Help me ID this old comedy about a Victorian Moon rocket

[BrainGlutton]

I saw it when I was little and I think it dates from the '60s. It’s set in Victorian Britain. The astronaut’s equipment includes chloroform in case he has to use it on any Moon creatures, but the villains chloroform the astronaut and steals the rocket. The rocket never gets anywhere near the Moon – somehow it winds up in Russia, and at the end we see the villains and a crowd of peasants dragging it along to the Volga Boatmen Song.

[MovieMogul]

The closest I could find is this, which has the Victorian element but clearly not it.

Do you remember if it was a comedy? It sounds a little like it might be from the description…

[choie]

How about 1967’s Rocket to the Moon, which is one of those Terry-Thomas all-star “madcap romp” films from the sixties, based on a Jules Verne novel? It has Russian spies, Queen Victoria, and a hypothesis that if they meet any aliens on the Moon, they’ll use chloroform.

Here’s a review (not a positive one!) from a user comment on IMDB:

“Rocket to the Moon” sometimes contains the same levels of charm and enjoyment of similar “epics”, but to use a whoary old clichéd reviewer’s line, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. The whole inventors bit is still terribly entertaining, and an early scene where a bridge is held together only by the initiation ceremony ribbon, which then gets cut by Queen Victoria, is good for a giggle. However, though every so often there are such delights as debating how a rocket could be propelled to the Moon (“You would need a big cannon!”), and what to do should they meet any alien life (“Chloroform!”), in between there are some long stretches of not very much happening at all, and there are one too many misfired gags.

The plot goes for a complete Burton during the last twenty five minutes or so, which descends into a drawn out and utterly pointless chase scene between a vintage car and a penny-farthing. The inclusion of what is suggested to be some kind of brothel to which Deliah Lavi’s character is forcibly sent also seems terribly out of place with the playful innocence of the action surrounding it (“Why are there bars on the windows?” “Oh, that’s not to keep you girls in. It’s to keep the gentlemen out.”) There is some top-notch comedy talent on display to keep the viewer periodically entertained. Terry-Thomas, as always, gives it his best shot, playing one of his most caddish characters - in fact, at times he actually does seem quite dangerous, which can make for one or two rather disturbing scenes. Lionel Jeffries is always good value for money, and even Graham Stark succeeds at being amusing here. For me, however, a quiet and understated performance from Dennis Price steals the picture, even if he doesn’t actually have any jokes per se. The scene in which he slowly discovers that Terry-Thomas has a rigged pool table is probably the best of the film, and there’s a rather electric bit soon after where he attacks T-T at a club, complete with shouting and copious stick waving.

What do you think, sound familiar?

[BrainGlutton]

@choie

How about 1967’s Rocket to the Moon, which is one of those Terry-Thomas all-star “madcap romp” films from the sixties, based on a Jules Verne novel? It has Russian spies, Queen Victoria, and a hypothesis that if they meet any aliens on the Moon, they’ll use chloroform.

Here’s a review (not a positive one!) from a user comment on IMDB:

What do you think, sound familiar?

Yes, that’s definitely it. Thanks!

[choie]

Awesome. I remember seeing These Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (another one of those cheese-fests of that era) and hating it. But in general, Terry-Thomas and crew are very funny, so maybe this was a better film. Do you remember liking it?

[dropzone]

@choie

Awesome. I remember seeing Th(o)se Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (another one of those cheese-fests of that era) and hating it.

It was GREAT, but only to those early-aviation enthusiasts who saw that they had made every effort to portray real aircraft of the era. Rocket to the Moon simply blew.

[RealityChuck]

Magnificent Men was by far the best of the genre – and a very funny film.