GusF Set in New York City in the far future year of 1980, this was the first science fiction film made as either a talkie or a musical. It stars the little remembered vaudeville comedian El Brendel as a man who is struck by lightning in 1930 and revived 50 years later. I can't say that I found either him or the film particularly funny. The biggest chuckles were provided by Frank Albertson and Marjorie White, who was sadly killed in a car crash in 1935. The songs are pretty forgettable or just...odd. They're not exactly Cole Porter or Irving Berlin. However, I did like the one about drinking which is one of several digs at Prohibition in the film. Of the 386 films that I watched since January 2014, this is the oldest as well as being the oldest talkie that I have ever seen, though I have seen several older silent films.Only 19 years old at the time, Maureen O'Sullivan, one of Ireland's first film stars, is the female lead and the best actor in the film. She and Albertson were really the only ones in the film to have careers worth mentioning afterwards. The acting is generally pretty bad. That may have something to do with the fact that sound films were still very new in 1930 and actors were learning the new craft of acting in such films but I've seen several others from 1931 to 1934 where the acting was considerably better so that excuse only goes so far. Maureen O'Sullivan and Joyzelle Joyner were the only actors in the film who were still alive in the real 1980, which was the year that the latter died. The director David Butler - who later directed several Shirley Temple films and "Calamity Jane" - died in June 1979 so he just missed out on seeing whether the film's vision of the future would come true or not. However, by that stage, it was a pretty safe bet that it wouldn't! I loved the design of the New York of 1980, which was presumably inspired by "Metropolis". The footage was later reused in the "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers" serials while the very impressive looking "rocket plane" used to travel to Mars was later seen as Dr. Zarkov's rocket ship in the "Flash Gordon" ones, as were some of the props and costumes. Speaking of Mars, I loved the design of the planet too. I think that this could very well have been the first on screen depiction of a manned mission to Mars. The scenes on Mars are pretty bizarre, it has to be said, but they're good fun and probably the best part of the film.Incidentally, Maureen O'Sullivan's family and mine go way back! Well, sort of. I'm not lifelong best friends with her grandson Ronan Farrow or anything. My great-grandfather was a private in the Connaught Rangers before, during and after World War I and his commanding officer was her father Captain Charles O'Sullivan. They served together in India and the Western Front. When in Ireland, they were stationed in Boyle, County Roscommon, her hometown, and my great-grandfather remembered her playing around the barracks as a little girl. That means that I am only three degrees of separation from a 1930s Hollywood star.Overall, this is not a great film by any means but it's fun, even it isn't particularly funny, and has an important place in sci-fi history as the genre's first sound film. However, it did little for it on the big screen as, outside of some of the Universal Monsters films which were more horror orientated in any event, there were hardly any sci- fi feature films (as opposed to serials) made in the 1930s or 1940s. It was not until the 1950s that the genre began to have an impact in Hollywood.

BoingyBaxter I was at the screening at the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica. Yes the 35mm print was bad, most likely from the print that it was copied from.The negative is long gone I believe. Most annoying was the buzzing sound track in several reels. Picture for the most part seemed sharp though.Aside from the interesting production design of the futuristic sets,the film was a bore. Endless songs that came and went. One song was about the romance of two house flies !!! Whaaaat !Incredibly bad dialog and really bad acting. No threat to Metropolis. Am I the only one that had this reaction?

gengar843 This is a musical-romance-scifi-comedy. Here's what to look for: (1) Musical. I like the fact that this 1930 film comes off with the gaiety of the Roaring 20's rather than with any Depression-era moroseness. However, the songs themselves seemed weak, and somewhat squalid at points. The dance numbers were not bad at all. The drinking song on board the zeppelin, and the Martian god dance were highlights.(2) Romance. The plot here was nothing special, simply two men fighting over one girl, to be decided by their achievements in life, a consequence of future law. Maureen O'Sullivan was earnest but not particularly charming. Neither the hero, Garrick, nor the supposed villain, Thomson, seemed worthy. The ardor expressed, and the longing during absence, didn't move me much.(3) Scifi. The set of futuristic New York was pretty cool, reminding me of The Fifth Element, but certainly not as complex, and therefore it lost luster after some time. Still, props for effort. Some of the futuristic gadgets held my interest for a few moments, and I was disappointed that I wasn't treated to more exposure. The rocket was pretty pathetic, as was all elements of space travel. Mars was a travesty, and the scifi premise there as bad as Abbott and Costello Go to Mars.(4) Comedy. El Brendel is definitely a one-trick pony, and the corn was popping, but I did like the politically incorrect jokes, especially the reference to Henry Ford being upstaged by the Jewish plane manufacturers, and even the "queen" schtick. Marjorie White was OK with her lines but she is quite annoying, though I suppose cute too.(5) Other Stuff. Mischa Auer did an adequate job being Mischa Auer, but nothing standout. Most of the non-musical acting bordered on pedestrian. The plot-lines were pretty underdeveloped.In conclusion, not a waste of time but you may find the fast-forward button handy.

sagenplural "Just Imagine" appears on Fox Movie Channel. Hopefully there is a better print than the one on Fox. "Just Imagine" is full of those paradoxes that happen when we "imagine" the future. The song "Never Swat A Fly", later recorded by the Jim Kweskin Jug Band is included. The choreography sucks, the camera work is definitely 1930's, which is to say, many scenes are shot as if we were in an audience, that is, the camera is "fixed" or stationery. If you're a fan of early sound comedies with (now) obscure performers, this is a pretty good example. I only got into this because of the presence of "El Brendel" (who I had never heard of), and the fact that there are many references to a street in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. I watch "Just Imagine" when it comes up, but the Fox print isn't worth taping or securing on a DVD. It's the paradox of "imagining" 1980 from 1930's viewpoint that makes "Just Imagine" enjoyable. Imagine if alcohol prohibition were still around, for example....