Way... Way Out (1966)

The Americans and the Russians each have a two-person base on the moon. The Americans have had to keep replacing their astronaut teams because they quickly go crazy; they have been using ... See full summary »

Director:

Gordon Douglas

Writers:

William Bowers, László Vadnay

Stars:

Jerry Lewis, Connie Stevens, Robert Morley

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jerry Lewis	...	Pete Mattemore
Connie Stevens	...	Eileen Forbes
Robert Morley	...	Harold Quonset
Dennis Weaver	...	Hoffman
Howard Morris	...	Schmidlap
Brian Keith	...	Gen. 'Howling Bull' Hallenby
Dick Shawn	...	Igor Valkleinokov
Anita Ekberg	...	Anna Soblova
William O'Connell	...	Ponsonby
Bobo Lewis	...	Esther Davenport
Sig Ruman	...	Russian Delegate
Milton Frome	...	American Delegate
Alexander D'Arcy	...	Deuce Hawkins (as Alex D'Arcy)
Linda Harrison	...	Peggy
James Brolin	...	Ted Robertson

Storyline

The Americans and the Russians each have a two-person base on the moon. The Americans have had to keep replacing their astronaut teams because they quickly go crazy; they have been using only male astronauts on the unspoken assumption that this would avoid any possibility of impropriety. The Russians, as godless Communists, are under no such constraints, and their male-female team has remained well-adjusted. At the start of the film, a male and female American astronaut team is sent up to replace the sex-starved all-male team. The government insists on them being married first to preserve morality. Most of the story revolves around the eventual consummation of this marriage of convenience, and around their relationship with their Russian neighbors, who keep casually dropping by.

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Plot Keywords:

astronaut | marriage of convenience | cabin fever | vodka | cold war | 

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Taglines:

By Gemini, here's the wildest crew on Earth, Saturn, Mars, Moon etc.

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Genres:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 October 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Mondkalb

Filming Locations:

Stage 18, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Coldwater, Way Out Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Pete Mattemore (Jerry Lewis) is show the photos of three possible candidates for his companion on the Moon, the second photo is Imogene Coca.

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Quotes

[First lines]
Narrator: This is Colonel John "Shorty" Powers in Lunar Launch Control. This story takes place near the turn of the century -not the last century, the *next* century. Nothing very much has happened since the 1960's: There as still a United Nations, and peace in the world... or at least what we have come to accept as "peace".

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Connections

Features Frankenstein (1931)

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Soundtracks

"Way... Way Out"
Words by Hal Winn
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Sung by Gary Lewis & The Playboys (as Gary Lewis and the Playboys)

User Reviews

Moderately amusing for about half its length...

In the 1990s, the U.S. Air Force wants to send a newlywed couple into outer space to live on the moon in a space-station for a year; after the first couple drops out, alternate Jerry Lewis is chosen, but he's a bachelor...enter Connie Stevens as a prospective bride. Good-looking Jerry Lewis vehicle is amusingly naive about the future, and yet frustratingly silly regarding sexual matters (Disney's "Moon Pilot" from 1961 was actually much friskier!). Lewis is more restrained than usual, Stevens (despite an odd, helium-sounding speaking voice) is effervescent, and the art direction and decoration is a '60s dream (complete with clear plastic inflatable furniture!). Unfortunately, the script completely peters out once the couple gets launched, and the dreary sub-plots involving bachelors-in-space Dennis Weaver and Howard Morris and sexy Russian cosmonaut Anita Ekberg fail to rouse any laughs. *1/2 from ****