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13 out of 13 people found the following review useful:
WOW! This was great!, 28 April 2003
9/10
Author: grahamsj2 from SE US

This was a part of a series of educational films from the Bell System. It was written, directed and produced by Frank Capra, the legendary film maker. The series was hosted by Dr. Frank Baxter and featured the distinctive voice work of Sterling Holloway. I saw it first while I was in elementary school (almost before electricity) and it has stuck in my mind all this time. I recall seeing this two or three times, but to remain in my memory that long means that these films were good! This was the first time I'd ever seen footage of any sort of solar activity. Before seeing this film, I thought the sun was just a round ball, but they showed me solar flares. I learned that the surface of the sun is a violent, ever-changing place. I must have believed that the sun was solid, but learned that it's made of gas. I learned a lot from this series of films and I still remember them more than 40 years later.

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10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Sunny Science, 30 November 2005
10/10
Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

A Frank Capra WONDERS OF LIFE film.

OUR MR. SUN endlessly makes life possible on Earth.

In the mid-1950's, AT&T and Bell Science teamed with famed Hollywood director Frank Capra to produce a series of CBS television science films to educate the public about the Universe around them. A far cry from the dreary black & white fodder so often foisted off on young scholars, the Capra films would both instruct and entertain with lively scripts and eye-catching visuals shown in Technicolor. The four films - OUR MR. SUN (1956), THE STRANGE CASE OF THE COSMIC RAYS (1957), HEMO THE MAGNIFICENT (1957), THE UNCHAINED GODDESS (1958) - quickly became schoolhouse favorites, where they were endlessly shown in 16mm format.

The star of the series was Dr. Frank C. Baxter (1896-1982), an affable English professor at the University of Southern California. This avuncular pedagogue proved to be the perfect film instructor, genially imparting to his audience the sometimes complex facts in a manner which never made them seem dull or boring. Dr. Baxter, who won a Peabody Award for his achievements, continued making instructional films after the Capra quartet were concluded.

OUR MR. SUN, which won an Emmy for its editing, presents the information known about our solar neighbor at mid-century, using spectacular photography, animation and gentle humor. Film star Eddie Albert appears as the Fiction Writer, looking to get an angle on how to present the sun's story. Marvin Miller provides the voice for the animated Mr. Sun.

Strangely uncredited is Lionel Barrymore, one of America's best loved character actors, who gives the voice for Father Time. Barrymore had died back in 1954, making this his very final performance. Movie mavens will also recognize Sterling Holloway as the voice of Chloro Phyll.

The devotional sentiments spoken by Barrymore at the end of the film are completely in tune with the tenor & tone of the production.

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10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Our Mr. Sun is pure nostalgia !, 18 May 2005
8/10
Author: phansen-3 from United States

Our Mr. Sun, as where all of the Bell telephone education films Are Pure nostalgia to me . I was always happy to see a movie projector set up in class, but when it was a Mr. Science film I was JAZZED ! these movies were heads above the standard audio visual fair of the 1960s ( remember film strips ? ) We saw these films once a year , and my father , who was a school teacher would bring these home to show again I never tired of them , But then Maybe I was a Right wing Christian nut and never even knew it ! ( see G Wells comment ) I am sure it's Dated now but Our Mr. Sun is pure nostalgia to me ! I think the fact that it has been released to DVD says something in it self , how many other educational films from our school days have made it to DVD ?

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10 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
Remember when this was made!, 6 April 2003
7/10
Author: Robert W. Anderson (bayareabob@mac.com) from United States

You have to watch this film remembering it was made in 50's. Another reviewer has written about this film as if it was same level as the worst of the propaganda films every made. Which is pure rubbish. There are religious references in the film, but this will not harm anyone. Especially since no one should watch it as accurate source of science information. In fact the values are all thats left as a message in this film. That and the pure entertainment value of watching something that shows how much we misunderstood astronomy, and science at the time. See the film, enjoy the Mr Sun character, and lighten up.

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10 out of 11 people found the following review useful:
What A Great Way to Introduce Kids To Science!!!, 14 April 2004
9/10
Author: LAV25USMC from Memphis, USA

I remember seeing this as a kid in elementary school. I was absolutely fascinated and captivated by it. It and "Mr. Hemo" were what got me interested in science. Keeping in mind when it came out, the ideas and possibilities for the future were back then astounding. Many like solar power became reality. Our Mr. Sun was at a level I could understand at age 9 and years later as an adult I found it was still interesting. It made such a great impression that when I was older and saw it on a list of films available for my class I had jumped at the chance to show it. The kids loved it. As an adult it was great realizing that it was a younger Eddie Albert as the "host". It is hard to find but it is definitely worth the time if you find it. Most Highly recommended.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Nostalgic and Charming, 14 November 2005
9/10
Author: shandy8 from United States

Having enjoyed this film and other science-oriented films made by Capra in Elementary school, I was delighted to see how well "Mr. Sun" holds up. Other than a brief clip featured in the movie "Gremlins", I hadn't seen or thought of these films in thirty-five years.

Apart from the obvious nostalgic emotions one associates with fond memories of childhood, this film also present scientific information about the sun in an entertaining and comprehensive way with Eddie Albert and the voice of Sterling Holloway to add charm to an already charming documentary. I would rank this film of Frank Capra with the best of Walt Disney's True Life Adventures of the same period.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
A great instrument for critiquing changing science and sociology over the past 50 years!, 3 June 2005
10/10
Author: coverscape (coverscape@yahoo.com) from Cape Cod Mass. in the United States

Our Mr. Sun was my first AV experience in Elementary School back in 1961 (Grade 5), and I am certain that having seen it helped to kindle my interest in Science Education......I became a science teacher, and have taught Grade 7 science for the past 33 years. Some of the scenes in this film stuck with me, particularly the animated scenes with Mr. Chlorophyll and with the recipe for the photo-electric silicon wafer. I rate this film highly for classroom use still today. For one thing, there is precious little available in instructive video on the subject of Solar Science. For another thing, I believe that watching this film intent on filling in some of the science that was little understood or misunderstood at the time is a useful exercise. As a part time social studies teacher I also find that examining the sociological content of the film, in consideration of its 50 year old values and assumptions is quite instructive. As to any criticism of moralistic bias in this film, of course one must always remember its vintage foremost, before criticizing the screenwriters, since times, they sure have changed!!!

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Our Mr Sun, 29 November 2006
10/10
Author: bubbarx9999 from United States

I attended Elementary school in the early-mid sixties, and I have to say, they must have shown this movie every year, and maybe even once or twice after elementary school. It became somewhat of a ritual, and I did enjoy watching it.

I recently purchased a copy on Ebay (VHS) and showed it to my 9 year old son. Yes, it is probably so outdated, but I still found it interesting and informative, and it was truly a (enjoyable) blast from the past.

If you are boomer, you must have scene this movie more than once, as I think we were all spoon fed the same stuff. Yes, it was a great time.

Enjoy.

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7 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
We can still learn from Our Mr. Sun's innovation and call for solar energy., 5 February 2006
10/10
Author: cyclist-4 from United States

Wonderful film. It does have some religious overtones, but these are not too restrictive in dictating one interpretation of belief, or lack there of. Comments like "we to (scientists), in a way are reaching for the great light beyond" provide room for many different beliefs.

One has to remember, this was made in 1956. Still, it seems more open minded than the fundamentalist religious stuff that continues to come out today.

I first saw it in grade school, back in the early 1960s when the science fascinated me. Today, I ordered the DVD and see it in a different light. As an adult, I see that the script writing and drama are superb.

It is really interesting to watch how this film discusses overpopulation, depletion of fossil fuels and solar energy. It really promotes solar energy.

In some ways, it makes one notice how little progress we have made toward resolving these problems and developing solar energy.

One hopes modern civilization can take a lesson from the innovative spirit and sense of optimism that was evident in this film. It is 50 years since Our Mr. Sun was made, but I still hope we can enter what the film describes as the "Sun Age."

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Our Mr. Sun is a pretty entertaining live action/animated educational film from Frank Capra and the UPA studios, 27 August 2009
8/10
Author: tavm from Baton Rouge, La.

Just watched this live action/animated educational film directed by Frank Capra with UPA's Bill Hurtz handling the animation stuff on Google Video as linked on the Mark Evanier site. In it, we see Dr. Frank Baxter as Dr. Research talking to Fiction Writer Eddie Albert about ways in explaining the uses of the sun to the audience. Mr. Writer then opens the curtain as we see in animated form, Mr. Sun (Marvin Miller) and Father Time (Lionel Barrymore in his final performance) arguing about Sun's importance over the years. Both Writer and Research explain to them, and us, all the advances that the sun made possible. Many of the facts presented here can be pretty overwhelming and I admit I wasn't always paying attention. Still, it was fascinating to watch various animated visuals illustrating just how important the sun is to various technologies. And the cartoon segment featuring a character named Chloro Phyll (Sterling Holloway) was pretty amusing. I partly question having Father Time at the end praise the Lord since it didn't seem to have been relevant to what went before. Still, I recommend Our Mr. Sun both for its educational merits and for anyone interested in vintage animation and the work of Capra. P.S. Bill Hurtz' birthplace, like mine, was in Chicago, Ill.

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