Unidentified Flying Oddball
Unidentified Flying Oddball is a 1979 film adaptation of Mark Twain's 1889 novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", directed by Russ Mayberry and produced by Walt Disney Productions. Released in the United Kingdom as The Spaceman and King Arthur, then subsequently re-released in the United States as A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court, the film stars Dennis Dugan as NASA employee Tom Trimble who unintentionally travels back in time with his look-alike android Hermes. Premise. After Trimble's NASA spacecraft travels faster than the speed of light, it takes him  and his android back to King Arthur's Camelot. They then use their 20th-century technology to help defeat a plot by the evil Sir Mordred and Merlin to oust King Arthur from his throne. Production. The film was shot on location and at Pinewood Studios London. Shooting locations included Alnwick Castle in Northumberland. The spacecraft featured in this movie was on display at the Blackgang Chine theme park in the Isle of Wight. Reception. "Variety" wrote, "Pic has some good slapstick touches and offers a generous serving of visual tricks and space hardware, though on a par with "Star  Wars" in that department it ain't." Linda Gross of the "Los Angeles Times" stated, "The film will provide mildly amusing summer fun for those having their first encounter with castles and kings. However, "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", "Knights of the Round Table" and "Camelot" all captured the vigor of medieval England with more passion." Carla Hall of "The Washington Post" wrote: "The plot—obviously derived from 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'—has the customary quantum of Disney cuteness as the story unravels predictably. But it takes advantage of the situation for some funny  lines." Martyn Auty of "The Monthly Film Bulletin" stated: "Quintessentially Arthurian locations and resplendent colour quality (that owes more to the processing lab than to Northumberland) put this updated version of Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" a cut above its predecessors in the current Disney craze for space-visitor yarns." The film earned theatrical rentals of $4.475 million in the United States and Canada. Remake. Walt Disney Pictures repurposed the same source material for "A Kid in King Arthur's Court" (1995), adjusting the basic premise for an adolescent time traveler: contemporary American  male arrives in Camelot, impressing the inhabitants with technology from the distant future. Ron Moody again portrays Merlin, an overall more sympathetic character in the remake.