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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1028

A Message from Mars

191368 minUnited Kingdom

Science fiction

Synopsis

Wealthy Horace Parker expects everyone to arrange life around his convenience, leaving his fiancée close to breaking their engagement. On Christmas Eve, a visitor from Mars makes him invisible and lets him hear what those around him really think. The extraordinary journey turns other people's criticism into a lesson in ordinary human consideration.

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Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs: 59:59
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Wallett Waller · Public domain

This copy runs shorter than the reference runtime. Editing and playback speed can differ between editions.

Cast

Charles Hawtrey

E. Holman Clark

Chrissie Bell

Frank Hector

Hubert Willis

Kate Tyndale

DirectorsJ. Wallett Waller

Inspirations

Richard Ganthony's stage play supplies the premise. Its use of a supernatural visitor to challenge a selfish man's treatment of others recalls the moral structure of A Christmas Carol, recast through an early science-fiction device.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 15, 2026.

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