The Atomic Kid
| The Atomic Kid | |
|---|---|
 Australian theatrical release insert poster | |
| Directed by | Leslie H. Martinson |
| Written by | Blake Edwards Benedict Freedman John Fenton Murray |
| Produced by | Maurice Duke Mickey Rooney |
| Starring | Mickey Rooney Robert Strauss Elaine Devry |
| Cinematography | John L. Russell |
| Edited by | Fred Allen |
| Music by | Van Alexander |
Production company | Mickey Rooney Productions |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Atomic Kid is a 1954 American black-and-white science fiction comedy film directed by Leslie H. Martinson and starring Mickey Rooney and Robert Strauss. It was distributed by Republic Pictures and produced by Maurice Duke and Mickey Rooney.
Plot
While
Cast
- Mickey Rooney as Barnaby 'Blix' Waterberry
- Robert Strauss as Stan Cooper
- Elaine Devry as Audrey Nelson
- Bill Goodwin as Dr. Rodell
- Robert Emmett Keane as Mr. Reynolds
- Whit Bissell as Dr. Edgar Pangborn
- Joey Forman as MP in hospital
- Dan Riss as Jim, FBI Chief Agent
- Peter Leeds as FBI Agent Bill
- Hal March as FBI Agent Ray
- George E. Mather as 1st Sergeant
- Fay Roope as Gen. Lawlor
- Bill Welsh as Commentator
- Stanley Adams as Wildcat Hooper
- Robert Nichols as Bob (Technician)
- Paul Dubov as Anderson (advertising agent)
- Peter Brocco as Comrade Mosley
- Trustin Howard as Corporal
- Charles J. Conrad as Scientist
- Sig Frohlich as Photographer
- Milton Frome as Communications man
Production
The film's screenplay is based on a story by Blake Edwards.
Rooney's character "Blix" Waterberry wanders into an atomic test site, and, as one reviewer describes, "Mannequins are depicted sitting around the dinner table in front of their plastic meal, awaiting the predetermined bomb drop ... Rooney remains with the mannequin family and discovers at the last minute that an atomic bomb will be detonated over his head. In a deliberately humorous scene, Rooney frantically tries to find a place to hide from the approaching explosion, only to close his eyes and stick his fingers in his ears as the bomb goes off".[1]
Nurse Audrey Nelson (Elaine Devry), who marries "Blix" at the end, is the only female character in the film's opening credits and promotional posters, where she is billed as "Elaine Davis". At the time The Atomic Kid was being filmed, Devry/Davis was married to Mickey Rooney in real life.
In popular culture
- This is the feature film showing in 1955 at the Town Theater in Hill Valley in 1985's science fiction comedy Back to the Future.
References
- ^ Joyce A. Evans, Celluloid Mushroom Clouds: Hollywood and the Atomic Bomb (Westview Press: 1998), p. 64.
Bibliography
- Ted Okuda, "The Atomic Kid: Radioactivity Finds Andy Hardy" in Science Fiction America: Essays on SF Cinema (edited by David J. Hogan; McFarland, 2006), pp. 120–129.
- ISBN 0-89950-032-3.
- David Wingrove, Science Fiction Film Source Book(Longman Group Limited, 1985).
External links
- The Atomic Kid at IMDb
