The Reluctant Astronaut

The Reluctant Astronaut stars Don Knotts as the owner and operator of kiddie ride in an amusement park somewhere in rural Missouri who has a fear of heights. He's something of a disappointment to his WW1 veteran father Arthur O'Connell, but he's mother Jeanette Nolan's darling little boy.

With a bit of pressure Knotts applies for a position with NASA. But after a big farewell blowout, he finds he's been hired as a janitor with Jesse White as a perpetually exasperated supervisor.

He does go into space, but quite accidentally and then because NASA is testing a most automatic space capsule one designed for idiots in space. That provides a lot of climatic laughs.

The film owes a lot of Preston Sturges's classic comedy Hail The Consquering Hero. And some of the astronaut sequences were tried out in the Road To Hong Kong with Bob and Bing.

A couple of other major roles are filled out well by Joan Freeman as Knotts's Missouri girlfriend and Leslie Nielsen as an astronaut who befriends him.

The comedy which is set in America's early days of space travel still holds up well for today's audience.

Knotts plays a man who works at the local kiddieland as an "astronaut" for a children's ride. His war hero father's dream is to have Knotts be a real astronaut but Knotts is afraid of heights and most important, he is afraid of disappointing his father.

Knotts has a very good outing in this outer space flick. He brings the usual "I'm scared to death" character that made Knotts a star on both TV and film. Knotts was allowed to develop this character from a man who couldn't better himself and had no pride, into a space hero that the community looked up to.

This is a good family movie from the 60's and it's top for Knotts.

Typically silly Don Knotts vehicle has Don as the small-town operator of a carnival kiddie spaceship ride. Even though he's deathly afraid of heights, Don wants to be an astronaut and gets a letter from NASA offering him a job, except that's it's to be part of the custodial staff. This being a Don Knotts picture, Don mistakenly ends up in the astronaut program and hilarity ensures, or at least mildly funny comic moments of hilarity ensure with nervous nelly Knotts being helped through the program by macho astronaut Leslie Nielsen (which is funny in itself since Nielsen would later be the comic center of "Police Squad"/"Naked Gun" as Lt. Frank Drebin). Overall, "The Reluctant Astronaut" is not a classic, but it is mildly diverting. The film also features the debut of Melissa "Little House on the Prairie" Gilbert. Well worth watching James Welch Henderson Arkansas 4/7/2021.

Despite the unrealistic final act that results from a pretty ordinary wacky sitcom premise, RA is able to deliver the out of orbit laughs it deserves due to comic legend and extraordinary nerdy actor, Don Knots. Leslie Nelson co-stars as a straight non-wacky non-funny man. It's interesting to see him play it straight after watching him in so many satirical and parody-type films.

It may not be the smartest comedy ever to hit the screen, but it's fun and you could stick it in your DVD player and not have to worry about what lasting effect it would leave on your young ones. It may be somewhat unrealistic but it works and is still smarter and more intelligent then a lot of kid themed flicks that are made today. You can even pick out the logical inconsistencies with your kids and make it into a educational film, while still having a fun time.

Usually dumb Don Knotts vehicle has Don as a carnival kiddie spaceship ride's small-town boss. Although he's extremely scared of heights, Don wants to be an astronaut and gets a NASA letter offering him a position, except that's part of the custodial staff. This being a Don Knotts photo, Don accidentally ends up in the astronaut program and hilarity ensures, or at least mildly funny comic moments of hilarity guarantee that nervous nelly Knotts are assisted by macho astronaut Leslie Nielsen through the program (which is humorous in itself since Nielsen will later be the comedic focus of "Police Squad"/"Naked Gun" as Lt. Frank Drebin). The movie also features Gilbert's "Little House on the Prairie" appearance from Melissa.