The Reluctant Astronaut [Blu-ray]

Director: Edward J. Montagne

Overview

Roy Fleming (Don Knotts) is signed on to the space program at NASA by his father Buck (Arthur O'Connell), a gung-ho former World War I vet who is trying to make something out of his son. Roy becomes a janitor who is afraid of heights and mistaken for an astronaut through a series of comedic mishaps. (Jesse White) plays Roy's boss Donelli, with (Leslie Nielsen) as space hero Major Gifford. Knotts uses his patented brand of nervousness to perfection in this lighthearted situation comedy.

Product Details

Release Date:	10/09/2018
UPC:	0191329053782
Original Release:	1967
Language:	English
Time:	1:41:00
Sales rank:	29,114

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Don Knotts	Roy Fleming
Arthur O'Connell	Buck Fleming
Jeanette Nolan	Mrs. Fleming
Leslie Nielsen	Major Fred Gifford
Joan Freeman	Ellie Jackson
Jesse White	Donelli
Frank McGrath	Plank
Joan Shawlee	Blonde in Bar
Guy Raymond	Bert
Nydia Westman	Aunt Zana
Paul Hartman	Rush
Robert F. Simon	Cervantes
Robert Pickering	Moran
Burt Mustin	Ned
Ceil Cabot	Waitress
Fay De Witt	Secretary
Fabian Dean	Bus Driver
Robert Simon	Cervantes

Technical Credits

James Fritzell

Everett Greenbaum

James Fritzell	Screenwriter
Everett Greenbaum	Screenwriter
Edward J. Montagne	Producer
George Brown	Special Effects
David Lee	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Don Knotts was a television icon whose movie career never really got off the launching pad, but this 1967 Space Age comedy is a real blast. Knotts stars as Roy Fleming, who runs a rocket ship attraction at a small Missouri amusement park. His father (venerable character actor Arthur O'Connell), a gung-ho veteran who still gives his acrophobic son marching orders, applies to NASA on his behalf. Roy is accepted, but as a janitor, while his hometown thinks he is an astronaut. Leslie Nielsen, in his pre-Airplane straight man days, turns up as an actual astronaut who takes Roy under his wing. The best is saved for last, as the unwitting Roy is chosen to be a guinea pig for an untested automated rocket and is blasted into space. Even kids reluctant to watch an older movie their parents recommend will especially enjoy the slapstick of the training, launch, and space flight scenes, as when Roy attempts to squirt his zero-gravity peanut butter onto free-floating crackers.