ALL SCI-FI

[Krel.]

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This is a comedy about a viral epidemic in New York City. A comedy about an epidemic you ask incredulously? Yes, an epidemic of a virus that makes you feel good.

After all, what's so bad about feeling good?

Pete George (George Peppard) is a former advertising executive, who has tuned out and switched off to live a nihilistic Bohemian life with Liz (Mary Tyler Moore), with like-minded people in a building in New York City, waiting for the end to come. It is, just not the way they thought it would.

One day a Greek freighter sails into port with a stowaway from South America, a Toucan. This Toucan has a stowaway of it's own, a virus that makes people feel good. The Toucan spreads the love throughout N.Y., ending up at the apartment of Pete and Liz. Pete is the first to be infected by the virus, his newfound happiness horrifies Liz and company, especially as he insists on sharing it with the other members of the commune.

Meanwhile, New York city is changing. People are being nice, considerate and understanding. Crime is down, as is the use of tobacco, alcohol and mood altering pharmaceuticals. The city government becomes alarmed when it becomes obvious, that happy people do not need those products, and the tax income from those products is dropping, and the fall is accelerating rapidly.

Pete goes back to his old job, causing problems by insisting that all ads be honest. The city government starts handing out surgical masks to the public. The newly happy exhibit their civic duty by helping out...By breathing on each and every mask.

The city government asks for help, and Uncle Sam sends it's top trouble shooter, J. Gardner Monroe (Dom DeLuise). It i determined that some of the happy people, like Liz are actually immune. They are nice, because they are reacting to the people around them. A cure is found, and added to the city's water supply, and gasoline. New York city is 'saved', but some people decide that they liked feeling good, and refuse to change.

Pete reverts, and Liz decides she liked the 'sick' Pete better. She leaves him to go and rescue the Toucan from the zoo. The caper almost fails, until Pete, who has decided that he would rather feel good after all shows up. The couple escape from the zoo with the Toucan.

Change a couple of details, and this could easily be a horror movie, it just reverses the point of view.

David

[Bud Brewster]

I saw this one in 1968 and haven't had a chance to see it again. It's apparently one of those "lost" movies.

It's good. Wish I could see it again.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[alltare]

I had completely forgotton about this one. I enjoyed seeing on TV many years ago. The music is by Frank DeVol, who, among a million other things, played the theme song for MY THREE SONS. I remember him most for his very funny role as Happy Kine, the band leader of the old talk show spoofs FERNWOOD 2NIGHT and AMERICA 2NIGHT.

Not the same story, but WSBAFG reminds me of A.E. Nourse's short story, "The Coffin Cure", in which a cure for the common cold is discovered, along with its ramifications. Youtube has the X MINUS ONE radio adaptation.

[Custer]

"The Coffin Cure" is available from Project Gutenberg in their usual wide range of formats, at http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24276...

[Bud Brewster]

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Well, I'm still waiting to see this movie again after first enjoying it 50+ years ago while I was in Air Force, stationed in Kunsan, South Korea.

But at least YouTube acquired a good copy of the trailer on Aug 22, 2021, so here it is. Mary Tyler Moore was sure a cutey in this movie. I'd love to give her a good feelin', if you know what I mean . . .

All the scenes in the trailer which show people in New York wearing face masks to guard against the dreaded viruses which "makes people feel good" is ironic! It looks the way the city did a year ago during the height of the pandemic!

WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT FEELING GOOD? (1968) ♦RARE♦ Theatrical Trailer


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

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this delightful (but never shown on TV) movie about a diseases that makes people feel happy and friendly!
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~ Noteworthy for its depiction of a COVID like situation more than a half century before the actual situation.

Note from me: Covid-19 has changed the world, polarizing the population into two groups; the ones smart enough to get fully vaccinated (like me), and the ones so dumb they refuse the vaccine, thus perpetuating the pandemic.

~ Thelma Ritter's final film; her screen debut, Miracle on 34th Street (1947), was also directed by George Seaton, making Ritter one of a handful of actors to be directed by the same person in both their first and last films.

Note from me: Fans of Ms. Ritter love her performances in movies like Pellow Talk and the The Mating Season,which happens to be the very first movie I recorded on my new Sony Betamax in 1977, from TCM!

Ms. Ritter is not just a supporting character in this wonderful story, she stars with Gene Tierney and John Lund — and she provides the story with both the comedy and the drama which makes this such a great movie!

The Mating Season 1951 Thelma Ritter & Gene Tierney


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