Those Fantastic Flying Fools


1h 35m 1967

Brief Synopsis

Phineas T Barnum and friends finance the first flight to the moon but find the task a little above them. They attempt to blast their rocket into orbit from a massive gun barrel built into the side of a Welsh mountain, but money troubles, spies and saboteurs ensure that the plan is doomed before it starts.

Film Details

Also Known As
Blast-Off, Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jan 1967
Premiere Information
New York opening: 18 Oct: caJun 1967
Production Company
Jules Verne Films
Distribution Company
American International Pictures
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne.

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 35m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
2.35 : 1

Synopsis

When his "Greatest Show on Earth" burns to the ground, the bankrupt Phineas T. Barnum, accompanied by his midget star, General Tom Thumb, heads for Victorian England. There he meets a German professor, von Bulow, who boasts that he has invented a powerful explosive capable of propelling a small projectile to the moon. Hopeful of amassing a new fortune, Barnum forms a syndicate to build a rocket for transporting the reluctant Tom Thumb into space. Although the project attracts spies from all over the world, the spaceship designed by Sir Charles Dillworthy proves useless since it does not provide a means for returning to the earth. Also on hand are an American balloon enthusiast, Gaylord Sullivan, and his fiancée, Madelaine. Gaylord claims that he has designed a projectile equipped with round-trip rockets, whereupon his rival for the hand of Madelaine, a wealthy Frenchman named Henri, offers to finance Gaylord's missile if he agrees to take Tom Thumb's place. The enraged Dillworthy and his shady brother-in-law, Harry Washington-Smythe, who have already embezzled most of Barnum's funds, immediately plot to sabotage Gaylord's flight. When Madelaine discovers their plan, she is kidnaped and whisked off to Angelica's Home for Wayward Girls. She escapes, however, and arrives back at the launching pad, located on a mountain in Wales, just as Gaylord is being removed from the sabotaged moonship. Now Dillworthy, Washington-Smythe, and a Russian spy, Bulgeroff, sneak into the spaceship to continue their sabotage. Suddenly Bulgeroff pulls the takeoff lever, and the three men are sent soaring on a one-way trip. They land in what is presumably barren wasteland to find inhabitants singing in Russian. The befuddled Washington-Smythe can only conclude that the Russians are already on the moon. [According to British sources, the launching produces an explosion which uncovers a rich vein of coal.]

Film Details

Also Known As
Blast-Off, Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon
Genre
Comedy
Release Date
Jan 1967
Premiere Information
New York opening: 18 Oct: caJun 1967
Production Company
Jules Verne Films
Distribution Company
American International Pictures
Country
United Kingdom
Screenplay Information
Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne.

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 35m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color (Eastmancolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
2.35 : 1

Quotes

Trivia

Joachim Teege replaced Klaus Kinski

Notes

Released in Great Britain in 1967 as Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon; running time: 101 min. Alternative U. S. title: Blast-Off. Location scenes filmed in Ireland.