mind and executed, exiled, or sent Esperanto speakers to the Gulags. In Plan X, the Martians not only speak English, supposedly, but they speak the international (hoped) second language! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto Yet not a word of Esperanto is in the script; the Commander just blurts out “He speaks Esperanto!” for no apparent reason, making it even funnier.
The Commander asks where the other Martians are, and Xeno says “all other adult Martians are - shall we say, unavailable.” Based on 1950s corporate structures, this is like going to a big office building, walking into the lobby, expecting to meet someone in authority without prior arrangement, meeting a parking attendant, and then being officially assigned by the CEO to be led around the premises, and have a detailed tour by that very attendant for the entire day.
Another funny aspect of the story is that Xeno finds a female crewmember to be attractive, and becomes interested in her. This is one step toward a future Captain Kirk from Star Trek, who 12 years later would be known for having an eye for attractive aliens. Do Earthlings and Martians look alike? They obviously must, and their biologies are compatible, too, implied by the story.
Another funny line at about 12:15 is delivered, commenting on the 1952 flying saucer sightings. The group is with Xeno at a museum. The Commander thinks he sees a flying saucer on display, and asks what it is.
XENO: Hmm? I - I’ll have to read the nameplate. ... Oh, yes. Yes, a flying saucer. From Nineteen Fifty-Two, your calendar. One hundred years old.
FIELDING: Nineteen Fifty-Two! The Year of the Flying Saucers! Then they DID come from Mars!
XENO: Oh, yes.
COMMANDER: But none of them ever landed on Earth. Why?
XENO: Mm, it just didn’t seem worthwhile. Nothing personal, of course.
(A version of that comment about landing on Earth not seeming worthwhile, would be in the 1978 BBC radio comedy and the subsequent book series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The Earth was classified as “harmless.” The author of the series was Douglas Adams.)
Xeno and the Commander continue to another display and see a paralyzer ray. It was noted that the weapon had not been used for three hundred years (since the Earth Year 1753; it is assumed that Earth years and not Mars years is the measure). The cliché of a superior race no longer needing weapons is expressed once more.
At 18:30, Xeno meets Connie for another funny exchange. Xeno narrates and says “It was a beautiful evening. We walked out over the plain, Connie and I, and then we sat down quite close. Connie lit a cigarette and I opened up a package of Gur-Kog.” Yes, Martians allow smoking, and they have their own recreational product. Xeno seems to know about smoking and is nonplussed about it. (Hmmmm… Did Connie and others on the Earth craft sit around and smoke to pass the time while en route to Mars?) To the 1952 listening audience it, smoking on Mars sounded amusingly plausible.
The next day, it’s time for the Earthlings to leave, but Xeno will be implementing “Plan X.” But before that takes place, there is this exchange where Xeno is invited to go with them.
COMMANDER: I've decided to invite you to come with us - to Earth.
XENO: To - Earth?!
COMMANDER: How ’bout it, Xeno? We're taking off in, er, sixteen minutes - at nine o’clock. How ’bout it?
XENO: Well, it’s not that I don’t appreciate your thinking of me, but Mother would worry and, uh--
Yes, Mother would worry. Benny’s Martian character lives with his mother, just like his character in A Good and Faithful Servant. Martian families seem to have paternal guilt, too.
A funny scene concludes the story. Martian children have built a “maturity ray” that stops the Earthlings departure and changes their entire demeanor. (Yes, Martian kids have the secret to mature Earthling adult behavior). Xeno explains the ray as “It takes people who are, shall we say, less advanced and increases their IQ by several thousand years.” And how does that occur? The Earth-based crew is suddenly Martian, and will therefore never leave the planet. Martian children attacked Earth adults with an infusion of knowledge and common sense. Earthlings and Martians must be very much alike after the effects of the ray, physically and biologically, for them to be declared to be Martians, and to cooperate with the idea. Only an “attitude adjustment” was required, it seems.
(Oh, how different than the Twilight Zone’s To Serve Man when it is realized the aliens sharing of knowledge was to deceive Earth people to leave the planet. Their book “To Serve Man” was identified too late as a cook book!)
The publicity and other items of interest
CBS publicity knew they could take great advantage of a Benny appearance on Suspense. The office released this very amusing information to the press:
Jack Benny, beginning rehearsal for his man-from-Mars role on Monday night’s Suspense, told producer-director Elliott Lewis: “I don't understand the script. I haven't been to Mars in four or five years and I guess things have changed.”
“Never mind,” said Lewis consolingly, “I’ll bet you get more fan letters from Mars than any place else.”
“Of course,” mused Benny, “I guess I could ask [George] Jessel. I’m sure he must have played Loew’s Mars some time or other.”
During the first reading, Benny broke up completely — along with the rest of the cast — over his first encounter with the script’s Martian-type double talk.
“Mother,” he says at breakfast, “I think I’ll have a second cup of ostric.”
After a quick double-take, Benny screamed: “Ostric?” And the panic was on. When the laughter subsided, Benny inquired: “Who wrote this script — Groucho Marx?”
The comic-fantasy was written for Suspense by Dick Powell (no relation to the actor), who also wrote the script for Benny's first appearance on Suspense last year.
Things got even sillier during discussion of sound effects. “That doesn't sound like a space ship landing on Mars,” yelled one of the sound men.
“You got a better idea?” shot back the offended one.
“All I wish,” sighed Lewis. “is that I had a recording of this conversation.” There was a brief debate, also over the sound of a Martian “ray gun.” “It's no good,” declared Lewis, “It's got no sparks in it.”
“Oh,” said the sound man, surprised, “You wants sparks in it, too?”
“Of course,” said Lewis. “Every atomic ray gun I ever used—”
“You were right,” said the sound man. “We shoulda’ recorded this rehearsal.”
The story was by Richard M. Powell, who wrote A Good and Faithful Servant.
At the beginning of the story, Martians are waiting for “a card” from a computer that will give them the best-qualified person to meet the Earth visitors. Analog computing using cards had a long history, with a landmark project of tabulating the 1890 US Census. It is strange, knowing how computing technology evolved, that the advanced Martians of 100 years later were still using cards! Sci-fi in the 1950s also had many examples of talking to “computers” (sometimes called “electronic brains” and getting responses. Using a card in this scene emphasized that every Martian had a card and a computer examined each and every one, and picked Xeno and no one else. Martians knew where every single member of their society was including details about their personalities and their habits. The search seems more complete when it was done on cards, and sounded more plausible to the audience. There seemed to be no concern about privacy and government records, it seems.
The rehearsal of the production began at 10:30am on Thursday, January 15, 1953. The recording of the drama portion began at 3:00pm.
(Many thanks to Generic Radio Workshop for their online transcript of the Plan X script).
Three recordings have survived
The network recording is the best of the three. There is an Armed Forces Radio (AFRS) recording contemporary to the original broadcast that is second best in sound quality. The Armed Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) is from the late 1970s or early 1980s.
The AFRS recording was edited by their production engineers in an odd way. It gives the impression that the title of the episode is “The Strange Disappearance of XY272B.” That is the name of the Earth rocket. That title assumes the ending of the story, most likely. Once the Earthlings have become Martians, there is no reason for them to report back to Earth about their whereabouts. The Earth’s mission control likely considered the mission to be lost.
LISTEN
TO THE PROGRAM or download in FLAC or
mp3
https://archive.org/details/TSP530202
THE CAST
JACK BENNY (Xeno), William Conrad (Spokesman), Joe Kearns (Announcer / Fielding), Stuffy Singer (Ormi), Truda Marson (Receptionist), Norma Varden (Mother), John McIntire (Commander), Howard McNear (1st Martian / Parker), Mary Jane Croft (Connie), Jack Kruschen (2nd Martian), Larry Thor (Narrator)
COMMERCIAL: Tom Holland (Hap), Harlow Wilcox (Announcer), Sylvia Simms (Operator)
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Stuffy Singer is in the cast as “Ormi,” one of the Martian kids. At the time of this broadcast, he was 11 years old. He was on the Benny show as a member of the Beverly Hills Beavers… as was Jack.
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