The Rocketeer

Enter the Green Lantern Ironman Indiana Jones!

Continuing with superhero flicks that weren't so super, today we enter year 1991 to fasten our seatbelts in the universe of the graphic novel character The Rocketeer!  The film captures the original Dave Stevens comic book flavours: The spirit of 1930's aviation pulps and then some.

The movie captured the spirit of the comics beautifully. Sure it was disappointing that Doc Savage couldn't be included (scroll down to trivia if you don't know who he is), but Howard Hughes made a sensible substitution. I was a bit annoyed that Disney felt they had to change Betty into Jenny, but with Jennifer Connelly in the role, I was in a forgiving mood. The film was full of action and humor, cliffhangers and character; just like Stevens' creation. If there was anything to criticize, it was the toning down of Betty/Jenny. Yeah, I know, this is Disney, and she was far tamer in the comics than the real Betty/Bettie Page; but, hey, a guy can hope.

The Rocketeer and his Betty Page.

Better than Fast & Furious nitro!

Bill Campbell was perfect for Cliff Secord. He had that All-American look, with an impish twinkle in his eye. Watching the movie, you could see the excitement when he was flying, and that he was head over heels in love with Jenny.

Alan Arkin made a great Peevy, although he was far less cantankerous than his print counterpart (incidentally, Peevy was based on Doug Wildey, creator of Jonny Quest, god I'm old!). He was more of a Connecticut Yankee than grouchy mechanic.

Timothy Dalton made a great pseudo-Errol Flynn. I wasn't too happy that they trotted out that Flynn-as-Nazi Spy nonsense; but, it works beautifully for the story. Paul Sorvino made a great 30's mobster, too. Add Tiny Ron as Lothar, modeled after Rondo Hatton, and you have some pretty fun villains.

Then, there's Jennifer Connelly, one of the most beautiful and talented actresses in Hollywood. As I said, I had hoped for a little sexier character; but, the compromise was still pretty good. Connelly brought both a wholesomeness and sex appeal to the role. She looked great in the period clothing, too.

"In brightest day, in darkest night...sorry! wrong hero!"

"To infinity and beyond"

Everything about this film worked. The period detail was first rate, from the costumes, to he set design, to the slang. The only thing that would have improved this would have been to make more films. This is a great film for the whole family and captures the spirit of Republic and the pulps as well as Indiana Jones did. 

The Rocketeer trivia

1. Disney had a special mechanism built especially for this film. Called the "Shaky-cam", it was designed to be the exact opposite of the "Steady-cam", that is, to introduce vibrations into the picture. This was used in the scenes filmed inside the Zeppelin to give the impression of the power of the engines. When the movie went to video, the effect didn't transfer too well, and was therefore steadied.  

2. Stunt man Jimmy Medearis suffered serious head injuries during a failed stunt. He and fellow stunt man Michael J. Sarna both hit a tree when a truck pulling their harness-rig drove too far. 

3. Johnny Depp was nearly cast as Cliff Secord/The Rocketeer.  

Jennifer "Boobs"

With such a gal I sure can fire rockets to the sky.

4. Billy Campbell, who once studied commercial art, made sure to read the Dave Stevens graphic novel on which this film was based. He got the part after getting a haircut to make himself look identical to the character in the graphic novel. 

5. The original inventor of the rocket pack was thirties pulp novel hero Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, in the original graphic comic book by Dave Stevens. However, because licensing considerations, Disney did not seek permission from Conde Nast, the copyright holder of Doc Savage, and opted to substitute Doc Savage with the flamboyant billionaire Howard Hughes.  

6. Originally was supposed to be preceded in theaters by a Roger Rabbit cartoon called "Hare in my Soup", unfortunately the cartoon was never made. 

7. In the original graphic novel, Cliff Secord's girlfriend is called Betty Page, not Jenny Blake. Dave Stevens (the creator of the comic novel) based the character "Betty Page" upon his real-life friend, 50's pin-up girl Bettie Page.  

8.  The film had its own videogame adaptation for the Super Nintendo SNES console. However, it wasn't a hit amongst gamers. 

The original SNES artwork for the videogame box.

16 bits entertainment. Respect!

Overall, a very entertaining film that portrays 1930's pulp in a rated for all audiences version. Perhaps, its main flaw is that it is an old fashioned Disney studios movie, so I'm just guessing here but, it won't satisfy those who are expecting to find a darker mood type of superhero movie with a more serious approach  a la Nolan.  Since the film wasn't a big hit in theaters it immediately became a family classic in the rental stores (by the way, R.I.P. Blockbuster video) Anyways, an easy to follow entertaining film that could help you make a rainy weekend a better one. 

Here's the cool movie trailer: