5 Movies | January 1
A Trip to the Moon (1902), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Star Wars (1977) and Interstellar (2014). The human fascination with the universe has proven to be one of the greatest sources for serious filmmaking, and really all of storytelling and art, throughout history.
It’s inevitable that it would also be a great source of material for comedic spoof.
Ringing in the New Year, TCM presents some of filmdom’s most hilarious space comedies.
Nobody can make a better mockery of film genres than the genius Mel Brooks. In 1987, he took on the most popular film franchise of a generation, Star Wars, and turned it into one of his most popular and celebrated spoofs. Spaceballs tells the story (if you can even call it that) of President Skroob (Brooks) who hires the evil Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) to steal all the fresh air from the peaceful planet of Druidia and kidnap their beautiful Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga). Lone Star (Bill Pullman) is the star-pilot who can save the day with help from his trusty pet and sidekick Barf (John Candy). The plot does not matter (does it ever matter in a Mel Brooks movie?). What matters is this is the funniest, and in some ways one of the best, of all the Star Wars movies. The film not only pokes fun at the Star Wars films themselves, but their entire culture. Several of the running gags are about merchandising and the actors frequently break character and the fourth wall to comment on the absurdity of their situation. The film was a commercial success upon release and still remains a favorite of the passionate Star Wars fan base. Even George Lucas himself has told Brooks how much he enjoys the film.
Comedy always seems inevitable when a character is placed in completely unfamiliar circumstances and surroundings and what could be more unfamiliar than outer space? This was the premise for the 1967 comedy The Reluctant Astronaut. Don Knotts is Roy, a kiddie-ride operator with a fear of heights. When he unexpectedly receives an offer of work from NASA, he thinks this might finally be his chance to overcome his fears and fulfill his dream of becoming an astronaut. Except, the offer is to become their new janitor. This marked Knotts’ first big role after his long run on The Andy Griffith Show. The comedian was eager to become a successful film star (he’d had a moderate success previously with 1964’s The Incredible Mr. Limpet) and had two writers from Andy Griffith customize the character and story to his unique comic style. Despite best efforts, the film was a box office disappointment. It premiered in Houston just two days before the Apollo 1 tragedy which killed three astronauts. Over time, the film has found a following as a children's movie.
For over thirty years and in more than thirty films, the legendary comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello found wild adventures in every location you could possibly imagine, even outer space. In Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953), the duo plays a pair of not-so-brilliant lab workers at a top-secret space station. While doing maintenance work inside a brand new rocket ship, they accidently turn on the ignition switch and launch the rocket into orbit. The ship lands in New Orleans at the height of Mardi Gras and naturally the idiotic pair assumes they have landed on Mars. The comedy team and their writers had been wanting to do a film about the duo going to outer space as far back as the 1940s. Author Robert A Heinlein, normally a serious science fiction writer, was a huge fan of the Abbott and Costello films. He submitted his treatment, Abbott and Costello Move to the Moon, to the team in 1950. It is largely seen as the basis for this screenplay. Though a modest success, the film came at a time when the duo was being surpassed by another legendary comedy team, Martin and Lewis.
Some of the British satire films of the 1960s are now beloved parts of the comedy film canon. One which has been overlooked however is Richard Lewis’ The Mouse on the Moon (1963). Famed British comedian Ron Moody plays Prime Minister Mountjoy of the fictional small nation of Grand Fenwick. Mountjoy devises a plan to aid his country’s hot water shortage by borrowing money from the United States Space Research Program. In turn, he and his country’s only scientist Professor Kokintz (David Kossoff) prepare a fake rocket ship for launch, fueled by the country's most famous export - their wine. Joining Moody for this madcap scheme are some of Britain’s most popular comedians, including Terry-Thomas, Margaret Rutherford and June Ritchie. This film, and the book it was based on, were part of a series of stories about Grand Fenwick by Irish author Leonard Wibberley. Four years before this film, the film adaptation of Wibberley’s earlier novel, The Mouse That Roared, had been a successful vehicle for Peter Sellers (playing three different roles). Sellers was originally offered the chance to star in this sequel, but unexpectedly chose a supporting role in an American film by Blake Edwards. This would ultimately become perhaps the most famous role of his career: Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther (1963).
All these films and many others (Galaxy Quest, 1999; RocketMan, 1997) make the Space Comedy a sub-genre all its own. This brings together two of filmdom’s largest and most passionate, though not often associated, fanbases: Comedy and Science Fiction.
