Rocket Man, The
Entry updated 1 April 2024. Tagged: Film.
Film (1954; vt McCluskey Strikes a Blow [original script title]). Panoramic Productions/20th Century Fox Film Corporation. Produced by Leonard Goldstein. Directed by Oscar Rudolph. Written by Lenny Bruce and Jack Henley from a story by George W George and George F Slavin. Cast includes John Agar, Spring Byington, Charles Coburn, Anne Francis, Emory Parnell and George "Foghorn" Winslow. 79 minutes. Black and white.
A comedy with elements of romance and sf. Young Timmy (Winslow) receives a Ray Gun by the unexplained Rocket Man of the title, visible to the audience but not apparently to the cast, who it is hinted may be an Alien. This ray gun acts as a magic wand that can save lives and can force people to tell the truth (see also Lie Detectors). Timmy is living in an orphanage that is currently in danger of being foreclosed upon by crooked politician Big Bill Watkins (Parnell). Tom Baxter (Agar) is initially a henchman for Watkins, but sees the error of his ways thanks to the ray gun, and soon falls for June Brown (Francis), daughter of Justice of the Peace Amelia Brown (Byington). Mayor Johnson (Coburn) is also on hand for the mayhem caused by Timmy's ray gun, which plays a small but pivotal role in the proceedings. All ends happily.
The Rocket Man's helmet and costume are from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). With an unlikely screen credit for savage alternative comedian Lenny Bruce (1925-1966), this is one of the very few US sf films of the 1950s actually intended for children. Others include Tobor the Great (1954) and The Invisible Boy (1957). [GSt/LW]
links
previous versions of this entry