Unidentified Flying Oddball

Unidentified Flying Oddball
File:Unidentified Flying Oddball poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Russ Mayberry
Produced by	Ron Miller
Written by	Don Tait
Based on	A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court novel by Mark Twain
Starring	Dennis Dugan Jim Dale Ron Moody Kenneth More John Le Mesurier
Music by	Ron Goodwin
Cinematography	Paul Beeson
Edited by	Peter Boita
Production company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	Buena Vista Distribution
Release dates	July 26, 1979
Country	United Kingdom United States
Language	English

Unidentified Flying Oddball (also known as The Spaceman and King Arthur and A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court) is a 1979 film adaptation of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, directed by Russ Mayberry and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Subsequently re-released in the United States under the titles The Spaceman and King Arthur and A Spaceman in King Arthur’s Court, the film starred Dennis Dugan as astronaut Tom Trimble who unintentionally travels back in time with his look-alike android Hermes. Trimble’s NASA spacecraft travels faster than the speed of light, landing him and the android near King Arthur’s Camelot, where – with the aid of their 20th-century technology – they must defeat a plot by the evil Sir Mordred and Merlin to oust King Arthur from the throne.

As in Twain's original novel (as well as the 1949 movie adaptation) Merlin is presented as an evil character intent on dethroning Arthur.

Cast

• Dennis Dugan as Tom Trimble/Hermes
• Jim Dale as Sir Mordred
• Ron Moody as Merlin
• Kenneth More as King Arthur
• John Le Mesurier as Sir Gawain
• Rodney Bewes as Clarence
• Sheila White as Alisande
• Robert Beatty as Senator Milburn
• Cyril Shaps as Dr. Zimmerman
• Kevin Brennan as Winston
• Ewen Solon as Watkins
• Pat Roach as Oaf
• Reg Lye as Prisoner
• Harry Maddison as Character Parts including "chicken seller"

Props

The spacecraft that was featured in this movie is on display at the Blackgang Chine theme park in the Isle of Wight.

1995 adaptation

Disney’s A Kid in King Arthur’s Court (1995), likewise based on the aforementioned novel, follows the same premise: a contemporary American male (in this case, an adolescent) travels back in time to the 6th century and King Arthur’s Camelot, impressing the inhabitants with technology from the distant future. Moody again plays Merlin in the film, on this occasion as a more sympathetic character.

External links

• Official website
• The Spaceman and King Arthur at IMDb