Five Weeks In A Balloon (film)
''Five Weeks in a Balloon'' is a 1962 American adventure film loosely based on the 1863 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. Although set in Africa, it was filmed in California. Balloonist Don 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 from a crane. A novelisation of the screenplay was written by Gardner Fox. Plot It is 1862 in England. The ''Jupiter'', a manned balloon with a unicorn-shaped gondola, falls from the sky during its maiden flight. Passenger Sir Henry Vining (Richard Haydn) and his treasurer (Ronald Long) scream in horror. However, Professor Fergusson (Cedric Hardwicke), the balloon's inventor, remains calm, as he planned on giving a dramatic demonstration showing the balloon's controls. On hi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Film Poster
A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. They normally contain an image with text. Today's posters often feature printed likenesses of the main actors. Prior to the 1980s, illustrations instead of photos were far more common. The text on film posters usually contains the film title in large lettering and often the names of the main actors. It may also include a tagline, the name of the director, names of characters, the release date, and other pertinent details to inform prospective viewers about the film. Film posters are often displayed inside and on the outside of movie theaters, and elsewhere on the street or in shops. The same images appear in the film exhibitor's pressbook and may also be used on websites, DVD (and historically VHS) packaging, flyers, advertisements in newspap ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Alan Caillou
Alan Samuel Lyle-Smythe MBE, M.C. (9 November 1914 – 1 October 2006), who wrote under the name Alan Caillou, was an English-born author, actor, screenwriter, soldier, policeman and professional hunter. Biography Alan Lyle-Smythe was born in Surrey, England. Prior to World War II, he served with the Palestine Police from 1936 to 1939 and learned the Arabic language. He was awarded an MBE in June 1938. He married Aliza Sverdova in 1939, then studied acting from 1939 to 1941. In January 1940, Lyle-Smythe was commissioned in the Royal Army Service Corps. Due to his linguistic skills, he transferred to the Intelligence Corps and served in the Western Desert, in which he used the surname "Caillou" (the French word for 'pebble') as an alias. He was captured in North Africa, imprisoned and threatened with execution in Italy, then escaped to join the British forces at Salerno. He was then posted to serve with the partisans in Yugoslavia. He wrote about his experiences in the book ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Volta River
The Volta River (, , ) is the main Drainage system (geomorphology), river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso Department, Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso. The three main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the White Volta, and the Red Volta. In the northwest, the Black Volta forms the international borders of the Ivory Coast, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. The Volta flows southward along the Akwapim-Togoland highlands, and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of Guinea at Ada Foah. One of its smaller tributaries, the Oti River, Oti River, enters Ghana from Togo in the east. The Volta River has been dammed at Akosombo for generating hydroelectricity. The reservoir named Lake Volta stretches from Akosombo Dam in the south to the northern part of the country, and is the largest man-made reservoir by area in the world. The country of Burkina Faso was formerly called Republic of Upper Volta, Upper Volta, after ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
East Africa
East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the region is recognized in the United Nations Statistics Division United Nations geoscheme for Africa, scheme as encompassing 18 sovereign states and 4 territories. It includes the Horn of Africa to the North and Southeastern Africa to the south. Definitions In a narrow sense, particularly in English-speaking contexts, East Africa refers to the area comprising Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, largely due to their shared history under the Omani Empire and as parts of the British East Africa Protectorate and German East Africa. Further extending East Africa's definition, the Horn of Africa—comprising Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia—stands out as a distinct geopolitical entity within East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Gardner Fox
Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC Comics. Fox was also a science fiction author and wrote many novels and short stories. Fox is known as the co-creator of DC Comics heroes Barbara Gordon, the original Flash, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Doctor Fate, Zatanna and the original Sandman, and was the writer who first teamed several of those and other heroes as the Justice Society of America, and later recreated the team as the Justice League of America. Fox introduced the concept of the Multiverse to DC Comics in the 1961 story " Flash of Two Worlds!". Early life and career Gardner Cooper Fox was born in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Julia Veronica (Gardner) and Leon Francis Fox, an engineer. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the comic book field, such as Jack Kirby and Je ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Novelisation
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent of home video, but continue to find commercial success as part of marketing campaigns for major films. They are often written by accomplished writers based on an early draft of the film's script and on a tight deadline. History and purpose Novelizations of films began to be produced in the 1910s and 1920s for silent films such as ''Les Vampires'' (1915–16) and '' London After Midnight'' (1927). One of the first films with spoken dialogue to be novelized was ''King Kong'' (1933). Film novelizations were especially profitable during the 1970s before home video became available, as they were then the only way to re-experience popular movies other than television airing or a rerelease in theaters. The novelizations of ''Star Wars'' (1977), '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Technical Advisor
In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie. Nipo T. Strongheart Nipo T. Strongheart (May 15, 1891 – December 31, 1966) was an American performer in Wild West shows, technical advisor to Hollywood film producers, and lecturer on the Chautauqua circuit. Throughout his life, which spanned several careers ... was a noted technical advisor on several movies dealing with Native Americans. References Filmmaking occupations {{filmmaking-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Don Piccard
Donald Louis Piccard (January 13, 1926 – September 13, 2020) was a Swiss-born American balloon pioneer, promoter, innovator, designer, builder, and pilot. Piccard was born in Lausanne, Switzerland to Jean Felix Piccard and Jeanette (Ridlon) Piccard. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1931. Don Piccard first flew in a balloon in 1933, when he was enlisted as "crew" by his mother. She was the first woman to fly to the edge of space and the first American woman to earn a balloon pilot's license. Don Piccard served as a balloon and airship rigger in the United States Navy during World War II and at Naval Air Station Lakehurst during the Korean War. First post-World War II balloon free flight Despite not graduating, Piccard was one of the driving forces behind the ballooning revival after the war while a student at the University of Minnesota. He made the first post-war free flight on February 16, 1947 with a captured Japanese Fu-Go balloon, earning his balloon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Feature Film
A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment theatrical program. The term ''feature film'' originally referred to the main, full-length film in a cinema program that included a short film and often a newsreel. Matinee programs, especially in the United States and Canada, in general, also included cartoons, at least one weekly serial film, serial and, typically, a second feature-length film on weekends. The first narrative feature film was the 70-minute ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' (1906). Other early feature films include ''Les Misérables (1909 film), Les Misérables'' (1909), ''L'Inferno'', ''Defence of Sevastopol, The Adventures of Pinocchio (1911 film), The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1911), ''Oliver Twist (1912 American film), Oliver Twist'' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
CinemaScope
CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by Spyros Skouras, Spyros P. Skouras, the president of 20th Century Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal Aspect ratio (image), 2.55:1, almost twice as wide as the previously common Academy format's 1.37:1 ratio. Although the technology behind the CinemaScope lens system was made obsolete by later developments, primarily advanced by Panavision, CinemaScope's anamorphic format has continued to this day. In film-industry jargon, the shortened form, 'Scope, is still widely used by both filmmakers and projectionists, although today it generally refers to any Anamorphic format, 2.35:1, 2.39:1, 2.40:1, or 2.55:1 presentation or, sometimes, the use of anamorphic lensing or projection in general. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Adventure Film
The adventure film is a broad genre of film. Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in that the genre required a setting that was both remote in time and space to the film audience and that it contained a positive hero who tries to make right in their world. Some critics such as Taves limit the genre to naturalistic settings, while Yvonne Tasker found that would limit films such as '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981) from the genre. Tasker found that most films in the genre featured narratives located within a fantasy world of exoticized setting, which are often driven by quests for characters seeking mythical objects or treasure hunting. The genre is closely associated with the action film, and is sometimes used interchangeably or in tandem with that genre. The setting and visuals are key elements of adventure films. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. It is headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles, which is leased from Fox Corporation. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by this studio in theatrical markets. For over 80 years, 20th Century has been one of the major film studios, major American film studios. It was formed in 1935 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation by the merger of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures, and one of the original "studio system, Big Five" among eight majors of Hollywood's Cinema of the United States#Classical Hollywood cinema and the Golden Age of Hollywood, Golden Age. In 1985, the studio remov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |