Cinema: Loony & Lunar

Those Fantastic Flying Fools is a spirited spoof in the Jules Vernacular. The background is Victorian, the project loony, the destination lunar, and the fun in the jocular vein of Mike Todd's memorable Around the World in 80 Days.

A group of engineers, scientists and charlatans, headed by P. T. Barnum (Burl Ives), decides to shoot the moon with a rocket ship to be sent up by German Genius Gert Frobe. The pilot: blond, bland Troy Donahue, ideal candidate for the world's first astronaught. Before the plot can get off the ground, two dastardly schemers (Lionel Jeffries and Terry Thomas) bet millions that the trip will fail, then try to sabotage the rocket for insurance. Only after some circuitous antique-automobile and bicycle chases and other mandatory sequences for period comedy does launch time occur—accidentally sending Jeffries and Thomas to the moon. Upon landing they learn that they are not alone: the Czar's men have arrived first.

By drawing a heavy-handed parallel with the contemporary space race, the film's message—what mortals these fools be—nearly scrubs the project. But the detailed sight gags and the cast's irrepressible energy provide a variety of lunatic fringe benefits. Like the rocket, they go a long way.