I saw this movie in 1962 at the East Point theater with my best friends, Jimmy Harmon — seen below while creating a clay monster for one of our joint stop-motion 8mm movies.
Neither of us were very impressed. :(
The movie has a great cast and an interesting story, but . . . there are no monsters and very few special effects which impressed me at the time, so I felt cheated out of my 35¢ ticket price.
It just wasn't the fun experience Jimmy and I had the previous year when we saw Irwin Allen's Voyage to the Bottom of Sea.
But recently I watched my DVD of Voyage to the Bottom of Sea and enjoyed it so much I decided to give Five Weeks in a Balloon another chance.
Lo and behold, I discovered that this movie is much better than I thought it was!
The airship which appears in the movie is called the Jupiter, and apparently Irwin Allen liked that name so much that he named the spaceship in Lost in Space, the Jupiter 2.
We find out in the dramatic opening scene that the Jupiter has the unique ability to change its altitude without loosing the gas in the envelope or the ballast which is used to lightened the ship.
This is done by rapidly heating or cooling the gas by using a device inside the gondola that's controlled by the pilot (Fabian). Unlike hot air balloons, the envelope is enclosed, so none of the gas escapes like a normal hot air balloon.
Impressive!
I was also impressed by a discussion between Red Buttons and Fabian shortly after the Jupiter lifts off on the five-week adventure. Fabian explains that to change the Jupiter's direction he simply increases or decreases their altitude to take advantage of wind currents which blow in different directions.
Fabian provides a wonderful explanation to Red Buttons about how the airship navigates.
“Normally the wind blows east to west, so we just hitch a ride. But we can change course if necessary. There are plenty of cross winds up there. We just go up, test different levels, and find a breeze blowing in the right direction!”
Okay, sure, it's a bit of a simplification about the way wind currents at different altitudes work, but at least the story addresses the issue with a certain amount of logic. And for that, I'm grateful. :D
Concerning the plot, the purpose of the journey is a noble one. The Prime Minister of England (Herbert Marshall) ask Cedric Hardwick to plant the British flag in a key area of Africa so that Britain can outlaw slavery in that region. But they have to beat a group of slave trades to a certain area and plant the flag before the slavers arrive and stake their own claim to the region.
Visually, the movie is a real treat. Soon after the trip begins, we see a beautiful montage of shots showing the Jupiter cruising over stunning landscapes. And during the montage, Fabian plays a concertina as he sings the appealing title theme.
I was amused by the fact that Fabian's singing was not dubbed! He does a fine job here, but it's widely known that the poor guy couldn't sing worth a damn . . .
Apparently the production actually did use a full-sized helium filled balloon, because in scenes like the one below we can see the balloon swaying gently in the breeze — something that wouldn’t happen if it was a prop supported by a crane off camera.
As amazing as it sounds, I think the balloon was also used in several remarkable scenes like the one at the 27-minute mark, which shows the Jupiter at the end of the first day of the trip, coming down gracefully over a beautiful forest and then landing.
The balloon seems to travel too far horizontally for it to be a prop supported by a crane.
More amazing still is the way the airship cruises along slowly just below treetop level while the passengers gaze down at the lush vegetation — and it's NOT a studio shot with a rear screen projection of the landscape!
The closeups from over the shoulders of the characters were shot from on board the Jupiter while it was actually cruising slowly along, looking for a place to land. The scene looks exactly like we're in an airship drifting above the landscape. Even if a crane was used, the effect is completely convincing.
The entire scene is full minute-and-a-half long. It's really beautifully done!
It was all perfectly edited together, and the lovely music by Paul Sawtell enriched this dream-like scene. It was just like a ship coming into port, enhanced by the melodious train whistle that Fabian blew at key moments like this.
The whistle was very nice touch on the part of filmmakers.
he scene that follows is downright picturesque. The Jupiter rests on a grass-covered area in the midst of a lush forest, and the crew is having dinner at an elegantly set table (complete with table clothe), while Fabian serves a sumptuous dinner to the three older men.
I know it's unrealistic for the explorers to have brought along so many luxury items, but its all very appealing. (One must observe the niceties of civilization, even while crossing Africa in a balloon.
Barbara Luna unexpectedly joins the expedition at this point. She’s a lovely slave girl which Red Buttons rescued in an early comic chase scene through the market place in Zanzibar. She stowed away in the Jupiter's "crows nest" — a nice inclusion in the airship's design, enhancing it's nautical resemblance.
In the tradition of Journey to Center of the Earth — in which the expedition includes a duck named Gertrude — this story also acquires a mischievous chimpanzee. No explanation whatsoever is given for the chimp’s sudden addition, other than the fact that the location is Africa, and comical chimps were a dime-a-dozen on the Dark Continent in those days!
Just when we begin to think this movie might be a bit silly and boring, the plot livens up when, later that night, a thunderstorm interrupts the sleeping crewmen, and they make an emergency liftoff to ride out the storm rather than be torn to pieces on the ground.
The next day we see the Jupiter sailing along through a blue and tranquil sky, but Fabian informs Sir Cedric that a broken valve in the heating regulator needs repair, and they must land the airship.
Using his shiny brass telescope, Sir Cedric spots the African city of Hazack through the clouds ahead.
And so, our intrepid explorers dazzle the terrified Arab populace with a beautiful landing in the middle of the market place.
The city's comical Sultan and his superstitious subjects believe that Red Buttons is the Moon God come to Earth, along with his slaves (the rest of the crew). The sultan throws a big party for his celestial guests!
What follows it an elaborate scene on a big set, with dancing native warriors and plenty of loud drum music. However, Sir Cedric wisely determines that their ruse can't last much longer and they better make their escape soon.
But at that moment . . . Barbara Eden is dragged in!
Peter Lorre makes a dramatic entrance as the Sultan's nefarious slave trader, and his newest acquisition is Miss Eden. She's outraged by her predicament, and she pleads with the adventurers to help her.
Yhe entire crew distinguishes themselves in a heroic joint effort to rescue Miss Eden and flee the royal palace, racing back to the Jupiter and lifting off with impressive speed — thus demonstrating the miraculous abilities of this steampunk lighter-than-air ship!
Unbeknown to the crew, Peter Lorre climbs the dangling ladder during the emergency lift-off and tries to stab Sir Cedric. But he's quickly disarmed in the gondola and becomes an unwelcome member of the expedition.
Naturally, Mr. Lorre has some mighty funny moments in this great adventure.
The expedition now includes seven people — a heavy load for an airship, especially with a luxurious gondola, packed with supplies and equipment!
However, this widely diverse group begin to work together as a team by the halfway point in the movie, and there’s plenty of exciting moments as they race to beat the slave traders — including a great “rooftop rescue” when part of the team is capture!
The climax involves a waterfall, a suspension bridge, an an aerial assault on the slave traders!
Could anyone ask for more!
statistics: Posted by Bud Brewster — 9:59 PM - 1 day ago — Replies 4 — Views 337