Five Weeks in a Balloon (film)
Encyclopedia
Five Weeks in a Balloon is a 1962 science fiction adventure film loosely based on the novel of the same name
by Jules Verne
filmed in CinemaScope
. It was produced and directed by Irwin Allen
; his last feature film
in the 1960s before moving to producing several science fiction television series. Though set in Africa, it was filmed in California. Balloonist Donald Piccard acted as the film's technical advisor
. For visual effects, a model of the balloon was used as well as a full-sized unicorn gondola hung on a crane.
and a colorful animation of hot air balloon
s, with artwork reminiscent of the Montgolfier balloons. The theme song is later performed by Fabian twice during the film.
The film then transitions to showing the flight of the balloon Jupiter invented by Professor Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke). In the unicorn-shaped gondola, the passengers Chiddingfold (Ronald Long) and Sir Henry Vining (Richard Haydn) scream in horror as the balloon rapidly descends, but the Professor remains calm as he planned for this to happen. He then signals the pilot Jacques (Fabian) to ascend the balloon, who explains how balloon is able to ascend and descend without the loss of gas or ballast. The balloon successfully lands and attracts a crowd, but Sir Henry and the other passenger are dissatisfied after the seemingly disastrous descent. Sir Henry, the president of the Royal Geographic Society, refuses to fund the Professor's plan to explore east Africa, while Chiddingfold leaves claiming he has an "appointment". The Professor seems out of financial backing for his plans, but an American journalist talks to Fergusson about having his nephew and star reporter Donald O'Shea (Red Buttons) as part of Fergusson's plan to explore east Africa.
When he arrives at the Prime Minister's office in Zanzibar, he is given the mission to use his craft to claim areas of uncharted west Africa for the Crown before slave traders make their claim to the territory. Fergusson agrees. The following day, Consul tells the bad news that the slave traders know of his plan and would reach the river Volta in six weeks, leaving him with five. To make matters worse, the Queen has sent Sir Henry Vining to accompany him. He wants to be referred to as General Vining and proclaims himself the "expert on Africa."
Meanwhile in the marketplace, Jacques finds O'Shea rescuing a slave girl named Makia (Barbara Luna) and they bring her along, and they go to the Consul's office. Consul Townsend orders Makia to be returned to her owner, but she fights the slave trader and leaves on a horse. The people in the marketplace become outraged and threaten to destroy Jupiter. O'Shea begins to be viewed as a troublemaker and as the balloon takes off he is shocked to know that the plans of the journey have been changed. The balloon lands in a forest and they have dinner. As they converse at the table they notice their food is being taken away and find Makia hiding under the table. She says she hid up in the crow's nest of the balloon and will not leave O'Shea, who does not want her and offers her to the others on board. Disappointed she tries to leave into the dangerous wilderness only to be stopped and eventually agrees to be a passenger aboard. Meanwhile, a wild chimpanzee walks out of the forest and joins the crew. As the rest of the crew sleeps, Jacques and the chimp drink coffee. Makia comes out of the gondola unable to sleep in fear of the wilderness and suggests Jacques to buy her. Jacques explains how slavery is uncivilized and explains marriage. Lightning is heard and they take off the balloon.
The following day, they land in the Arab city of Hezak. People run in fear, until a Muslim priest comes out and refers to O'Shea as the Moon God
. The crew have dinner in the Sultan's palace, where a slave trader named Ahmed (Peter Lorre) comes in with a kidnapped American woman (Barbara Eden). Ahmed points at the moon emerging in the clouds, to which the Sultan (Billy Gilbert) proclaims them as fakes. The crew escape quickly, but Ahmed climbs a ladder aboard. When they land they find out that Ahmed has stolen diamonds and medals from the Sultan. The American woman introduces herself as Susan Gale explains that she is a missionary. The professor explains they are headed for the Volta river
to claim the land and stop slavery, but claims O'Shea doesn't care about the slave trade. He tries to explain that he is only a journalist but Susan interrupts saying "trafficking human lives is everyone's concern, either you're for it or against it," to which Ahmed says "I'm for it."
The balloon continues its progress and lands near a forest. Susan is still angry at Donald and still thinks he doesn't care about slavery but Makia explains how he saved her from slavers. Meanwhile, O'Shea goes out hunting with a gun provided by General Vyning. He walks into the forest and sees a lion, but when he tries to shoot it he realizes that the gun is unloaded. He then falls into a trap set by natives, who free him, but when he runs away they chase after him with spears. Quickly the crew takes the balloon off as a spear narrowly misses them inside the gondola. As they fly again, Donald and Susan build a relationship. After they land again, however, O'Shea accidentally hammers the anchor away, setting the balloon free. The anchor luckily catches the top of a tree, but everyone including Susan becomes disappointed at him. The Professor and General consider offering O'Shea to the slavers, as they tell how he was only aboard to carry testimony for Americans, but now they had a less troublesome Susan Gale. However, O'Shea wins back the crew's trust when he spots out a sandstorm. The balloon lands in an oasis and the crew relaxes. Ahmed, however, is ordered to work and thinks he is being treated as a slave, telling Jacques "I'm not a slave, I sell them!" A gunshot is heard and the Sheik's men on horseback come to arrest the Professor, Vyning, Makia and Susan, taking them to Timbuktu
. Ahmed and Jacques stay the gondola while O'Shea, who was picking dates, and the chimp stay in the trees until the men leave.
In Timbuktu, the arrested crew are set to die as infidels and Makia be sold as a slave under the order of the Sheik Ageiba. Disguised as Arabs, Jacques, Ahmed and Donald purchase Makia from a slave trader (also played by Billy Gilbert). Makia tells of the plan to kill the rest of the crew and they fly their balloon to the top of a tower to save them. After defeating many of the men, they take off, but a sword is thrown onto the balloon's envelope, causing a slow leak to occur. The Professor, now knowing the slavers have less than two days, feels certain defeat, but Donald suggests they fly over night.
The following day, they reach the Volta river, but sword plugged on the envelope starts to rip away, causing the balloon to descend. Everything is thrown overboard to help the balloon gain some lift as they fly towards a bridge, but see the slavers. The head slaver shoots the balloon causing it to deflate as the crew climb into the crows' nest. The anchor is thrown onto the bridge and the gondola is released, causing the balloon to ascend and break the bridge, causing most of the slavers to drown. The head slaver, however, survives with their flag. The balloon's crew swim across the river, except for Ahmed, who remains seated on the balloon's drifting envelope because he can't swim. Donald goes back to retrieve the Union Jack as the envelope raft tumbles over the waterfall. Ahmed tells Donald to jump with the flag. He then kills the slave trader by throwing a dart into his chest, sending him falling into the water. The crew are finally proud that O'Shea had done something triumphant, but he falls into the water. Susan tries to save him and falls in the water and they kiss, while Jacques and Makia also kiss. General Vyning admits to Professor Fergusson that he was wrong about his balloon. The film ends with the chimpanzee finding a companion for itself.
1961 Flight of the Lost Balloon
directed by Nathan Juran
. Though Verne’s novel was in the public domain
, Fox and Allen brought legal pressure against the Woolner’s to drop all mention of Jules Verne from their film. The Woolner’s also were stopped from using another title for the film, Cleopatra and the Cyclops exploiting the hype of Fox’s own Cleopatra
. Allen's film is played much more for comedy than Juran's film.
In Verne's novel and the Woolner Brothes film the balloon was named the Victoria. Allen's film renames it the Jupiter with Allen giving the name Jupiter II to the spaceship in Lost in Space
.
"Well, I’m for it" - Slave trader Ahmed
Five Weeks in a Balloon
Five Weeks in a Balloon, or, Journeys and Discoveries in Africa by Three Englishmen is an adventure novel by Jules Verne.It is the first Verne novel in which he perfected the "ingredients" of his later work, skillfully mixing a plot full of adventure and twists that hold the reader's interest with...
by Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
filmed in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
. It was produced and directed by Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series.- Biography :...
; his last feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
in the 1960s before moving to producing several science fiction television series. Though set in Africa, it was filmed in California. Balloonist Donald Piccard acted as the film's technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
. For visual effects, a model of the balloon was used as well as a full-sized unicorn gondola hung on a crane.
Plot
The film opens with a theme song performed by The Brothers FourThe Brothers Four
The Brothers Four are an American folk singing group, founded in 1957 in Seattle, Washington, known for their 1960 hit song "Greenfields".-History:...
and a colorful animation of hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
s, with artwork reminiscent of the Montgolfier balloons. The theme song is later performed by Fabian twice during the film.
The film then transitions to showing the flight of the balloon Jupiter invented by Professor Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke). In the unicorn-shaped gondola, the passengers Chiddingfold (Ronald Long) and Sir Henry Vining (Richard Haydn) scream in horror as the balloon rapidly descends, but the Professor remains calm as he planned for this to happen. He then signals the pilot Jacques (Fabian) to ascend the balloon, who explains how balloon is able to ascend and descend without the loss of gas or ballast. The balloon successfully lands and attracts a crowd, but Sir Henry and the other passenger are dissatisfied after the seemingly disastrous descent. Sir Henry, the president of the Royal Geographic Society, refuses to fund the Professor's plan to explore east Africa, while Chiddingfold leaves claiming he has an "appointment". The Professor seems out of financial backing for his plans, but an American journalist talks to Fergusson about having his nephew and star reporter Donald O'Shea (Red Buttons) as part of Fergusson's plan to explore east Africa.
When he arrives at the Prime Minister's office in Zanzibar, he is given the mission to use his craft to claim areas of uncharted west Africa for the Crown before slave traders make their claim to the territory. Fergusson agrees. The following day, Consul tells the bad news that the slave traders know of his plan and would reach the river Volta in six weeks, leaving him with five. To make matters worse, the Queen has sent Sir Henry Vining to accompany him. He wants to be referred to as General Vining and proclaims himself the "expert on Africa."
Meanwhile in the marketplace, Jacques finds O'Shea rescuing a slave girl named Makia (Barbara Luna) and they bring her along, and they go to the Consul's office. Consul Townsend orders Makia to be returned to her owner, but she fights the slave trader and leaves on a horse. The people in the marketplace become outraged and threaten to destroy Jupiter. O'Shea begins to be viewed as a troublemaker and as the balloon takes off he is shocked to know that the plans of the journey have been changed. The balloon lands in a forest and they have dinner. As they converse at the table they notice their food is being taken away and find Makia hiding under the table. She says she hid up in the crow's nest of the balloon and will not leave O'Shea, who does not want her and offers her to the others on board. Disappointed she tries to leave into the dangerous wilderness only to be stopped and eventually agrees to be a passenger aboard. Meanwhile, a wild chimpanzee walks out of the forest and joins the crew. As the rest of the crew sleeps, Jacques and the chimp drink coffee. Makia comes out of the gondola unable to sleep in fear of the wilderness and suggests Jacques to buy her. Jacques explains how slavery is uncivilized and explains marriage. Lightning is heard and they take off the balloon.
The following day, they land in the Arab city of Hezak. People run in fear, until a Muslim priest comes out and refers to O'Shea as the Moon God
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
. The crew have dinner in the Sultan's palace, where a slave trader named Ahmed (Peter Lorre) comes in with a kidnapped American woman (Barbara Eden). Ahmed points at the moon emerging in the clouds, to which the Sultan (Billy Gilbert) proclaims them as fakes. The crew escape quickly, but Ahmed climbs a ladder aboard. When they land they find out that Ahmed has stolen diamonds and medals from the Sultan. The American woman introduces herself as Susan Gale explains that she is a missionary. The professor explains they are headed for the Volta river
Volta River
The Volta is a river in western Africa that drains into the Gulf of Guinea. It has three main tributaries—the Black Volta, White Volta and Red Volta...
to claim the land and stop slavery, but claims O'Shea doesn't care about the slave trade. He tries to explain that he is only a journalist but Susan interrupts saying "trafficking human lives is everyone's concern, either you're for it or against it," to which Ahmed says "I'm for it."
The balloon continues its progress and lands near a forest. Susan is still angry at Donald and still thinks he doesn't care about slavery but Makia explains how he saved her from slavers. Meanwhile, O'Shea goes out hunting with a gun provided by General Vyning. He walks into the forest and sees a lion, but when he tries to shoot it he realizes that the gun is unloaded. He then falls into a trap set by natives, who free him, but when he runs away they chase after him with spears. Quickly the crew takes the balloon off as a spear narrowly misses them inside the gondola. As they fly again, Donald and Susan build a relationship. After they land again, however, O'Shea accidentally hammers the anchor away, setting the balloon free. The anchor luckily catches the top of a tree, but everyone including Susan becomes disappointed at him. The Professor and General consider offering O'Shea to the slavers, as they tell how he was only aboard to carry testimony for Americans, but now they had a less troublesome Susan Gale. However, O'Shea wins back the crew's trust when he spots out a sandstorm. The balloon lands in an oasis and the crew relaxes. Ahmed, however, is ordered to work and thinks he is being treated as a slave, telling Jacques "I'm not a slave, I sell them!" A gunshot is heard and the Sheik's men on horseback come to arrest the Professor, Vyning, Makia and Susan, taking them to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
. Ahmed and Jacques stay the gondola while O'Shea, who was picking dates, and the chimp stay in the trees until the men leave.
In Timbuktu, the arrested crew are set to die as infidels and Makia be sold as a slave under the order of the Sheik Ageiba. Disguised as Arabs, Jacques, Ahmed and Donald purchase Makia from a slave trader (also played by Billy Gilbert). Makia tells of the plan to kill the rest of the crew and they fly their balloon to the top of a tower to save them. After defeating many of the men, they take off, but a sword is thrown onto the balloon's envelope, causing a slow leak to occur. The Professor, now knowing the slavers have less than two days, feels certain defeat, but Donald suggests they fly over night.
The following day, they reach the Volta river, but sword plugged on the envelope starts to rip away, causing the balloon to descend. Everything is thrown overboard to help the balloon gain some lift as they fly towards a bridge, but see the slavers. The head slaver shoots the balloon causing it to deflate as the crew climb into the crows' nest. The anchor is thrown onto the bridge and the gondola is released, causing the balloon to ascend and break the bridge, causing most of the slavers to drown. The head slaver, however, survives with their flag. The balloon's crew swim across the river, except for Ahmed, who remains seated on the balloon's drifting envelope because he can't swim. Donald goes back to retrieve the Union Jack as the envelope raft tumbles over the waterfall. Ahmed tells Donald to jump with the flag. He then kills the slave trader by throwing a dart into his chest, sending him falling into the water. The crew are finally proud that O'Shea had done something triumphant, but he falls into the water. Susan tries to save him and falls in the water and they kiss, while Jacques and Makia also kiss. General Vyning admits to Professor Fergusson that he was wrong about his balloon. The film ends with the chimpanzee finding a companion for itself.
Competition
One of the themes of Five Weeks in a Balloon is a race. Verne’s novel features the Professor attempting to make discoveries ahead of other explorers whilst Allen’s film has the Professor trying to beat the claims of a slave trading expedition. Verne’s novel also featured a race between two producers attempting to be the first to film it; Irwin Allen and the Woolner BrothersWoolner Brothers
The Woolner Brothers were an American film releasing company formed in 1955 made up of Lawrence , Bernard , and David Woolner. After US Army service in World War II Lawrence started a New Orleans drive-in theatre in 1948...
1961 Flight of the Lost Balloon
Flight of the Lost Balloon
Flight of the Lost Balloon is a 1961 film produced, written and directed by Nathan Juran that was filmed in Puerto Rico. It stars Mala Powers and Marshall Thompson with the working title being Cleopatra and the Cyclops....
directed by Nathan Juran
Nathan Juran
Naftuli "Nathan" Hertz Juran was an American film art director and film director who is most noted for winning the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for How Green Was My Valley and for directing science fiction and fantasy films such as Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. He was also the brother of...
. Though Verne’s novel was in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
, Fox and Allen brought legal pressure against the Woolner’s to drop all mention of Jules Verne from their film. The Woolner’s also were stopped from using another title for the film, Cleopatra and the Cyclops exploiting the hype of Fox’s own Cleopatra
Cleopatra (1963 film)
Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
. Allen's film is played much more for comedy than Juran's film.
In Verne's novel and the Woolner Brothes film the balloon was named the Victoria. Allen's film renames it the Jupiter with Allen giving the name Jupiter II to the spaceship in Lost in Space
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
.
Cast
- Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Fergusson
- Red Buttons as Donald O'Shay
- FabianFabian (entertainer)Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
as Jacques - Barbara EdenBarbara EdenBarbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
as Susan Gale - Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
as Ahmed - Richard HaydnRichard HaydnRichard Haydn was an English comic actor in radio, films and television.-Early life and career:Born George Richard Haydon in London, he was known for playing eccentric characters, such as Edwin Carp, Claud Curdle, Richard Rancyd and Stanley Stayle. Much of his stage delivery was done in a...
as Sir Henry Vining - Barbara LunaBarbara LunaBarBara Ann Luna is an American actress with an extensive list of roles in film, television, and shows. Notable roles included Five Weeks in a Balloon and Lt. Marlena Moreau in the classic Star Trek episode "Mirror, Mirror"...
as Makia - Billy GilbertBilly GilbertBilly Gilbert was an American comedian and actor known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929. He is not to be confused with silent film actor Billy Gilbert Billy Gilbert (September 12, 1894 – September 23,...
as Sultan - Herbert MarshallHerbert MarshallHerbert Marshall , born Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall, was an English actor.His parents were Percy F. Marshall and Ethel May Turner. He graduated from St. Mary's College in Old Harlow, Essex and worked for a time as an accounting clerk...
as The Prime Minister - Reginald OwenReginald OwenJohn Reginald Owen was a British character actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American movies and later in television programs.-Personal:...
as Consul - Henry DaniellHenry DaniellHenry Daniell was an English actor, best known for his villainous movie roles, but who had a long and prestigious career on stage as well as in films....
as Sheik Ageiba - Mike MazurkiMike MazurkiMike Mazurki was an Austrian-born American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in over 100 movies. His towering 6' 5" presence and intimidating face usually got him roles playing tough guys, thugs, strong men, and gangsters.Mazurki was born as Mikhail Mazurkevych in Tarnopol, Galicia,...
as Head Slaver - Alan CaillouAlan CaillouAlan Caillou was the nom de plume of Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe M.B.E., M.C. , an author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter.-Biography:...
as Inspector
Quotes
"Trafficking in human lives is everone’s concern. Either you’re for it or you’re against it" - Missionary Susan Gale"Well, I’m for it" - Slave trader Ahmed