CineSavant Column
Hello!
For Sale: One Used Spaceship. Gary Teetzel found this ad, looking for a collector with deep pockets…
It’s said to be the original 20th Century Fox model for Klaatu’s intergalactic space ship, and it’s quite big.
I know, I know, it lacks the propulsion system that will take you to Paris at 4,000 miles an hour … ‘Holy Christmas!’
And the price tag is pretty hefty. You must wish you were like me, living next door to a Middle-Eastern Prince who likes to give out quaint gifts. I’ll send my neighbor a hint … you never know.
Full details at the link. It’s apparently from the estate – collection of my old boss Gregory Jein.
And also from Gary, a film clip from an outer space movie starring Buster Keaton … well, it’s a technically accurate description.
In 1946 Keaton took a role in a Spanish-language comedy, El Moderno Barba Azul, a typically scattershot Mexican farce. Keaton’s career was of course at low ebb, but he kept working whenever possible, even when didn’t know the language.
The picture did get an English title and maybe a tiny U.S. release, as Boom in the Moon. No Kidding.
As a WW2 soldier, Buster’s plane crashes in Mexico, where he’s misidentified as a serial killer and arrested. As is standard practice with mad killers, he’s turned over to a scientist who shoots him into space in his new rocket. The rocket is a dud. It only flies as far as a remote area of Mexico. Buster and his fellow astronauts see a beekeeper in his suit and believe they’re looking at an alien.
I can’t stop laughing either. Gary forwards this clip with some rocket shots, and much more of the show can be found online. And good old SciFist has a full review. He gives it his lowest rating. You’ll love it too.
Thanks for reading! — Glenn Erickson