16 August: Fantastic Voyage

On this date in 1966 Fantastic Voyage starring Raquel Welch premièred. 10 facts about the film:

1. The film was directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby.

2. The plot concerns the crew of a Submarine called Proteus, who are miniaturised and injected into the body of a scientist in order to destroy an inoperable Blood clot in his Brain.

3. Before the film was made, a novelisation of the script was commissioned by Bantam Books. They approached none other than Isaac Asimov to write it. He perused the script and declared it to be full of plot holes, but he wrote the novel anyway and provided explanations for many of scientific errors. His book came out six months before the movie and so some people believed that the film was actually based on the book.

4. The score was composed and conducted by Leonard Rosenman. There was, however, no Music over the opening credits, only sound effects and electronic pulses. Other films which used similar openings include Forbidden Planet and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.

5. While on the subject of birds, two three inch models of Proteus were made to use in the miniaturisation scenes. One of the models was left by an open window and was stolen by a Crow.

6. The character Grant was played by an Irish actor named Stephen Boyd. He auditioned and was on the short list to play James Bond in Doctor No.

7. The film has inspired many other films and TV series but there hasn’t been a remake, at least at time of writing. This isn’t through want of trying: James Cameron, Roland Emmerich and Guillermo del Toro have all been linked to possible remakes over the years.

8. Although Fantastic Voyage is not a Disney film, there was a ride at the Epcot Center in Disney World which was based on it. The ride was called Body Wars.

9. Medical schools, at least as late as the 1980s, showed clips from this movie to illustrate various concepts in human anatomy, physiology, and immunology.

10. It received five nominations at the 39th Academy Awards mostly in technical departments, winning for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction in Color.