Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Burl Ives | ... | Phineas T. Barnum | |
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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) | |
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Joachim Teege | ... | Bulgeroff |
Stratford Johns | ... | Warrant Officer |
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. Written by Rhino <rhino@blueyonder.co.uk>
This is a very underrated film. In Halliwell's Film Guide it gets no stars at all, and when it was shown recently on TV, the reviewer in the listings magazine I buy each week made no secret of how little he liked it.
However, this 'comedy fantasy' has a huge amount going for it. Although it is rarely hilarious, it is often funny and it is usually fun. The cast is terrific. The costumes and cinematography are also excellent, and the period feel is surprisingly good: we really feel that we are in the late 19th century. This is impressive given that many films with bigger budgets than this are not as successful in recreating a period atmosphere.
Maybe the title misled people into thinking that it was going to be an exciting science-fiction adventure, and so their expectations were raised too high. However, with slightly lower expectations, it can be enjoyed rather a lot.