ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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I've loved this movie since it was first released, and in my case, the plot holds my interest throughout the film

The story is so focused on the thoughts and feelings of the Christopher Reeve character that I never felt the need for a faster pace.

But hey, that's just me.

In last nights All Sci-Fi Live Chat, four of us watched Skullduggery (1970), a movie I feel does a fine job of examining the unjust treatment of a "lost tribe" of pigmy -like aborigines in New Guinea.

And yet, two ASF members disliked it. One said, "There is good writing and there is bad writing. I say the writing in this, no matter what the intention, is bad writing. The movie was on shaky ground before, now it is completely off the rails and in a whole new direction at the last moment. I just don't buy it."

Another stated, "Well, maybe the movie's reach exceeded its grasp. Or it bit off more than it could chew."

I guess it's impossible to make a movie that invokes a positive reach from all audience members, no matter how skillfully the film is made.

Oh well . . .
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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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Golly gee whiz, Tim! Do you really think this heart-warming romance needed a faster pace?

Wow, that's like saying the beautiful Rachmaninoff theme needed a boogie woogie beat so we could Jitterbug to it!

Tim, you're much younger and I am (I'm turning 75 on August 16th), so I'm not criticizing your opinion. But perhaps if you waited a few decades and watched this wonderful movie again when you have a little gray in your hair, you might feel a bit differently.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

Well, I'm 57 and just saw it for the first (and only) time last year (still age 57). I don't think the movie's ever going to grow on me.

Mold might have grown on me while watching it, though

And I have been fully silver-haired since 40
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has a few more interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ The portrait of Elise McKenna that Richard Collier first sees at the Grand Hotel, later autographed by Jane Seymour, is now at a restaurant/bar called Valley Inn located at 4557 Sherman Oaks Avenue in Sherman Oaks, California.

Note from me: I love this item. It's an example of a great movie that actually created a beloved location in real life.

~ When Richard Collier in 1980 lays his head on a pillow while attempting to go back in time, the pattern on his pillow case as well as the bedspread he's lying on is identical to the pattern on the pillowcase he finds himself waking up on in the morning of June 27, 1912.

Note from me: What a great touch! Richard transports back to a moment in time when the room decor happens to be identical!

~ The British movie I'll Never Forget You (1951), starring Tyrone Power, has a similar theme to this story, although in that film the time travel aspect is accidental. That movie itself is a remake of Berkeley Square (1933) starring Leslie Howard.

Note from me: Wow, I want to see that movie!

~ The final scene between Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour before Richard Collier is thrown back into his own time was difficult for Reeve as he had just learned that his girlfriend and companion, Gae Exton, was pregnant with his first son Matthew. For much of that day, his attention was understandably elsewhere.

Note from me: I'm amazing by fact that this wonderful movie is loaded with "back stage drama" which involve the beloved actors.

~ Jane Seymour has revealed that she and Christopher Reeve genuinely fell in love during production of the film and were secretly in a relationship behind the backs of the cast and crew.

On the day they filmed the scene where Richard is transported back to the present and they are separated, Reeve received a call from his ex-girlfriend Gae Exton revealing she was pregnant with his first son Matthew.

Reeve decided to return to Exton out of obligation and ended his romance with Seymour, causing her heartbreak in the moment where Elise loses Richard to be genuine. In spite of this, the two remained close friends until he died, and she named one of her sons, Kristopher Keach, after him.

Note from me: All I can say it, the backstory of his amazing movie is as amazing as the story it tell!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)