Rocket Man, The

USA • 1954 • 79m •

• Directed by: Oscar Rudolph. • Starring: Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, Anne Francis, John Agar, George Winslow, Stanley Clements, Emory Parnell, June Clayworth, Don Haggerty, Beverly Garland, Paul Brinegar, Richard H. Cutting, Jack Daly. • Music by: Lionel Newman.

Wacky complications ensue when a little boy comes into possession of a ray gun that compels anyone caught in its beam to tell the truth. He uses it to prevent his orphanage from being shut down by creditors and to help a cute couple fall in love.

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2:14

Review:

O.K., it is obvious that this was targeted for a 1954 Kiddy audience, the kind that would be shown at an early matinée along with films like Abbott and Costello's "Jack and the Beanstalk" and "The Three Stooges in Outer Space". But 60 years later, this seems like "Capra for Dummies". George "Foghorn" Winslow is amusing in small doses, such as his supporting bit in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" where he came on to be cute, did his bit, and was off so Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell could go back to tantalizing the men in the audience and the women could "ooh" and "ah!" over their wardrobe. But he pretty much runs the show here as an orphan who somehow ends up with a special ray gun that gets adults to do the right thing either by slamming on the breaks as a cop is about to bust them for drunk driving or later tell the truth.

Young Winslow's inability to hold down an entire movie is obvious as soon as he provides "narration". It's easy to see why the widowed Spring Byington would want to adopt him, and had the adults been more involved in the story than this one-trick child actor, the film might have more appeal today. Still, to get to see a kid take on a ruthless politician (Emory Parnell) since adults obviously can't do it themselves is a neat little plot twist, and in spite of Winslow's over-exposure, you can't help but cheer him on.

Reunited after 1950's "Louisa", Charles Coburn and Byington are a cute "mature" couple, and its also nice to see Coburn interacting with Winslow after being told by him to "stop that!" while holding his hand in "GPB". John Agar and Anne Francis offer young love for the adults who did go to see this picture, with Agar playing a man on Parnell's payroll to figure out a way to discredit Byington. This all culminates in a town meeting where the predictable occurs, obvious motives are revealed, and a cute little finale wraps everything up. A young Beverly Garland has a small role as the bride at a wedding justice of the peace Byington performs. It's all quite harmless and sweet, but one can't help but have hoped for something a bit more juicy to have made this more palatable for adults.

Review by mark.waltz from the Internet Movie Database.

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