ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

One of my favorite comedies! A thinking man's rib tickler with a nice hard science element in the plot.

The young cast is cute enough to adopt, and the cocky villain (William Atherton) is the teacher from your worst nightmares, an intelligence vampire who holds the diplomas of the smart guys hostage so he can suck all the good ideas out of their fertile brains.

The big Popcorn Payback the kids inflict on him at the end is a hoot. And if you're wondering how long it took the film crew to pop up enough for that scene, the answer is (drum roll, please . . . ) — three months.

IMDB trivia says, "The film was inspired and based loosely on actual events at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California."

I'd love to know more about this "inspiration". Just how much stranger than fiction is the truth in this case, hmmmm?

On the ironic side of weird-and-wonderful is this other IMDB item. "The math professor portrayed in the movie is played by Dr. Martin Gundersen, who is actually a physics professor at the University of Southern California."

By gum, now that is authenticity.

And finally there's this trivia item that made me smile for personal reasons.

IMDB: "When Chris Knight wakes and cuts the CO2 chips for the vending machine, he is wearing Heckel and Jeckel slippers. They were 2 magpies that played endless tricks and practical jokes on those who interfered with any of their schemes."

My two crafty and resourceful heroes in The Wishbone Express are known by the nicknames Heckle and Jeckel in both that book and its sequel (which I'm working on and posting chapters here on All Sci-Fi) a novel called Sail the Sea of Stars.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Custer]

According to Wikipedia:

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has a trivia item that certainly raises my appreciation for the scene in which the house is wrecked by the pressure of expanding popcorn!


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The "Popcorn Trick" sequence began with the construction of a full-sized Victorian frame house on a plot in Sand Canyon, California, not far from Los Angeles. Within the house, special effects coordinator Phil Cory and his crew devised an elaborate network of conveyor belts, hydraulic lifts, air blowers and vacuum hoses which would, on cue, turn 190,000 pounds of popcorn into a hot buttered tornado, blowing out the windows, doors and roof of the structure.
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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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A funny movie like this one should have funny (and interesting) trivia items.

It does.
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When Laslo Hollyfeld (Jon Gries) sends in a large number of entries to the Frito-Lay contest, he is mirroring the actions of Caltech students Steve Klein, Dave Novikoff and Barry Megdal, who, in 1974, used a similar strategy to win a McDonald's sweepstakes. Their entries came to roughly 1/5th of the total entries and won them a station wagon, $3,000 cash and $1,500 in food gift certificates.

Note from me: I wonder how long it took those guys to eat $1,500 worth of McDonald's food! :shock,:

"The 'dress code' at Tech varies from casual to sloppy", David Marvit, who portrays a student in the hall, told a filmmaker at one point. Marvit said: "When you've got so much else on your mind, you can't be concerned with appearance." One of the films costumers, touring the Cal Tech campus, put it her own way: "Good Heavens!", she exclaimed, "Do these people all dress in the dark?".

Note from me: Ah-ha! So THAT'S why I wear an All Sci-Fi T-shirt every day! I'm a genius!


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According to The '80s Movie Rewind website, "in a trailer for the film there are several scenes not appearing in the final cut, among them one where Val Kilmer's character is floating outside a dorm window sitting in a deckchair carried by helium balloons".

Note from me: The scene described above is at the 20 second mark.

] ________________ Real Genius (1985) trailer

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One of the fellow "Geeks" seen at the pool party and named , Milton, was played by Dean Devlin. He is now the producer for large films such as Independence Day.

Note from me: The next time I watch this movie I'll certainly keep my eye out for Mr. Devlin!

In the scene where the military is set-up for the laser test fire, the cars in the procession on the dirt road are set up to replicate the JFK assassination.

Note from me: I've heard promos for TV specials that allegedly reveal "recently declassified documents".
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)