Boom in the Moon
Encyclopedia
Boom in the Moon is a 1946
Mexican
science fiction
comedy film
directed by Jaime Salvador and starring Buster Keaton
. The film is notable both as Keaton’s only Mexican production and as the last time Keaton had star billing in a feature film.
who escapes from an airplane crash over the Pacific Ocean
. He is adrift for a long period and his face becomes covered in a scraggly beard. He arrives on a beach, believing he has landed in Japan
, but he is actually in Mexico
. He wanders into a fishing village and is promptly arrested under the mistaken belief that he is a wanted serial killer who marries and murders women (also known as a "bluebeard
"). Keaton and another prisoner (Angel Garasa) are put in the custody of an aeronautics scientist who is planning to launch a manned rocket into outer space. The two prisoners, along with the scientist’s assistant (Virginia Seret) are blasted into space, but their craft lands in an isolated portion of Mexico instead. They mistake a beekeeper wearing protective headgear as an alien, while the beekeeper believes the trio (who are wearing wizard robes) are aliens. The prisoners and the scientist’s assistant are apprehended by the local police, and the matter is quickly settled. Keaton and his cellmate receive pardons and are free to go on their way.
(a.k.a. An Old Spanish Custom) that Buster Keaton was given a starring role in a feature film. During the first part of the 1940s, Keaton’s screen work was limited to small supporting parts in feature films and headlining a series of short films made by Columbia Pictures
.
Boom in the Moon marked the first solo producer credit enjoyed by Alexander Salkind
(1921-1997). The Gdansk, Poland-born Salkind, the son of film producer Michael Salkind, fled Nazi-controlled Europe
with his family prior to World War II, settling in Mexico City
. Salkind would later produce the notable films Austerlitz
(1960), the Orson Welles
-directed version of The Trial
(1962) and the epic Superman (1978) and its sequels.
As a Mexican film, the production was shot in Spanish
. Keaton did not speak Spanish, but spoke a broken version for his relatively limited dialogue. Although he was not credited with contributions to the screenplay, Keaton incorporated several gags from his classic silent films in this offering, including a horseback riding stunt that was used in Hard Luck
(1921) and Go West
(1925).
The film has received mixed notices from critics and film scholars. Charles Tatum, in a review published by eFilmCritic.com, stated the "video company that released this must have won the rights to this in a fifty cent poker game. They should have saved the late Keaton some embarrassment and left it on the shelf...this is my pick for the worst, most inept film of the 1940's." Dave Sindelar, reviewing the film for the online magazine Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, stated the film “represents the nadir for one of the greatest screen comedians of all time” and that “all it does is remind you of how low he'd fallen to this point.” British
film historian Kevin Brownlow
was even more harsh, declaring Boom in the Moon to be the worst film ever made.
However, Keaton historian Jim Kline, in his book "The Complete Films of Buster Keaton," offered praise for Boom in the Moon by stating the film's "pacing is lively and the restagings of old gags work well within the kooky plot."
1946 in film
The year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
Mexican
Mexican cinema
The history of Mexican cinema goes back to the ending of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution – and produced some movies that have only recently been rediscovered...
science fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Jaime Salvador and starring Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. The film is notable both as Keaton’s only Mexican production and as the last time Keaton had star billing in a feature film.
Plot
Keaton plays an American soldier during World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
who escapes from an airplane crash over the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. He is adrift for a long period and his face becomes covered in a scraggly beard. He arrives on a beach, believing he has landed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, but he is actually in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. He wanders into a fishing village and is promptly arrested under the mistaken belief that he is a wanted serial killer who marries and murders women (also known as a "bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
"). Keaton and another prisoner (Angel Garasa) are put in the custody of an aeronautics scientist who is planning to launch a manned rocket into outer space. The two prisoners, along with the scientist’s assistant (Virginia Seret) are blasted into space, but their craft lands in an isolated portion of Mexico instead. They mistake a beekeeper wearing protective headgear as an alien, while the beekeeper believes the trio (who are wearing wizard robes) are aliens. The prisoners and the scientist’s assistant are apprehended by the local police, and the matter is quickly settled. Keaton and his cellmate receive pardons and are free to go on their way.
Production
Boom in the Moon marked the first time since the 1935 production The InvaderThe Invader
The Invader is a comedy film, starring Buster Keaton, released in the United Kingdom. The film, also known as An Old Spanish Custom, co-stars Lupita Tovar. The film follows the same plot as its remake Pest from the West , with a millionaire setting out to win a local girl in Mexico...
(a.k.a. An Old Spanish Custom) that Buster Keaton was given a starring role in a feature film. During the first part of the 1940s, Keaton’s screen work was limited to small supporting parts in feature films and headlining a series of short films made by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
.
Boom in the Moon marked the first solo producer credit enjoyed by Alexander Salkind
Alexander Salkind
Alexander Salkind was the second of three generations of successful international film producers.-Life and career:...
(1921-1997). The Gdansk, Poland-born Salkind, the son of film producer Michael Salkind, fled Nazi-controlled Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
with his family prior to World War II, settling in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
. Salkind would later produce the notable films Austerlitz
Austerlitz (film)
Austerlitz is a 1960 film directed by Abel Gance and starring Jean Marais, Rossano Brazzi, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale, Vittorio de Sica, Orson Welles, Leslie Caron and Elvire Popesco. Pierre Mondy portrays Napoleon in this film about one of his greatest victories at the Battle of Austerlitz...
(1960), the Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
-directed version of The Trial
The Trial (1962 film)
The Trial is a 1962 film directed by Orson Welles, who also wrote the screenplay based on the novel of the same name by Franz Kafka...
(1962) and the epic Superman (1978) and its sequels.
As a Mexican film, the production was shot in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Keaton did not speak Spanish, but spoke a broken version for his relatively limited dialogue. Although he was not credited with contributions to the screenplay, Keaton incorporated several gags from his classic silent films in this offering, including a horseback riding stunt that was used in Hard Luck
Hard Luck (1921 film)
Hard Luck is a 1921 short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The runtime is 22 minutes. For sixty years it was Keaton's only major lost film until it was partially reconstructed in 1987, with the critical final scene still...
(1921) and Go West
Go West (1925 film)
Go West is a silent movie starring Buster Keaton.Keaton portrays Friendless, who travels west to try to make his fortune. Once there, he tries his hand at bronco-busting, cattle wrangling, and dairy farming, eventually forming a bond with a cow named "Brown Eyes." Eventually he finds himself...
(1925).
Release
The film, under its Spanish title El Moderno Barba Azul, was theatrically released in Mexico in 1946. However, the film was not commercially released in the U.S. until 1983, when it was distributed on home video by Cantharus Productions on the U.S.A. Home Video label under the new title Boom in the Moon. The U.S. video version was cut-down to 69 minutes, dubbed into English and not presented with the original Spanish-language soundtrack.The film has received mixed notices from critics and film scholars. Charles Tatum, in a review published by eFilmCritic.com, stated the "video company that released this must have won the rights to this in a fifty cent poker game. They should have saved the late Keaton some embarrassment and left it on the shelf...this is my pick for the worst, most inept film of the 1940's." Dave Sindelar, reviewing the film for the online magazine Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, stated the film “represents the nadir for one of the greatest screen comedians of all time” and that “all it does is remind you of how low he'd fallen to this point.” British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film historian Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow
Kevin Brownlow is a filmmaker, film historian, television documentary-maker, author, and Academy Award recipient. Brownlow is best known for his work documenting the history of the silent era. Brownlow became interested in silent film at the age of eleven. This interest grew into a career spent...
was even more harsh, declaring Boom in the Moon to be the worst film ever made.
However, Keaton historian Jim Kline, in his book "The Complete Films of Buster Keaton," offered praise for Boom in the Moon by stating the film's "pacing is lively and the restagings of old gags work well within the kooky plot."