I'm pretty sure I saw
SFR in a theatre either in the late 60s or early 70s, on a double-reissue bill with
101 DALMATIONS, which, of course, was the headliner!
So I kinda suffered thru it (LOL) waiting for the "good" film (the cartoon). It wasn't bad, really, that I recall. Judging by the cast, it may have been the first time I ever saw John Mills or James MacArthur. My main interest was seeing where "
LOST IN SPACE" came from, and thinking, "
I prefer the space version." (heehee) Also, the most similar film I'd seen to it, and also preferred, was the Ray Harryhausen version of Jules Verne's "
THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND". It was maybe 15 years later that I actually got around to reading that book, and I was quite surprised to find-- there WEREN'T any giant animals in it!!!
You know, I don't think I've seen either of those movies since then, though I still remember Cruella DeVille yelling at her idiot henchman... "
And WATCH your driving-- do you want to be arrested by the POLICE??" -- before tearing out of there like a maniac.
There's a character on TV who reminds me of her-- Mrs. Lillian Carlson (Carol Bruce) on "
WKRP IN CINCINNATI". Absolute evil fiend.
It's the weirdest thing, but in the 70s, Irwin Allen actually (more or less) revisited 3 of his TV series in different formats, between
CITY BENEATH THE SEA (unsold pilot movie),
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (tv series, ran 2 seasons!),
THE TIME TRAVELLERS (unsold pilot movie), and
THE AMAZING CAPTAIN NEMO (unsold pilot 3-episode mini-series-- this last one was AWFUL!).
Infamously, when
RESCUE FROM GILLIGAN'S ISLAND became the highest-rated tv movie ever at the time, and unleashed a torrent of reunions and revivals that has not stopped to this day, Bill Mumy approached Irwin Allen with the idea of doing a
LOST IN SPACE revival, even having written a script for it. And Allen looked at him as if he was DIRT-- and said, menacingly-- "
Lost In Space is MY show, and if ANYone revives it, I will, and I'LL WRITE THE SCREENPLAY!" Way to go to encourage enthusiasm and loyalty. Sick B******. Mumy, always such a nice guy, said in an interview, "
And you know, he was right." I DON'T THINK SO. There never was a proper reunion sequel, and once Guy Williams passed away, it was too late to do one.
I've often thought if Allen had stepped BACK from
LOST IN SPACE and hired someone else to produce it, it might have become a MUCH-BETTER show. And I say this, LOVING the show as it is. There was something just not normal about that guy... even by Hollywood standards.