Voice cast

The Tracys, the other inhabitants of Tracy Island, Lady Penelope, Parker and the Hood are voiced, with one exception, by the actors who voiced them in Series One of Thunderbirds. Voice actors introduced in Thunderbirds Are Go are:

• Jeremy Wilkin as Virgil Tracy. David Holliday, the original voice of Virgil, had returned to the United States following the completion of Thunderbirds Series One.^{[9][11][23][24]} For the films and Series Two, the character was voiced by Wilkin.^[11][23] Wilkin would continue his association with the Andersons for several years, going on to voice supporting characters in Captain Scarlet, Joe 90 and The Secret Service and appear in the live-action productions Doppelgänger, UFO and The Protectors.^[23][25]
• Paul Maxwell as Captain Paul Travers. Having previously voiced Steve Zodiac in Fireball XL5, Maxwell later provided uncredited guest character voices in Thunderbirds Series Two, portrayed Captain Grey in Captain Scarlet, and made an appearance on UFO.^[26]
• Alexander Davion as Space Captain Greg Martin. Davion later appeared in an episode of UFO.^[27]
• Bob Monkhouse as Space Navigator Brad Newman. Monkhouse would host the game show The Golden Shot from 1967 to 1972.^[26][27] The role of Newman was first given to Alfred Marks, who then withdrew due to a fee dispute. Monkhouse originally approached Gerry Anderson to ask his permission to film a comedy sketch parodying Stingray but ended up agreeing to replace Marks.^[11][27][28] Monkhouse recalled the conversation: "[Anderson] said, 'How much would you charge for the job?' I said, 'Gerry, I'd do it for nothing.' And that was the first time I ever heard the phrase, 'the price is right'."^[27] He adopted an American accent for the film.^[14]
• Neil McCallum as Dr Ray Pierce. McCallum's later credits include appearances in Captain Scarlet, UFO and The Protectors.^[27]
• Charles Tingwell as Dr Tony Grant. Known for his role as Alan Dawson in the medical drama Emergency – Ward 10, Tingwell was approached by the Andersons on the recommendation of Ray Barrett.^[29] Like Paul Maxwell, he provided uncredited guest character voices in Thunderbirds Series Two, as well as providing voices in Captain Scarlet and making a guest appearance in UFO.^[26]
• Cliff Richard as Cliff Richard Jr. Cast in Portugal, where he owned a house "next-door-but-one" to the Andersons, Richard was "thrilled" to be involved in the film, in which he (with The Shadows) performs the song "Shooting Star" during a dream sequence.^[20][27] He has fond memories of his Supermarionation puppet: "It was quite a hoot ... I was never really sure if I looked like my puppet or it looked like me."^[27][30] Shadows members Brian Bennett, Hank Marvin, John Rostill and Bruce Welch are depicted in marionette form, but have no dialogue.^[30]

Filming

Pre-production lasted three months and a 16-week shooting schedule was drawn up to coincide with the filming of Thunderbirds Series Two.^[4] Principal photography began on 3 March 1966 and ended in late June.^{[6][13][32][33]} The staff at AP Films were divided into "A" and "B" units: A to shoot the film and B the TV episodes.^[4][34] To accommodate its increased workload, APF bought two additional buildings near its site on the Slough Trading Estate, combining these with the pre-existing puppet workshop, art department building and publicity centre to form a production base of five buildings.^[4][5][35] Converted by January 1966, one of these former factory units contained puppet stages while the other incorporated a single large sound stage on which all of the film's model and effects work would be completed.^[4][5]

Thunderbirds Are Go was filmed in Techniscope with a 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio.^[13] The possibility of using anamorphic lenses was rejected as depth of field problems made them unsuitable for effects shots.^[14][15] Techniscope, on the other hand, used spherical lenses but still produced a cinematic "letterbox" image.^[14][15] All APF productions up to this point had been filmed on Arriflex cameras, but for the film these were replaced with Mitchells.^[15]

The film was the first to be shot using a video assist technology called the Livingston Electronic Viewfinder Unit.^[9][13][31] Also known as "Add-a-Vision", this system comprised a viewfinder that relayed images from the shooting camera to video monitors elsewhere in the studio.^[9][13][31] This allowed the crew to examine newly filmed footage live on set and in better quality than before.^{[9][13][15][31]} Add-a-Vision also helped the puppet operators, who were stationed on gantries several feet above the studio floor and could not easily monitor the puppets' movements.^[32][31] In addition, the system incorporated a playback function for viewing rushes.^{[9][13][15][31]} Based on German video assist technology, Add-A-Vision was developed by Thunderbirds director of photography John Read in collaboration with Prowest Electronics.^[15][31]

To improve the look of the puppets, director David Lane often kept tops of heads and control wires out of shot and incorporated low-angle shots for dramatic effect.^[14][36] The background shots for Alan's rescue of the Zero-X crew were originally filmed on location in Portugal but were judged unsatisfactory and replaced with a painted backdrop created by associate producer Reg Hill.^{[20][21][31][8]} The location shoot also included filming a point-of-view "spiral shot" for the end of Alan's dream in which the character plunges back to Earth.^[20][21][31] To achieve this, a helicopter carried the crew to a height of about 5,000 feet (1,500 m) above an island off the Portuguese coast, then the pilot allowed the aircraft to "autogyro" downwards while camera operator Alan Perry filmed the island looming up from below.^[20][31][37] However, this shot was also deemed inadequate and replaced with footage of a model version built at APF Studios in Slough.^[31][37]

Puppets

The puppets of The Shadows perform "Shooting Star" on top of FAB 1 in space as part of Alan's dream.

Promising Television Mail that Thunderbirds Are Go would be "bigger and better than anything we have ever done before", Gerry Anderson realised that any design flaws that showed up on the big screen would not be forgiven as quickly as those on TV.^{[4][13][34][38]} The puppets were therefore expertly revamped, with new paint, wigs and costumes.^[11][13] Models and sets were re-built from scratch with greater attention to detail.^[13][38] Over the course of the production, APF's puppet wardrobe was expanded to include more than 700 costumes, with 150 extra costumes made as spares.^[39]

Some of the established characters, including Scott Tracy, were re-sculpted from the original puppets, while guest characters, such as the Zero-X crew, were entirely new creations.^[38] The guest character puppets of the TV series had had faces made of Plasticine that had been re-modelled for each appearance. This approach was largely abandoned for the film: as some of the puppets would be representing real-life celebrities, a decision was made to build most of the supporting characters in fibreglass to the same standards of workmanship as the main puppets.^{[10][11][34][40][41]} As with Scott Tracy, the puppet playing Captain Travers was modelled on Sean Connery.^{[13][42][43][44]}

The film puppets had the same body proportions as their TV predecessors. As filming progressed, APF developed a new prototype puppet with an animatronic mouth to produce more realistic lip and jaw movement.^[45] However, the results proved unsatisfactory and the idea was abandoned.^[45] For its next TV series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, APF would introduce a brand-new puppet design that used natural proportions, made possible by moving the internal lip-sync mechanism from the head to the chest.^[45] The puppets of the sequel film Thunderbird 6 were designed as a compromise between the two generations, with increased realism and less overt caricature.^[46][47]

Special effects

Derek Meddings' seven-foot (2.1 m) model of Zero-X as seen in the launch sequence at the start of the film. Note the widescreen aspect ratio.

Derek Meddings and his team of 28 technicians filmed the special effects shots in six months.^[48][49] The main effects pieces were the Zero-X launch sequences, new Thunderbird launch sequences, the car chase involving FAB 1 and the Hood, the Swinging Star scenes, the sequences set on the Martian surface, and the destruction of Zero-X.^[27] Over 300 of the film's effects used scale models.^[37] The crew took advantage of the considerable space inside the new effects building to experiment with low-angle shots and other, more inventive camera angles.^[36] Building new models of the Thunderbird machines was especially problematic in the case of Thunderbird 2, as Meddings explained: "Unfortunately, its replacement was not only the wrong colour, it was a completely different shape. Although we had several more built in different scales, I never felt our model makers managed to re-capture the look of the original."^[34][50]

The Zero-X spacecraft, which was designed by Meddings, was built as a seven-foot-long (2.1 m), 50-pound (23 kg) fibreglass model at a cost of £2,500 (approximately £49,500 in 2021).^{[11][20][36][51][52][53]} Although the model took months to build, all of its scenes, from launch to destruction, were completed in two days.^{[20][31][52][54]} The cockpit was based on that of Concorde, a prototype of which was under construction at Filton Airfield in Bristol.^[14][21] A long shot of the Zero-X lifting body exploding in Earth's atmosphere was the only effects work that was filmed outdoors; the shot was mounted on a gantry at a nearby power station against the actual sky, with Cordtex explosive strips, gunpowder, naphtha, magnesium and petroleum gel used to create a "fireball" effect.^{[20][21][31][52]}

The film's effects later became so well known in the industry that the crew of James Cameron's film Aliens (1986) used them for reference.^[37]

Editing

In a deleted scene, Alan and Brains direct Jeff's televised speech.

Post-production was completed in the autumn to allow the film to be released in time for Christmas.^[1] The film was edited by Len Walter, who had previously worked on the TV series.^[1][55]

The workprint exceeded United Artists' maximum permitted running time by roughly 15 minutes, forcing Walter to cut a number of scenes that were inessential to the plot. Some of the deleted scenes concerned the SEC's attempts to persuade International Rescue to escort Zero-X. At the same time, the Hood telepathically contacts his half-brother Kyrano (voiced by David Graham), Jeff's retainer on Tracy Island, and forces him to disclose the Tracy family's intentions. With the removal of the latter scene, Kyrano was completely cut from the film. Other scenes saw Lady Penelope and Parker flying to Glenn Field aboard the hypersonic airliner Fireflash and Jeff Tracy making a speech to the world through the Trans American TV Network.^[8]

The deleted scenes are now considered lost, with only still photographs and brief footage surviving. One of the photographs, showing Brains and Alan standing behind a TV camera as Jeff prepares to make his speech, appeared as the cover of issue 35 of FAB magazine.^[56] Another shows the Hood standing in his jungle temple with a clapperboard in front of him.^[57] Footage from the Trans American TV Network sequence was later edited into the Joe 90 episode "International Concerto".^[58]

Post-production

With Walter's editing complete, composer Barry Gray recorded the score in six sessions between 9 and 11 October at Anvil Studios near Denham, Buckinghamshire.^[1][3][55] The music was performed by a 70-piece orchestra supplemented by Gray's own electronic effects.^[2][3][59] The closing credits are accompanied by footage of the Royal Marines Band Service performing the "Thunderbirds March"; this was filmed in a single morning at the Royal Marines School of Music in Deal, Kent, with the marines conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Vivian Dunn.^[2] Three weeks were allotted for visual wrap-up work, minor animation, sound editing, dubbing and the creation of the opening titles.^[1][2] The film was submitted to the British Board of Film Censors in November and given a U certificate.^[2][13]

The film's animated opening titles present the main puppet cast and are accompanied by the re-recorded version of the "Thunderbirds March". The closing credits include a number of self-referential acknowledgements to individuals and companies alleged to have contributed to the production, such as SEC chairman Space Colonel Harris, Glenn Field's Commander Casey and the Century 21 "Space Location Unit". The credits end with the humorous disclaimer: "None of the characters appearing in this photoplay intentionally resemble any persons living or dead ... since they do not yet exist!"^[8]

Critical response

The film's December 1966 release came amid what commentators dubbed the "Thunderbirds Christmas" – a rush among retailers to sell Thunderbirds toys, games, books and other tie-ins.^[65] An early review of the film in Kine Weekly described it as a "colourful extension" of the TV series, while the News of the World praised it for providing "breathtaking entertainment".^[66][67] The Sunday Express was also positive, calling the concept of a Mars mission "awesome" and commending the film's visuals: "Of course, the cast are all puppets, the sets, models, and the story unabashed nonsense. But it's great all the same."^[3][68] Elsewhere, the Daily Mail praised the puppets' big-screen transition: "So who needs people? These handsome, stiff-necked, shiny-faced Thunderbirds puppets have broken spectacularly out of black-and-white TV and on to the cinema screen."^[68]

The Andersons began a tour of the country to promote the film. Around this time, it became apparent that public interest was lukewarm and the box office revenue mediocre.^[3][60][62] According to Gerry Anderson: "When we got off the plane at the first destination we were told that the film was in trouble. Cinemas were apparently half-full. When we got to the next big city we got more news that made us even more depressed – box office figures were inexplicably low wherever we went."^[3] He believed that Thunderbirds' origins as a TV series weakened the film's chances of success: "The only thing we could think was that at that time the audience was not used to seeing a feature film version of a television show. So people would see Thunderbirds and think, 'We've seen it on television.'"^[66] Sylvia Anderson had a similar explanation: "Although we still had our loyal television fans, they remained just that – firmly seated in front of their television screens and not in the cinema."^[69]

Supermarionation historian Stephen La Rivière suggests that the film was also facing strong competition from an influx of family films including Batman and Born Free, as well as re-issues of The Wizard Of Oz (1939), Mary Poppins (1964) and The Sound of Music (1965).^[9][66] Later reviews were less positive: while the Slough Observer described the film as "basically a Technicolor large-screen extension" of the TV series, The Times was critical, arguing that the TV-style storytelling and characterisation were too thin to sustain a feature film and that the frequent launch sequences were more for padding than visual appeal.^[66]

Writer John Peel comments that Thunderbirds Are Go is "well-made" and fulfils its promise to deliver visual spectacle.^[71][72] He considers it superior to its sequel, Thunderbird 6, but suggests that the plot is partly recycled from the TV episodes and describes the dream sequence as "painfully silly".^[71] Both La Rivière and Peel believe that the Thunderbird machines are underused.^[66][71] La Rivière also suggests that the lengthy model shots and reduced role of the Tracy family may have disappointed the film's young target audience.^[66]

Jeff Stafford of Turner Classic Movies regards the film in its entirety as a "pop culture novelty as fascinating and endearing as a toy from one's childhood." He agrees that the effects sequences are protracted: "You'll feel yourself growing older as cranes and hydraulic lifts slowly – very slowly – prepare for a missile launch."^[73] William Gallagher of BBC Online gives a positive review, calling Thunderbirds Are Go "every bit as good" as the TV series. However, he also suggests that Thunderbirds worked better on the small screen, writing of the film's content: "Certainly there's no greater profundity or universal theme to the film, it is just an extended episode." He rates Thunderbirds Are Go three stars out of five, as does the Film4 website.^[70][74]

Sequel

Dismissing the film's critical and commercial failure as a stroke of bad luck, United Artists told Anderson to make a sequel: Thunderbird 6.^[9][13][60] According to Anderson: "None of us ... could understand why the film hadn't succeeded, so it was decided we would make another one."^[75] The Andersons deliberately wrote Thunderbird 6 as a more light-hearted adventure.^[76] However, the response to the second film was similarly lukewarm, spelling the end of Thunderbirds as a media franchise^[77][78] until the release of the live-action film Thunderbirds nearly four decades later in 2004.

Books and comics

A novelisation by Angus P. Allan was released by Armada Books in 1966.^[42] In addition, TV Century 21 published a four-part "photographic picturisation" of the film narrating it from the perspective of the Zero-X crew.^[79] After this, the publication printed Zero-X comic strips until 1969; these told the continuing adventures of the astronauts, once again led by Captain Travers, as they explored the rest of the Solar System and beyond aboard the Zero-X "Mark III".^[14][79][80]

A connection to Captain Scarlet was established in issues published between June and September 1967. In these issues, a follow-up expedition to Mars, led by Captain Black of the world security organisation Spectrum, ends in disaster when Black (as shown in the first episode of Captain Scarlet) falls under the control of the malevolent Mysterons. Zero-X returns to Earth and lands at Glenn Field, where the possessed Black avoids capture by the authorities.^[81][82]

Soundtrack and home video

A re-recorded version of the score was released as a vinyl record by United Artists in 1967 and Silva Screen Records in 1987.^[42] It was subsequently released on CD in 1990 with a re-release by EMI two years later.^[42][83] In 2014, the original soundtrack recordings for Thunderbirds are Go and Thunderbird 6 were released by La-La Land Records as a limited-edition CD.^[84]

Thunderbirds Are Go was first released on DVD in 2001, in Regions 2 and 4, by MGM.^[85][86] In 2004, an "International Rescue Edition" was released; this was also available in Region 1 and was marketed both separately and as a box set with Thunderbird 6.^[87][88] In 2014, Twilight Time (through its sub-licensing deal with MGM) released both films as a double feature Blu-ray set, limited to 3,000 copies and available only from the Screen Archives Entertainment website.^[89] This set was re-released by Kino Lorber in 2017.^[90]

Works cited

• Anderson, Sylvia (2007). Sylvia Anderson: My Fab Years!. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. ISBN 978-1-932563-91-7.
• Archer, Simon (2004) [1993]. Gerry Anderson's FAB Facts: Behind the Scenes of TV's Famous Adventures in the 21st Century. London, UK: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-00-638247-8.
• Archer, Simon; Hearn, Marcus (2002). What Made Thunderbirds Go! The Authorised Biography of Gerry Anderson. London, UK: BBC Books. ISBN 978-0-563-53481-5.
• Archer, Simon; Nicholls, Stan (1996). Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Biography. London, UK: Legend Books. ISBN 978-0-09-922442-6.
• Bentley, Chris (2001). The Complete Book of Captain Scarlet. London, UK: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84222-405-2.
• Bentley, Chris (2005) [2000]. The Complete Book of Thunderbirds (2nd ed.). London, UK: Carlton Books. ISBN 978-1-84442-454-2.
• Bentley, Chris (2008) [2001]. The Complete Gerry Anderson: The Authorised Episode Guide (4th ed.). London, UK: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 978-1-905287-74-1.
• La Rivière, Stephen (2009). Filmed in Supermarionation: A History of the Future. Neshannock, Pennsylvania: Hermes Press. ISBN 978-1-932563-23-8.
• Marriott, John (1993). Supermarionation Classics: Stingray, Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Rogers, Dave; Drake, Chris; Bassett, Graeme. London, UK: Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-900-0.
• Meddings, Derek; Denham, Sam (1993). 21st Century Visions. Surrey, UK: Paper Tiger Books. ISBN 978-1-85028-243-3.
• Peel, John (1993). Thunderbirds, Stingray, Captain Scarlet: The Authorised Programme Guide. London, UK: Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-86369-728-9.