It's ironic that in this British comedy, funny man Norman Wisdom scores in sequences that would have become classic had they been in a silent movie. He's your typical clumsy oaf that should never be in a position where other folks lives may be in danger, and yet is chosen for a dangerous mission that puts him underwater, in mountain gear and finally into outer space. The best scenes are straight out of something that Charlie Chaplin may have done, such as a touching moment where he makes a young lady laugh at his antics in a restaurant with a dinner napkin. Unfortunately, she's taken which creates a bit of pathos.
Wisdom's antics as a young seaman fall flat, mistaking a man overboard cry as an order to push people on the ship into the water. He ends up in a scuba suit filled with air that results in an unfunny bit of obvious animation as he flies around the top of the water like a deflating balloon. The best sequence involves him mountain climbing as a part of his training with visual gags that Harold Lloyd wished he could have come up with. He's nose to nose with another seaman while trying to sleep, and the floating tent on the ice has a memorable sight gag as well.
But then it's back to the unfunny verbal banter before the hapless Wisdom ends up in a rocket and then in the tropics. This was a huge waste of time for 1930's leading man Ian Hunter who has nothing memorable to do as the commander. The comedy in this film seems dated by early 60's standards, far too forced most of the time, yet getting genuine laughs foe moments that the writers probably didn't realize was where the comic gold was. Wisdom isn't a bad comic here. He just doesn't get the material that shows him off as his best like he would when he scored on Broadway in "Walking Happy", a musical version of "Hobson's Choice".
Wisdom's antics as a young seaman fall flat, mistaking a man overboard cry as an order to push people on the ship into the water. He ends up in a scuba suit filled with air that results in an unfunny bit of obvious animation as he flies around the top of the water like a deflating balloon. The best sequence involves him mountain climbing as a part of his training with visual gags that Harold Lloyd wished he could have come up with. He's nose to nose with another seaman while trying to sleep, and the floating tent on the ice has a memorable sight gag as well.
But then it's back to the unfunny verbal banter before the hapless Wisdom ends up in a rocket and then in the tropics. This was a huge waste of time for 1930's leading man Ian Hunter who has nothing memorable to do as the commander. The comedy in this film seems dated by early 60's standards, far too forced most of the time, yet getting genuine laughs foe moments that the writers probably didn't realize was where the comic gold was. Wisdom isn't a bad comic here. He just doesn't get the material that shows him off as his best like he would when he scored on Broadway in "Walking Happy", a musical version of "Hobson's Choice".