The Rocket Man

Fun light sci-fi spoof from the mid 1950's
This welcome release from Fox Archives on MOD presents a rare Lenny Bruce screenplay. The story is a light farce about a little boy who acquires a ray-gun from outer space. The fantastic content soon gives way to more predictable domestic comedy. Ironically, the cast includes several actors who became known for appearing in science-fiction pictures, such as John Agar, Anne Francis, and Beverly Garland. The film hasn't previously appeared on home video, so this belated release is a pleasant surprise. The MOD disc's image is very nice, with good black and white contrasts. The image is full-frame, which is probably accurate.

Major cast, minor movie
Just when I thought I'd seen every sci-fi film from the Fab Fifties, here comes this unknown little sci-fi comedy. I admit, I got pretty excited when I read the cast list: Anne Francis, John Agar, Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Beverly Garland. . .all good actors, 3 of which are known for their genre roles of the 1950's. I wasn't familiar with the little boy, George Winslow, who is actually the main character, but I'd read good things about him.

The Rocket Man (minor spoilers ahead) tells the story of an orphaned 7 year old boy who spends most of his time engaging in make-believe space adventures, and acquires an actual "ray gun" from a space man who pops up from time to time. But instead of being a force for destruction, the gun forces people to tell the truth. Yep, that's pretty much it. There's some old-fashioned good vs. evil in the form of a kindly Justice of the Peace who takes the boy out of the orphanage and confronts a crooked politician who tries to shut...

good movie
i enjoyed watching it , i am collecting all of charles coburn dvd,s i can , and as soon as " the devil and miss jones " becomes available i will purchase it

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