After procuring a special ray gun, a precocious orphan helps his community by exposing the shady doings of local government, and plays a part in a cute couple getting together.
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So...this crazily optimistic, sci-fi kid's movie was co-written by Lenny Bruce. Not sure what we can learn from that, but it seems worth noting.
A little boy obsessed with atomic age space stuff gets a special laser gun from...a ghost, and is then fostered by Justice of the Peace Amelia Brown, a woman with so much faith in humanity that it borders on the absurd. After Justice Brown has a run-in with a local political boss, he attacks the local orphanage, knowing it will hurt her, while awaiting an election that can cement his power base into the next century.
Oh, the kid's toy gun has all kinds of magical powers, too. But it's basically the deus ex talum needed…
Cute light comedy, an orphan boy is gifted a magical ray gun. He uses it to help people by making them tell the truth and saves an orphanage.
Barely any science fiction, the opening has what looks like the prize spaceship given away for Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. There's a space dude wearing the usual Forbidden Planet puffy spacesuit.
Very cool 1954 Kaiser Darren convertible!
Film #649 of 2020.
no way this was written by the same lenny bruce who wrote a bit about tits and ass
An orphan (George Winslow) is given a space guy by a "rocket man" which can be used to make people tell the truth.
THE ROCKET MAN is a rather strange mix of cheap laughs and science fiction that I'm guessing was made to try and get kids into theaters back in the day. I honestly can't see people rushing to see this but I guess it would have been a decent picture to drop the kids off at the theater on the weekend.
I actually thought there were a few good things here including the cast. Charles Coburn is actually a lot of fun as the silly Mayor and we've also got good performances from Spring Byington and Anne Francis.…
What a cute little hidden gem of a film. John Agar and Anne Francis are excellently adorable. I want to be Amelia Brown's (Spring Byington) grandchild! As for Timmy played effortlessly by George "Foghorn" Winslow, I wish he was my best friend when I was eight. A feel good movie that's not going to blow your mind but what it will do is warm those cockles inside even the coldest and most unfeeling of hearts.
Sweet and charming,overly-optimistic story about a fight between justice and corruption carried by a solid cast and a deus ex talum in form of a truth ray gun.Altough the movie lacked a bit in effects department,namely the three brief scenes the titular 'Rocket Man' appeared in.Also I can't help but wish that the movie embraced the oddness more and ventured into the 'silly' area like it did in the ridiculous poker scene.
6.5/10
What is basically a sweet little story of a good-hearted woman taking on a corrupt politician while being romanced by a crusty old nice guy and trying to save an orphanage has a strange curveball thrown at the audience in the form of the title character who is visible to only one little boy.
It's a weird pastiche but thanks to a super cast-a surprisingly famous one for something so low budget-they make it work as well as it can.
Fans of THE THIRTY FOOT BRIDE OF CANDY ROCK (1959) and similar daft Sci-Fi/atomic space age fluff will like this tale of an orphan (George 'Foghorn' Winslow) given a ray gun by an alien. The gun does magic and makes people tell the truth. Can Foghorn save John Agar AND the town!? "Blast off!"
