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Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | |
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Directed by | Daniel Haller |
Produced by |
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Written by | |
Based on | 'Buck Rogers' by Philip Francis Nowlan |
Starring |
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Narrated by | William Conrad |
Music by | Stu Phillips |
Cinematography | Frank Beascoechea |
Edited by | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date | |
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $3.5 million |
Box office | $21.7 million[1] |
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century is a 1979 American science fiction film directed by Daniel Haller. Starring Gil Gerard in the title role and Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering, it was produced by Glen A. Larson who co-wrote the screenplay with Leslie Stevens, based on the character Buck Rogers which was created by Philip Francis Nowlan in 1928.
Originally made as a television movie pilot, Universal Studios opted to release the film theatrically several months before the subsequent television series aired.
Plot[edit]
In 1987, NASA astronaut Captain William 'Buck' Rogers is piloting the space shuttle Ranger 3 when he flies into an unexpected space phenomenon and is frozen for 504 years. In the year 2491, his shuttle is found drifting in space by the alien ship Draconia, which is headed to Earth for a trade conference, under the command of Princess Ardala and her aide de camp, Kane, a former native of Earth. Rogers is revived from his cryogenic sleep. Princess Ardala is visibly attracted to Buck, but Buck rebuffs the Princess and is put back on his shuttle and sent towards Earth.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - Topic; About. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - Dr Huer Searches for Impentrite. A scene from the Buck Rogers episode Space Vampire audio edit.
It turns out though the Draconians are actually planning to conquer the Earth through staged pirate attacks on Earth's shipping fleet, forcing Earth to seek a treaty with the Draconians and unwittingly opening up their defenses to the invaders. They plant a homing beacon aboard Roger's shuttle to track a way past Earth's planet-wide defense shield. Buck lands in New Chicago and is immediately taken into custody by Colonel Wilma Deering of Earth's military forces. He is interrogated and learns that Earth has been rebuilt over the centuries in his absence following a nuclear holocaust, and now the only thing left is this big city surrounded by desert wasteland. Over the course of his time in detention, Buck makes the acquaintance of Dr. Elias Huer, the leader of Earth's Defense Directorate, the AI computer Dr. Theopolis, and the robot drone Twiki.
While recounting his encounter with the Draconians, Buck notices several discrepancies and suspects that the Draconians must be armed, contrary to the terms of the trade meeting. Against advice, Buck ventures outside the city to the ruins of old Chicago in an attempt to see that what he has been told is real, eventually finding his own parent's grave and having to be rescued by Wilma and her troops from the mutants inhabiting the ruins. Following Buck's return to the Inner City, the Draconian tracking device is found aboard his ship, and the authorities accuse Buck of espionage. Buck claims the Draconians set him up, and eventually Wilma persuades Dr. Huer to test Buck's claims by requesting a meeting with Princess Ardala and Kane aboard the Draconia. The Draconian marauders attack their flagship as a diversion, but Buck manages to destroy them single-handedly, thus earning Wilma's respect.
At the official diplomatic reception, Ardala, who is still attracted to Buck, invites him back to the Draconia, but Buck merely goes along to find out the truth behind the Draconians. On the ship, Ardala says she needs 'a man, a REAL man' to rule by her side and offers Buck the position. After drugging Ardala, Buck explores the ship and discovers their plans to attack Earth, which is imminent. Dr. Theopolis and Twiki, who have followed Buck aboard, eventually meet up with him and alert Earth to the Draconian threat. Wilma immediately scrambles Earth's starfighters and attacks the Draconia, while Buck sabotages the Draconian bomber fleet prepared to attack Earth and fights off Ardala's bodyguard Tigerman. During the battle, the Draconia is critically damaged, but Buck, Theopolis and Twiki are rescued by Wilma before the ship explodes. Ardala and Kane also escape the Draconia's destruction in a shuttlecraft, while Kane vows to return and to take his revenge on Rogers.
Cast[edit]
- Gil Gerard as Captain William 'Buck' Rogers
- Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering
- Tim O'Connor as Dr. Elias Huer
- Pamela Hensley as Princess Ardala
- Henry Silva as Kane
- Howard F. Flynn as Voice of Dr. Theopolis
- Felix Silla as Twiki
- Mel Blanc as Voice of Twiki
- Duke Butler as Tigerman
- Joseph Wiseman as Emperor Draco
Production[edit]
Inspired by the massive success of Star Wars two years earlier, Universal began developing Buck Rogers for television, spearheaded by Glen A. Larson who had a production deal with the studio. Initially, Larson and Universal had planned on making a series of Buck Rogers TV movies for NBC. Production began in 1978, however, the pilot for Larson's other sci-fi series, Battlestar Galactica (1978), had been released theatrically in some countries and in key locations in North America, and had done well at the box office. Universal then opted to release the first Buck Rogers TV movie theatrically on March 30, 1979. The movie grossed over $21 million in North America and was later released internationally, which led NBC to commission a weekly series, which began on September 20, 1979 with a slightly modified version of the theatrical release that deleted some scenes, added others intended to link to the ongoing series, revised the fate of one character killed off in the original so that he survived (Tiger Man), and replaced the suggestive opening credit sequence with a more generic version.[2]
The movie was originally slated for release for September 1978.[3] There were several start dates for filming but it was repeatedly delayed due to casting problems. The movie was eventually released in March 1979.
Several shots in the film were filmed at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Several other stock shots portraying futuristic buildings on Earth are that of remaining pavilions on the site of Expo 67, including the British and French national pavilion (now open as the Montreal Casino). These shots were also included in the 1979 Battlestar Galactica episode 'Greetings from Earth', in which they were said to be a city on the planet Paradeen (though in production around the same time, the episode aired a month prior to the release of the Buck Rogers film). Buck's NASA shuttle, Ranger 3, was itself a prop that had been seen in this same episode where it was used as Michael's Lunar-7 shuttle though painted a different color.
Princess Ardala's father, Emperor Draco (played by Joseph Wiseman), originally had several scenes in the movie but most of these were deleted. His only remaining scene was as a holographic image talking to Kane at the movie's ending. Despite this brief appearance, images of Draco appeared prominently in various Buck Rogers merchandise, and 12' and 3¾' Draco action figures were produced by the toy company Mego. Wiseman would later appear in the weekly television series, playing the character Morphus in the episode 'Vegas in Space'.
Soundtrack[edit]
The movie's opening credits featured a song, 'Suspension', sung by Kipp Lennon and co-written by Glen A. Larson. An instrumental version of the song was used as the main theme for the television series that followed, though the vocal version of the song was used again for the ending credits of the season one finale, 'Flight of the War Witch'.
Reception[edit]
The movie received a mixed reception from critics.[4][5]
Home media[edit]
The film has been released on video several times since the 1980s, and was released on DVD in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century series boxed set released in 2004. This was in lieu of the television broadcast version (entitled 'Awakening') which contained some different scenes. When the first season was issued again on DVD in 2012, the boxed set still contained the theatrical version of the film. However, the television version of the film was finally released on DVD as a bonus feature in a re-issued boxed set of Season Two in 2013.[6]
References[edit]
- ^'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'. Box Office Mojo.
- ^Houston, David (April 1979). 'Buck Rogers Becomes The Movie'. Starlog. Starlog Group, Inc. (21).
- ^Delson, James (September 1979). 'Buck Rogers: The Inside Story An exclusive interview with Director Daniel Haller'. Fantastic Films (10).
- ^'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - The Complete Series'. Cinema Blend. Retrieved 2012-03-15.
- ^Canby, Vincent (March 30, 1979). 'Screen: 'Buck Rogers' Glides on Automatic Pilot:'Millionaire's Row' Tour'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-03-14.
- ^Lambert, David (September 4, 2012). 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century - Release Date Flies Into the Future for 'Season 2' on DVD'. TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
External links[edit]
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century on IMDb (1979 film)
- Buck Rogers in the 25th Century at AllMovie
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Buck_Rogers_in_the_25th_Century_(film)&oldid=922542220'
Genre | Science fiction radio serial, Aviation radio series. |
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Running time | 15 minutes |
Country of origin | United States |
Language(s) | English |
Home station | Mutual Broadcasting System |
Syndicates | CBS |
Starring | Matt Crowley Curtis Arnall Carl Frank John Larkin Wilma Deering Edgar Stehli |
Announcer | Paul Douglas, Fred Uttal,[1]Kenny Williams |
Written by | Dick Calkins, Joe Cross, Jack Johnstone, Albert Miller, Dee Falkinburg [1] |
Directed by | Carlo De Angelo, Jack Johnstone |
Original release | November 7, 1932[2] – March 28, 1947[2] |
No. of episodes | 860 (estimated)[1] |
Sponsored by | Kellogg's, Cocomalt, Cream of Wheat, Popsicles, Fudgsicles, Creamsicles[2] |
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century was a radio drama series based on the popularity of the popular novel and comics series Buck Rogers. It aired from 1932-1936, 1939, 1940 and 1946-1947, and it was notable for being the first science fiction radio show.[3]
Broadcasting history[edit]
Buck Rogers was initially broadcast as a 15-minute show on CBS Radio, from Monday through Thursday. It first ran from November 7, 1932, until May 22, 1936 .[1][4] In 1936, it moved to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule and went off the air the same year (720 episodes, 180 hours). Mutual Broadcasting System brought the show back and broadcast it three days a week from April 5 to July 31, 1939 (51 episodes, 12.75 hours), and from May 18 to July 27, 1940,[1] a 30-minute version was broadcast on Saturdays (11 episodes, 5.5 hours). From September 30, 1946, to March 28, 1947, Mutual aired a 15-minute version on weekdays[5] (78 episodes 19.5 hours).
The show was directed by Carlo De Angelo and Jack Johnstone. De Angelo also produced it. Sound effects were provided by Ora Daigle Nichols.[1] In 1988, Johnstone recalled how he worked with the sound effects of Ora Nichols to produce the sound of the rockets by using an air-conditioning vent. Dick Calkins, who also made the comic strip, wrote the scripts.
Actors Matt Crowley, Curtis Arnall, Carl Frank and John Larkin all voiced Buck Rogers at various times. Wilma Deering was portrayed by Adele Ronson, and the brilliant scientist-inventor Dr. Huer was played by Edgar Stehli.[1][4]
Cast[edit]
- Buck Rogers: Matt Crowley, Curtis Arnall, Carl Frank, John Larkin.
- Wilma Deering: Adele Ronson
- Dr. Huer: Edgar Stehli
- Black Barney: Jack Roseleigh, Joe Granby
- Buddy: Ronald Liss
- Ardala Valmar: Elaine Melchior
- Killer Kane: William 'Bill' Shelley, Dan Ocko, Arthur Vinton.
Sources[edit]
- ^ abcdefgKenney, Patrick (April 4, 2014). 'Buck Rogers Radio Program, 1932–1947'. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century Guide. Retrieved October 27, 2015.[self-published source]
- ^ abcAlfred, Randy (November 7, 2008). 'Nov. 7, 1932: Radio Enters the 25th Century'. Wired. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^Alvarez, Justin (November 7, 2013). 'Hear Vintage Episodes of Buck Rogers, the Sci-Fi Radio Show That First Aired on This Day in 1932'. Open Culture. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
- ^ abDeForest, Tim (2008). Radio by the Book: Adaptations of Literature and Fiction on the Airwaves. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. ISBN9780786439720. OCLC226166662 – via Google Books.
- ^Dunning, John (1998). On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 122–123. ISBN978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
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