ALL SCI-FI

[Eadie]

TCM is showing Flight of the Lost Balloon early Saturday this week at 1:45 AM.

___________

This version of Five Weeks In A Balloon (1962) by Jules Verne came out almost a full year before Five Weeks In A Balloon (1962) by Irwin Allen. Even the posters are similar.

___________

[Bud Brewster]

__________________________________

An excellent post, Eadie! I love the poster comparison.

I actually saw this movie in 1961 at the little theater in the next town over from the one I grew up in. A short bus ride with my friends and we'd get to enjoy great movies together!

Unfortunately this movie was not one of the great ones.

For some strange reason the only thing I remember from the movie was the scene with Felipe Birriel Fern??ndez, an incredibly tall, skinny Puerto Rican who who faces off with Marshall Thompson on a beach while Felipe's minions approach to capture him.

When Felipe spread his arms WAAAAAY out to the sides, ready to take on Marshall, it was sort of unintentionally funny because he looked a glider coming in for a landing!





Amazon offers this one as a streaming video, but the picture is horrible — faded, blurry, and filled with scratches, as you can see from the screenshot above.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Eadie]

Hopefully TCM will have a better print; it certainly CAN'T be worse!

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

About a year ago, YouTube obtained a fairly good version of this movies, although the aspect ratio of 4:3, not widescreen, and the image is not very sharp.

However, the print isn't the "hot mess" I described above which Amazon streaming offers.

If you're a fan of Five Weeks in a Balloon (as I am), this poor man's version of a balloon adventure won't excite you much.

____________ Flight of the Lost Balloon - 1961


__________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

Working title: Cleopatra and the Cyclops.
Sidebar: Wow! That script must have undergone serious revisions along the way.

The Woolner Brothers who produced this movie also produced Attack of the 50 Foot Woman.

Writer, director Nathan Juran on his experience on this film. "I wanted to become independent of the major film studios. I was always on the lookout for small entrepreneurs with whom I could grow as a partner in a company. The Woolner Brothers were wrong for me. They were real schlock guys. I owned one-quarter of the movie but they stole all the money."

Shot over 10 days in Puerto Rico. No studio facilities were available, making this a difficult film to shoot.

Jules Verne's name is dropped from the title and isn't mentioned in any of the credits. (Wikipedia.)
____________________________________________

Saw this movie on Youtube. Didn't find it too bad. The location filming was nifty. James Lanphier (1920~1969) did a fine job as the villain with his deep, rich voice. Sadly, he passed away quite young.

[Bud Brewster]

______________________________________________

I saw this one at the East Point Theater in 1961 at the tender age of 13 with my two buddies, Jimmy and Chuck.





Back in those days, the three of us had a regular Saturday routine.

A 10¢ bus ride from College Park (our home town) to East Point (which shared its city limits with College Park), then a 35¢ cent movie ticket for a Saturday matinee (with abundant previews for coming attraction).

Next came a few games of Duckpin bowling (located right next to the theater) for 50¢, after which a short walk from the theater to the Krystal Hamburger restaurant right across the railroad tracks for a 95¢ lunch, and then catch the bus back home for another 10¢.

Total price = $2.00 on the nose

Ah yes, those were the days.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)