Thunderbirds Are GO *** (1966, voices of Sylvia Anderson, Ray Barrett, Alexander Davion, Paul Maxwell, Neil McCallum, Shane Rimmer) – Classic Movie Review 8312

Yes, Thunderbirds are go in writer-producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s classic Sixties puppet action sci-fi adventure Thunderbirds Are GO based on the children’s TV stories of the adventures of International Rescue.

This time it’s Thunderbirds to the rescue after manned exploration spacecraft Zero-X crashes on takeoff because of sabotage, and a second Zero-X mission is launched but meets unexpected hazards, in a simple and basic plot with puppets that are even more simple and basic.

But director David Lane’s 1966 British film Thunderbirds Are GO has a lot of amateurish enthusiasm, it looks good in wide screen (Supermarionation) and Technicolor, and, depending on age and taste, could be seminal.

Sylvia Anderson is the voice of Lady Penelope. Other voices are by Ray Barrett (John Tracy / The Hood), Alexander Davion (Space Captain Greg Martin), Paul Maxwell (Captain Paul Travers), Neil McCallum (Dr Ray Pierce), Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell (as Dr Tony Grant / Angry Young Man / Public Relations Officer), Jeremy Wilkin (as Virgil Tracy / Space Exploration Center President), Matt Zimmerman, Bob Monkhouse (Space Navigator Brad Newman / Swinging Star Compere), Shane Rimmer (as Scott Tracy), Geoffrey Keen, Peter Dyneley (Jeff Tracy), Christine Finn (Tin-Tin Kyrano) and David Graham (Gordon Tracy / Brains / Parker).

Sequel: Thunderbird 6 (1968).

It was rebooted as the live-action Thunderbirds in 2004.

RIP Shane Rimmer (1929–2019), the voice of Scott Tracy. He also wrote scripts for Thunderbirds and producer Gerry Anderson’s other series. The Toronto, Canada-born actor emigrated to the UK in the late Fifties and worked as a cabaret singer and on TV before he landed his role in Thunderbirds. He voiced Scott Tracy in 32 episodes of Thunderbirds (1965-1966) as well as in Thunderbird 6.

 © Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8312

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