MovieChat Forums > Flight of the Lost Balloon (1961) Discussion > Coming to TCM July 7th 3AM EST/Midnite P...

Coming to TCM July 7th 3AM EST/Midnite PST

posted 13 years ago by Immy
9 replies | jump to latest

The first and only time I saw this was over 35 years ago on a Connecticut TV station and it left quite an impression on me. Can't wait to re-visit it.

[–] jobla 13 years ago

I saw the film first-run in downtown Seattle back in 1961. Even though I was 9 years old, it looked cheap even then. However, the long-armed cannibal did scare me.

According to the IMDB, the film was shot in 2:35-1, so here's hoping that TCM has indeed acquired a widescreen print of the film. I too look forward to revisiting the film.

It would make a perfect double-bill with another 1961 Jules Verne ripoff, VALLEY OF THE DRAGONS.

[–] Eric-1226 13 years ago

the film was shot in 2:35-1, so here's hoping that TCM has indeed acquired a widescreen print of the film

Hate to burst your balloon, but except for the opening title sequence (less than a minute's worth) the TCM broadcast was full-screen, and looked, well, "clunky." Which is too bad, because an adventure story of this type could only be helped by airing it in widescreen format.

Do you happen to remember what theater in DT Seattle you saw this?

[–] jobla 13 years ago

I saw FLIGHT OF THE LOST BALLOON in Seattle at the old Coliseum Theater at 5th and Pike, I think the address was. I think that was back in 1962, and the co-feature was MARCO POLO (Rory Calhoun). The theater lasted longer than most of the downtown houses, but it eventually became a Banana Republic store.

[–] Eric-1226 13 years ago

Ah, yes... the good old Coliseum Theater. My parents took me and my siblings to that theater back in the early sixties to see a few pictures. I vaguely recall seeing "The Swiss Family Robinson" there when I was really young. I miss those days!

[–] MystMoonstruck 13 years ago

My sister and I saw this in a local theater (a beautiful Art Deco one that sadly is closed). For several years, our grade school offered booklets of movie tickets (very inexpensive) so that children could attend special matinee showings of a variety of films throughout the summer. I don't recall all of them, but "Flight of the Lost Balloon" was among them. Others were "Five Weeks in a Balloon", "Sabu and the Magic Ring", "The Two Little Bears" and "The Big Circus". As an adult, I realize how lucky I was to see many relatively obscure movies on the big screen and how wonderful the school and theater were to arrange so much entertainment. As close to six decades as I am, I don't recall if this was a weekly matinee or not, which it likely was.

I saw this a couple of more times on television and always remembered it. I was so happy when TCM showed it again, and I videotaped it since I couldn't stay up. I've watched part of it, and I see that it was low-budget and that the effects are so-so. But, I also recall how much it entertained us and enchanted us. I'm sure it sparked a lot of imaginations.

I read the positively nasty reviews and feel sad for these people that they can't picture the time period in which this film was made and that it was intended to please a youthful audience, an exceedingly large audience considering the size of the Baby Boomer generation. And, how did that one reviewer ever come to the conclusion that this is set in medieval times?! S/he must have a very, very poor grasp of history. (Yes, I'm sure there are some oopses in the film, anachronismwise. But, medieval...?!)

~~MystMoonstruck~~

[–] Eric-1226 13 years ago

I'm so glad to hear that you had that movie-going experience as a child! Yes, this is the kind of movie we loved as kids... and it was the kind of movie that just HAD to be seen on the big screen in a theater to really be appreciated! It was kind of appalling to see it being broadcast recently on TCM, not in its original wide-screen format. It lost a LOT of its entertainment value.

[–] jobla 13 years ago

Certainly, wide screen would have been preferred. It always annoys me when a film's credits are letterboxed, but not the rest of the picture. If the credits can be letterboxed, why not the body of the film as well? Still, it is a very rare film that has been rescued from obscurity, and TCM's color was quite nice. Maybe someday, they'll letterbox the whole film?

I wonder where TCM acquired that print? There was no studio name on it, other than the Woolner Brothers credit.

I guess it was the success of 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH in the mid-1950's that inspired a cottage industry of Jules Verne-esque pictures. Off the top of my head, I recall attending THE FABULOUS WORLD OF JULES VERNE, THE LOST WORLD, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, FLIGHT OF THE LOST BALLOON, FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON, IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS, THE ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD, and probably other titles that I'm not recalling at this moment.

[–] Immy 13 years ago

A pity too that it was aired at a time that didn't allow a Robert Osborne commentary. There must be some great back story. Was this its TCM debut?

[–] jobla 13 years ago

As far as I'm concerned, that was indeed a TCM premiere. I didn't get TCM in the really early days, but in my neck of the woods (Seattle area), the film hadn't been televised since the late 1960's, and I include the various cable companies as well as local independent TV stations in that statement. It's always great fun to see "long forgotten" films rescued from obscurity.