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Wells novel could reveal a scientific miracle in the idyllic English countryside, and this combination of the domestic and the outlandish, as the two men get to know each other, gives the adaptation much of its charm: Bedford’s nose for exploitation tells him the Professor’s invention will make both of them rich – ‘This cavorite of ours is the future’ – while the Professor, on the other hand, is every inch the enthusiastic but naïve scientist-explorer, passing on his theories in layman’s terms to Bedford, oblivious of the massive commercial potential his process offers, despite Bedford’s best efforts at persuasion.
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When he meets the amiable, open-minded but naive English scientist Professor Cavor (a perfectly cast Nigel Planer, making you instantly forget Lionel Jeffries), he spots possibly his best-ever business opportunity in cavorite, an invention ofthe Professor’s that can make objects weightless. Bedford (Gethin Anthony, upright, likeable but roguish) is a businessman who can see profit in anything. The contradictions of late-Victorian English society are explored through the two main characters. The film riffed on contemporary interest in the 1960s’ space race – the British Empire had got to the moon before the Americans – while Big Finish’s offering addresses the darker legacy of the way the United Kingdom colonised most of the world in the 19 th century.
#First man in the moon cavorite sphere movie#
I imagine most people’s memories of The First Men in the Moon will come from the colourful 1964 movie by director George Pal, a staple ingredient of Saturday morning TV in the 1970s, which saw Professor Cavor (Lionel Jeffries), Bedford (Edward Judd) and the obligatory female interest, Kate (Martha Hayer), who wasn’t in the novel, explore a subterranean moon culture brought to engaging life by Pal’s inventive special effects team. ❉ Big Finish’s adaptation is an enjoyably authentic scientific romance, with some timely things to say about imperialism and nationalism.