I've got something a little bit different for this Saturday Night Special!
It's my proud pleasure to announce that a few days ago, March 21, 2022, on what would have been Carl Jaffés 120th Birthday, the BBC published their officially approved
online article written by Michael Jaffé, recognizing Carl's lifetime contribution to the BBC in
their 'Shared Histories' project, as part of the prestigious BBC 2022
Centenary celebration.
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We're very fortunate that Carl's Grandson Michael has kept us up to date on this event.
Just in case you missed our original Carl Jaffé presentations, Here are the links!
Maybe if we all work together just a bit, then some day we might be able to, in Carl's own words,
"Lower a little the barriers of international prejudice and misunderstanding."
10 comments:
Jaffe had a lot more to do with 1950s sci-fi than I had
previously realized! "Satellite In The Sky"? I love that movie & I can't find a decent copy of it anywhere (ugh!)
BATTLE BENEATH THE EARTH: It's actually an MGM production
& well made too. "Laser Boring" machines drill tunnels through the Earth
but not much was done for FX in this regard.
Kinda "boring" FX, actually.
You'll see Ed Bishop of UFO TV series in this movie.
Even with MGM's backing the movie wasn't too popular.
But then 1968 wasn't the best year
to release a movie unless you were Stanley Kubrick.
FIRST MAN INTO SPACE Criterion restored a few years ago.
It looks fantastic.
The original had "lighting issues" but obviously Criterion
got their hands on the original 35mm negative and did a heck
of a good job restoring the image like they always do.
I remember THE ATOMIC MAN from my childhood! Not sure where I saw it, probably on some "late show" airing in the late '50s/early '60s, but it stuck with me for decades, until I was able to identify it, thanks I believe to the comprehensive, MUST-HAVE sci-fi film reference book(s) KEEP WATCHING THE SKIES! by the late Bill Warren! No sci-fi geek's bookshelf is complete without it/them!
Note to REALM OF RETRO: I believe that SATELLITE IN THE SKY was released on a double feature DVD with WORLD WITHOUT END, about a decade or so ago. It's a beautiful color print, as I recall!
Paging REALM OF RETRO! Go here, my friend:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=satellite+in+the+sky&_sacat=11232
Thanks for that Kd.
Thought I'd share this with you guys, you might like it.
Probably the best picture quality I've ever seen youtube post.
It says 4K and it really is.
I fullscreen this on my 21" LCD and it looks great:
Strategic Air Command
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QweXxbzvX1k
WOW - some great feedback from eagle-eyed viewers and so thrilled you enjoyed Grandpa's 'cult' sci-fi movies. 'The Atomic Man' AKA 'Timeslip' in the UK is especially sweet, as he gets to explain what is in effect sub-conscious time-travel; albeit by 7.5 seconds. The German Title was '7 Sekunden zu spat'' = '7-Seconds Late'. And his role in 'The First Man Into Space' seems to have been an early take on Werner Von Braun.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask about Carl I will be pleased to answer.
Warm wishes from London - MJ AKA The Professor
Realm of Retro: Wow! That's a great sequence from STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND! Beautiful aircraft, lovely photography and color, and a sweet music score! Reminds me of the famous short film, "High Flight." :)
Professor MJ: ATOMIC MAN aka TIMESLIP is the one out of these sci-fi films that stuck with me the most. It puzzled me as a kid, the 7.5 seconds shift made me just scratch my head when I first saw it! It so fascinated me, that I had dreams of being caught in a "timeslip" of my own!
I was a science nerd and space program fan from the early Mercury and Gemini days, onward through the 1960s, so I was always interested in sci-fi movies that were based more on the *science* than *fiction*...still, I do like to dream and imagine "what if." I will watch this movie again soon! Thank you!
And what a beautiful quote from your Grandfather Carl:
"Lower a little the barriers of international prejudice and misunderstanding."
If only! We can surely hope and dream and work for that better day...
Hi KD - thanks for your great comments and thrilled you enjoyed CJ's Professor explaining the simple time-shift concept. I too am a space programme 'nut' growing up at that time. Close friends of my parents lived in Florida. Lou (Louis) had a lifetime career with one of the chemical corporations servicing the NASA program and had patented processes that reduced volatility with more efficient fuel burn on ignition thus helping engine stability on launch and staging. I only ever got to see 2 launches but boy if I'd gotten to choose which, it would surely have been these - and they will forever remain etched in my mind and surely will never be repeated in the way they happened. Aged 7 and 8 respectively my family got invited over to the US as a guest of my parents' friends to watch the mighty Saturn-V lift-off majestically on their pioneering voyages for Apollo 8 & 11. The flights from London to the US alone were Sci-Fi journeys, for me anyway. For anyone who hasn't experienced any kind of rocket launch from that era it's difficult to describe except to simplify it as literally earth-shaking when you are standing over 3-miles down range and the noise is so loud that you are physically pushed backward by the moving air aside from the volcanic volume level, and the spectacle of a 33 storey skyscraper accelerate to over 5,000mph in 2.5mins. Brings tears to my eyes any time I rewatch them. Sigh. As for Grandpa's quotation: yes indeed - verbatim directly from his unpublished autobiography and there are other philosophical life observations of this kind which he made that are still relevant now. Perhaps if we all did a just little bit, then collectively it can have a strategic influence. best wishes from London - The Professor/MJ
Hello, Professor!
The Saturn V was so massive and powerful, that the liftoff was noted by seismometers in NYC! As for me, I never witnessed a launch, but I used to stay up all nights in the 1960s to watch tv coverage of those first steps on the moon, and the later missions as well. Even when visiting relatives far from home, I had them let me stay up all night to watch the tv coverage!
I used to have a (free) subscription for some years in the 1960s, to 'NASA Facts' which were monthly mailings of photos and technical papers, which (since I never grasped math) I had a difficult time understanding at all!
So, I married a college and high school mathematics professor/teacher, who taught for 40 years, until her untimely passing two years ago. She was my own personal hero, and always shall be. She had planned to write a textbook on pre-calculus during our retirement, but as it was, never got the chance.
Thank you again for the great insights into your grandfather's career and thoughts! As for his quote, if we can each do our part, one day at a time, by touching the hearts of those we meet, then we have each played our role.
KD
KD
Thanks for your feedback and so sad to hear about losing your beloved lady... that's a tough one. Likewise I too recall watching the TV broadcasts of the Apollo missions which only added to the thrill. Yes if we all do a little something kind, that should help push things along.
best
The Professor/MJ
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