The Atomic Kid
| The Atomic Kid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Leslie H. Martinson |
| Produced by |
Maurice Duke Mickey Rooney |
| Written by |
Blake Edwards Benedict Freedman John Fenton Murray |
| Starring |
Mickey Rooney Robert Strauss |
| Music by | Van Alexander |
| Cinematography | John L. Russell |
| Edited by | Fred Allen |
Production company |
Mickey Rooney Productions |
| Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Atomic Kid is a 1954 black-and-white science fiction comedy film from Republic Pictures, produced by Maurice Duke and Mickey Rooney, directed by Leslie H. Martinson, that stars Mickey Rooney and Robert Strauss.
Plot
While uranium prospector "Blix" Waterberry is in the desert, he wanders into an active atomic bomb test site and is accidentally exposed to radiation from a direct overhead blast. He miraculously survives, becoming radioactive, and in the process gaining special powers. He is then recruited by the FBI to help break up a spy ring.
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 in Blix's room
- 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 at the Town Theater in 1955 Hill Valley in the 1985 science fiction comedy Back to the Future. In the original novel, the Marty McFly character decides to take in a movie when he finds himself transported back to 1955. He chooses to see The Atomic Kid, as opposed to Cattle Queen of Montana being shown at the nearby Essex Theater.
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.
- Bill Warren. Keep Watching The Skies, Vol I: 1950–1957. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1982. ISBN 0-89950-032-3.
- David Wingrove, Science Fiction Film Source Book (Longman Group Limited, 1985).