Those Fantastic Flying Fools (1967)

In Victorian England, an American showman uses a wealthy Frenchman's finances to build a German explosives expert's giant cannon designed to fire a people-filled projectile to the Moon but spies and saboteurs endanger the project.

Director:

Don Sharp

Writers:

Harry Alan Towers (original story) (as Peter Welbeck), Jules Verne (inspired by the writings of)

Stars:

Burl Ives, Jimmy Clitheroe, Terry-Thomas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burl Ives	...	Phineas T. Barnum
Jimmy Clitheroe	...	General Tom Thumb
Terry-Thomas	...	Captain Sir Harry Washington Smythe
Graham Stark	...	Grundle
Gert Fröbe	...	Professor von Bulow (as Gert Frobe)
Lionel Jeffries	...	Sir Charles Dillworthy
Dennis Price	...	The Duke of Barset
Troy Donahue	...	Gaylord
Daliah Lavi	...	Madelaine
Edward de Souza	...	Henri (as Edward De Souza)
Hermione Gingold	...	Angelica
Judy Cornwell	...	Electra
Renate von Holt	...	Anna (as Renata Holt)
Joachim Teege	...	Bulgeroff
Stratford Johns	...	Warrant Officer

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | saboteur | welsh mountains | gun barrel | rocket | 

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Taglines:

The most fabulous entertainment event of the year!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 July 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Those Fantastic Flying Fools

Filming Locations:

Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jules Verne Films Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bing Crosby was attached to this project; he was going to play P.T.Barnum, but delays and rewrites caused him to drop out.

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Quotes

The Duke of Barset: A common device for swindling! In my day you'd be led to a room with a gun on the table. The door would be closed. A shot would ring out. A woman would scream.
Captain Sir Harry Washington Smythe: I say, I did so like the part about the woman screaming!

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Crazy Credits

Closing credits: and Queen Victoria JOAN STERNDALE BENNETT God Bless her !

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Connections

Spoofs Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965)

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Soundtracks

Volga Boatmen
Written by Mili Balakirew (as Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev) (uncredited)

User Reviews

Rocket to the Moon - Beautiful, flawed little whimsy of a film

If you watch the dreadful FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON with Joseph Cotten, George Sanders and some dreadful special effects, this little film looks so much better. On it's own, it has it's own set of virtues and faults. Too silly and trite for some of the jokes (the climactic chase the with always delightful Deliah Levi and the villains) is clumsy, some of the jokes stupid. And like so many American International films, it wants to be better than it actually is. MASTER OF THE WORLD comes to mind. The virtues is that the British films of this period emulating Victorian England were very beautifully done. THE WRONG BOX and THE ASSASSINATION BUREAU come to mind. The music is a highlight and it is almost impossible to find, at times, a happier little film than this one is in spots. The ending is a perfect ending to a tale long known by Jules Verne fans. Compared to THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN and THE GREAT RACE, it comes of a poor second but still worth a viewing on Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Pleasant.