Thunderbird 6
Encyclopedia
Thunderbird 6 is a 1968 British
science-fiction
and adventure film
written by Gerry
and Sylvia Anderson
, directed by David Lane
and produced by Century 21 Cinema. A sequel to 1966's Thunderbirds Are Go
, it is the second film to be adapted from the 1960s television series Thunderbirds
, which combined scale model
s and special effects with marionette
puppet characters in a filming process that the Andersons termed "Supermarionation
". Intended to provide a lighter-hearted cinematic experience to contrast with the harder science of Thunderbirds Are Go, the Andersons elected to base the plot of Thunderbird 6 on Skyship One, a futuristic airship
that is the latest project of the scientist Brains
.
Alan
, Tin-Tin
, Lady Penelope and Parker
prepare to represent International Rescue on Skyship One' s round-the-world maiden flight, unaware that criminal mastermind The Hood
is plotting once more to acquire the secrets of the Thunderbird machines
. Paid agents of The Hood murder the original crew of Skyship One before launch and assume their identities, entertaining the guests while scheming to lure the Tracy brothers into a trap. Meanwhile, Brains' efforts to produce a satisfactory design concept for Jeff
's proposed Thunderbird 6 collide with fate when Skyship One is damaged and Alan's old Tiger Moth
biplane appears to be the only hope of saving the International Rescue group and their impostor hosts.
Actors John Carson
and Geoffrey Keen
provide guest speaking roles, with additions to the regular voice cast in the form of Keith Alexander
and Gary Files
. The design of the puppets of Thunderbird 6 marks a transition between the caricature
which the Century 21 team used until Thunderbirds Are Go and the realism
introduced for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
. Filming ran from May to December 1967, and the art
and special effects departments collaborated to realise Skyship One as both a miniature model and a collection of themed internal designs. Some sequences depicting the Tiger Moth in flight were filmed on location with a full-size plane, but a legal dispute with the Ministry of Transport
concerning alleged "dangerous flying" from stunt pilot Joan Hughes
forced the production team to film remaining shots in-studio with scale replicas.
Released in July 1968, Thunderbird 6 met with a mediocre reception at the box office, which ruled out the production of further sequels in the Thunderbirds film franchise. Critical response has remained mixed: although the special effects have been praised, commentators are divided on the quality of the plotting, which is considered either well-paced and concluding on a note of high action, or confusing and inordinately long, with little visual spectacle to contrast with dialogue. Nevertheless, Thunderbird 6 is viewed favourably in comparison to Jonathan Frakes
' 2004 film adaptation
, receiving praise for the perceived agelessness of its entertainment value.
in September 2067 (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 95), and six months after the events of the final Thunderbirds
Series Two episode, "Give or Take a Million", in December 2067 (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 95). The events of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
also occur in 2068. the New World Aircraft Corporation (NWAC) provides Brains
, the inventor of the Thunderbird machines
of the humanitarian International Rescue organisation, with an open brief to design a revolutionary aircraft. Although Brains is ridiculed when he proposes an airship
for the 21st century, NWAC accepts his blueprints and builds Skyship One, which will circumnavigate the world on its maiden flight with pre-programmed stopover destinations. Alan
, Tin-Tin
, Lady Penelope and Parker
will represent International Rescue as special guests. Brains, meanwhile, is forced to remain on Tracy Island
when Jeff
decides that International Rescue requires a Thunderbird 6. Contracted to design this latest addition to the Thunderbirds fleet with no specification, Brains produces a range of concepts, all of which are rejected by Jeff.
Alan and Tin-Tin travel to England in an old Tiger Moth
biplane and join Penelope and Parker. As Skyship One embarks on its round-the-world voyage, the International Rescue guests are unaware that Captain Foster and the stewards have been murdered and replaced by agents in the pay of The Hood
,The Hood
is apparently killed in Thunderbirds Are Go, but returns in Thunderbird 6 under a new codename (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 98). However, in the DVD audio commentary for Thunderbird 6, Sylvia Anderson
states that Black Phantom is not The Hood. who is operating under the alias of "Black Phantom" and is based at the disused El Hadim airfield near Casablanca
in Morocco. Codenamed "White Ghost", the impostors are not required to demonstrate technical knowledge of Skyship One since it incorporates automated systems, meaning that the trip passes without incident as the airship visits such locations as New York
, the Grand Canyon
, then Rio de Janeiro
and India.
Penelope has been warming to the dashing impersonator of Captain Foster, but uncovers a listening device in her room after Skyship One passes through the Egyptian Pyramids
. Foster and his associates have secretly been recording and editing Penelope's speech to assemble a false transmission, which requests that Jeff dispatch Thunderbirds 1 and 2, with Brains on board, to El Hadim airfield where The Hood and his henchmen will be waiting to hi-jack the machines. When Skyship One makes its final stop in the Swiss Alps
, Parker locates the editing equipment, but the transmission has been finished and is soon sent to John
on Thunderbird 5. Alan determines the threat against International Rescue just in time for Penelope to contact Jeff in person and warn that Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are about to be ambushed. Dispatched by Jeff in accordance with the transmission, Scott
and Virgil
now open fire on and annihilate The Hood's hideout.
On Skyship One, Alan, Penelope and Parker battle Foster and his associates in a gunfight and kill two of the five White Ghost operatives, but are forced to surrender when Tin-Tin is captured as a hostage. One of the "Gravity Compensators" has also been damaged in the fighting, causing the airship to lose altitude. Crossing the English coast, it crashes into a radio mast at a missile base in Dover
. With the airship balanced precariously on top of the mast and its anti-gravity
field dropping, it is up to the Scott, Virgil and Brains to rescue all on board before it collapses onto the base. On Tracy Island, Gordon
proposes that Alan's Tiger Moth, in storage at the NWAC Headquarters, is light enough to land on the airship without precipitating its fall.
Brains pilots the plane onto the top deck but is confronted by Foster and his two surviving associates. Holding Penelope hostage in the cockpit
, Foster intends to abandon the others, but Alan shoots and kills the impostor. The Tiger Moth lifts off again with all hanging on to either the wings or undercarriage
, just before Skyship One crashes to the ground and obliterates the evacuated missile base in a chain reaction.Lady Penelope's Rolls-Royce
, FAB1
, is stored in the cargo hold during the round-the-world trip, so is lost along with Skyship One (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 99; Bentley: Gerry Anderson, 305; La Rivière, 173). A shootout on board the Tiger Moth disposes of the last of the White Ghost agents, but a bullet has penetrated the fuel tank and the controls will not respond to Penelope. After narrow misses with a bridge on the unfinished M104 motorway and an exhaust tower, Alan and Penelope finally manage to ditch the plane into a field with Tin-Tin, Parker and Brains all unhurt. Back on Tracy Island, Brains unveils Thunderbird 6 as none other than the repaired, repainted and revamped Tiger Moth, which all agree has proven its value as a rescue aircraft.
on its release in December 1966, the United Artists
distributors authorised a sequel, to be budgeted at £300,000. Major production credits were unchanged from the first film: while Gerry and Sylvia Anderson scripted the film in three months and returned as producers, David Lane
filled the position of director.
The plot of the ill-fated Skyship One was intended to be more light-hearted than that of Zero-X
in Thunderbirds Are Go, although at the earliest production stage the focus was to be a "Russo-American space project". From an idea of Desmond Saunders
, a long-standing collaborator who had an interest in aviation, the Andersons based the plot on the destruction of the British R101
in 1930. Gerry Anderson researched airship
history by reading books on the R101, the R100
and the Graf Zeppelin
. The plot also emulates the Thunderbirds
Series Two episode "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker", which stars another of Brains
' pioneering aircraft, Skythrust.
Introducing a vintage de Havilland Tiger Moth
as the new Thunderbird 6, in their script the Andersons allude to 1960s publicity for Esso
, which advertised under the promotional banner of "Put a Tiger in Your Tank". A line from Virgil Tracy
during the final rescue of the Skyship One occupants adapts this slogan to refer to the "Tiger" stored inside Thunderbird 2' s Pod. However, no character dialogue explicitly refers to the aircraft by the full name "Tiger Moth".
was recorded in six days at the Anvil Films Recording Studio
at Denham
in Buckinghamshire
, where dialogue for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
would also be recorded. Dialogue for characters returning from Thunderbirds Are Go
, such as the Tracy family, Tracy Island
's other residents, Lady Penelope, Parker
and The Hood
is, with two exceptions, provided by the same actors. Voice actors introduced in Thunderbird 6 are:
Gerry Anderson biographers Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn suggest that Thunderbird 6 develops the character of Lady Penelope from her previous appearances in the Thunderbirds franchise. This is argued to be due, in part, to a more mature reading of the character's lines from Sylvia Anderson
, who provided Penelope's voice from the first episode
of the Thunderbirds television series. Archer and Hearn also praise the work of David Graham, particularly his reading of Parker's dialogue, but note that other regular characters, such as Gordon and John, appear infrequently in the film.
after the six episodes of Series Two, the next small-screen project for AP Films
, re-branded as "Century 21" in December 1966, would be Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
. This series, which was screened from September 1967, starred a brand-new generation of Supermarionation
puppets sculpted with more realistic proportions than the caricature
d marionettes of Thunderbirds. However, in the pre-production
stages for Thunderbirds Are Go
, it was decided that audiences who had seen Thunderbirds were too accustomed to the older style of puppet for the returning characters to be upgraded to the new design. To maintain continuity
, a compromise was made to produce puppets for the second Thunderbirds film which would mix traits from the two Supermarionation generations: although the heads and hands would remain disproportionately large, the marked caricature from the television episodes would be reduced.
For guest roles, puppets were mainly recycled from their previous appearances in Thunderbirds Are Go, although the Captain Foster puppet was a new addition. Puppeteer Wanda Webb recalls that Thunderbird 6 maintained a high standard in the appearance of its cast, commenting on a shot which depicts Lady Penelope asleep on board Skyship One, "I had placed the sleeping eyelids in Plasticine
and made the eye shadow a little too blue. We ended up re-shooting the whole sequence." One-use puppets appear in what Supermarionation historian Stephen La Rivière describes as "a contender for the most horrific scene ever produced by Century 21": in the opening scene, the characters of the NWAC executives present gaping mouths and teeth, complete with dental fillings
, when Brains' plan to design an airship sends them into howls of laughter. The decision to begin the film with a cold open
and delay the title sequence
and opening credits
was one of Century 21's efforts to distinguish Thunderbird 6 from the preceding film.
for Thunderbird 6 commenced on 1 May 1967, by which time Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
had already started production. One of the Century 21 production units was transferred from Captain Scarlet to the second Thunderbirds film and shooting was completed in four months alongside the new television series. Special effects director Derek Meddings
constructed the Skyship One model and supervised the creation of scale replicas of destinations explored in the film, such as the Great Sphinx of Giza
, the Egyptian Pyramids
and the Grand Canyon
. The Swiss Alps
shots which frame a scene set inside the fictional Whistle Stop Inn called for the FAB1
model to skate across ice, while scale figures of Alan
and Tin-Tin
follow the Rolls-Royce
on skis. The length of movement required necessitated the construction of a special effects set that was between 40 and 50 feet (12 and 15 m) wide (the largest used for the film), filled with salt to simulate the snow-capped Swiss mountains.
The art department
, headed by Bob Bell and responsible for the interiors of Skyship One, designed each room in a unique style: while the airship's Ball Room
includes spherical-shaped décor, a Games Room
is furnished to a dice and chessboards theme. Although Keith Wilson
was attached to the production of Captain Scarlet, he contributed the design of Lady Penelope's bedroom, which is shaded a bright pink to match the colour of FAB1. In the course of filming, the floor of the Skyship One Bottle Room set ignited under the heat of the studio lights and had to be completely rebuilt. The interior of the Whistle Stop Inn is a favourite of Bell. Shooting on this set had to be carefully timed due to the presence of model trains, of a smaller scale than the puppets, which run on tracks and transport meals to the characters as their "cargo". In their biography of Gerry Anderson, Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn hold the Skyship One Gravity Compensation Room, in which the Gravity Compensators are represented by rotating metal frames, in high regard. However, Penelope's bedroom is described as resembling a "Barbara Cartland
nightmare".
appears as a scale model
for sequences such as Alan
and Tin-Tin
's departure from Tracy Island
and Brains
' arrival on the top deck of Skyship One. The production team also decided to arrange a live-action location shoot in Buckinghamshire
to star a full-size biplane. Joan Hughes
, an experienced pilot who had flown Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers from factories to airbases during the Second World War, was selected to fly the aircraft. Sequences that comprise live-action filming include Brains launching the Tiger Moth from a field to rescue the occupants of Skyship One, Penelope's subsequent struggle to control the aircraft, the gun battle with Foster's remaining henchmen, the near collisions with the motorway bridge and the exhaust tower, and the final crash-landing. For the later sequences, stunt dummies fixed to the Tiger Moth's wings and undercarriage
represent the characters of Alan, Tin-Tin, Parker, Brains and the White Ghost agents, while Hughes doubles
for Penelope in the cockpit
. The location filming was based at Wycombe Air Park
.
The M40
motorway, which was nearing completion at the time of production, doubled for the fictitious M104. In the run-up to filming the plane's miss with the bridge between Junctions 4 and 5, at Lane End
on the High Wycombe
Bypass, Ministry of Transport
officials and police demanded that, in accordance with the rules of the Ministry of Civil Aviation
, Hughes perform the manoeuvre with the wheels in contact with the ground. On one of the final takes of the sequence, a crosswind sprang up and the drag of the stunt dummies left Hughes fearing for the control of the aircraft if it hit the tarmac. She therefore piloted the Tiger Moth underneath the bridge, clearing it by nine feet (2.7 m), as had at first been planned. On a later attempt, she was forced to repeat the low-level glide to the objections of the Ministry of Transport officials. Hughes, a pilot of more than three decades' flight experience in 1968, later reported that the danger of the stunt marked the first occasion in her career that she had feared for her safety.
Hughes and production manager Norman Foster were arrested at the scene and prosecuted. Hughes was charged on seven counts of "dangerous flying" and Foster on three of aiding and abetting
, but it was not until 18 March 1968, after production on the film had ended, that both were called to Aylesbury
Crown Court
to stand trial. The jury viewed the final cut of Thunderbird 6 and dismissed the case on 20 March 1968. Publicised in the Daily Express
under the headline of "Under The Bridge Goes Lady Penelope", the acquittal inspired Foster to comment that the character had "opened the way for much greater realism in film-making."
In the meantime, the Ministry of Transport had withdrawn its permission for further stunts to be filmed on the M40, forcing the production team to resort to alternative methods to complete the Tiger Moth sequences. The special effects department constructed a -scale model re-creation, located on the Century 21 outdoor backlot
to reduce lighting discrepancies, with radio-controlled miniatures of the Tiger Moth made to replace Hughes' aircraft. Ranging from six feet (1.8 m) in width to a smaller -scale for filming with the puppet characters, the replicas were unreliable and frequently crashed, but Anderson asserts that the production team successfully merged the full-size and miniature shots so that it is difficult to distinguish which aircraft is piloted by Hughes and which is remote-controlled. The scale reconstruction of the M40 bridge was aligned with a backdrop of real trees and fields to simulate the intended setting as faithfully as possible. Bad weather forced the outdoor filming to run for six weeks.
Built in 1940 at the de Havilland
production line at Hatfield Aerodrome
in Hertfordshire
, the life-size Tiger Moth which appears in the film had served in the RAF and been sold to the Association of British Aero Clubs in 1953. Since Thunderbird 6, the plane has made other appearances in cinema, including Michael Apted
's 1978 film, Agatha
. Despite damage sustained in a crash in 1992, as of 2008 the repaired Tiger Moth forms part of the Diamond Nine aerobatics
squadron, based at White Waltham Airfield
in Berkshire
.
considered the musical score for Thunderbird 6 superior to that of Thunderbirds Are Go
since its depiction of round-the-world travel provided scope for a large number of musical themes. Music was recorded in six sessions at the Olympic Studios
at Barnes, London, between 1 and 5 February 1968, with an orchestra of 56 members. The main title music, described as "jaunty" in Gerry Anderson's biography, accompanies opening credits
superimposed on shots of Skyship One as it sits on the NWAC airfield. The soundtrack was released in a limited edition in 2005. A rendition of the 19th-century song "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
" accompanies the aerial shots which chart Alan
and Tin-Tin
's departure from Tracy Island
at the start of the film. Director David Lane
wanted the movements of the Tiger Moth
to simulate a dance in mid-air, and to this end played the song on loudspeakers from the shooting helicopter to inspire the stunt pilot.
from the British Board of Film Classification
on 22 January 1968, Thunderbird 6 did not premiere until 29 July, at the London Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square
. To promote the film, a Lady Penelope impersonator, Penny Snow, toured Britain in a pink Rolls-Royce
imitation of FAB1
. Commenting on the six-month postponement between classification and release, Thunderbirds historian Chris Bentley conjectures that United Artists
had lost faith in distributing the Thunderbirds franchise in light of the disappointing box office returns for Thunderbirds Are Go, and therefore intentionally shelved
the sequel between January and July.
film. In his review published in the Daily Mail
, critic Barry Norman
described the sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go
as child-orientated
but still a showcase of "technical excellence". In what he termed a "class-conscious" side to the film, Norman also discussed the characterisation of Parker
, a manservant, as a butt of jokes, such as being the one unfortunate character to find himself stuck upside-down in a tree as the Tiger Moth
crash-lands.
La Rivière theorises that the commercial failure of the film is attributable to the facts that ITC
financier Lew Grade
had cancelled Thunderbirds as a television series in 1966, and that, by July 1968, 18 months had passed since the screening of the final episode ("Give or Take a Million"), resulting in a loss of public interest in the franchise. He praises Thunderbird 6 for its visual work, and holds the model Tiger Moth effects in particularly high regard, writing that it represents "some of the best effects work Century 21 would ever create. It is a testament to their skill and ingenuity that, in the motorway sequence, the model shots are indistinguishable from the original." However, he questions whether the sparseness of the action sequences is a disappointment to child viewers, suggesting that the film "feels like an extended puppet version of holiday magazine programme Wish You Were Here...?
" Adding to the "unfamiliar air" of the film are the characters, who La Rivière argues sound more mature than before in a development which he partly attributes to the new casting of Gary Files
and Keith Alexander
. He also asserts that the film intentionally avoids iconic elements from the original Thunderbirds episodes, such as the Thunderbird
launch sequences and the "Thunderbirds March" theme music.
La Rivière argues that the use of the Tiger Moth as the star vehicle, and the pun on the Esso
promotional banner of "Put a Tiger in Your Tank", are more suited to an adult audience. Meanwhile, children "had spent the entire 90 minutes eagerly waiting for the most fantastic piece of hardware to arrive. They got an old plane." Thunderbirds historian John Marriott voices similar criticism of the Tiger Moth, writing that "the big screen was an unsuitable place for the gentle irony of steam-age technology scoring triumphantly over an array of fantasy machines." Science-fiction author John Peel
is dismissive of the film in general and compares it pessimistically to the "well-made fun" of Thunderbirds Are Go. He summarises it as a "big mistake" and "a feeble last fling for a brilliant series", with a long and illogical plot, poor jokes and little action during the final rescue sequences. Responding to claims that the tone of Thunderbird 6 differs significantly from that of its predecessor, Gerry Anderson maintains that the time that had elapsed since the airing of the final television episode meant that "we were much more aware with the second one that it wasn't just a question of making a longer episode, but it was, indeed, to make something special for the cinema."
A BBC Online review suggests that the sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go is "a weak and perhaps too padded
adventure" which is an underwhelming experience as a feature-length film. Despite summarising it as having more "the extended feel of a special
TV episode", and describing the plot as substandard in comparison to the original episodes, Thunderbird 6 is awarded a rating of three out of five stars. In contrast, Jim Schembri of Australian newspaper The Age
asserts that the plotting is strong (and superior to that of Thunderbirds Are Go), and that the film also boasts "a snappier pace, with an action climax leaps ahead of anything in the latest Bond
epic." Writing in the same newspaper, Philippa Hawker notes an increase in humour, stating of Thunderbird 6 that it is "more self-consciously light-hearted but it's also more suspenseful." The Film4
website offers a three-star rating to match BBC Online, praising the production team's decision to introduce more naturally proportioned puppets and comparing Thunderbird 6 favourably to Jonathan Frakes
's 2004 adaptation
, which is considered a "live-action bomb
". Described as "great fun" and "entertaining if antiquated", the film is also referred to as "a slice of kid-friendly cinema made for a far more innocent age."
2 and 4, Thunderbird 6 was initially released on DVD by MGM in 2001, with special features including an audio commentary from director David Lane
and producer Sylvia Anderson, the theatrical trailer, stills and production galleries. A 2004 "International Rescue Edition", including Region 1 and packaged both separately and as part of a box set with the preceding film, Thunderbirds Are Go
, contains a Dolby Digital
5.1 surround sound mix and extends the 2001 special features material with three documentaries detailing the production of the film.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
science-fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
and adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
written by Gerry
Gerry Anderson
Gerry Anderson MBE is a British publisher, producer, director and writer, famous for his futuristic television programmes, particularly those involving specially modified marionettes, a process called "Supermarionation"....
and Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
, directed by David Lane
David Lane (director)
David Lane is a British television and film director, best known for his association with series produced by Gerry Anderson's AP Films.Lane directed several episodes of the Thunderbirds television series, including "Attack of the Alligators!", as well as the two cinema films Thunderbirds are GO and...
and produced by Century 21 Cinema. A sequel to 1966's Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, it is the second film to be adapted from the 1960s television series Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, which combined scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s and special effects with marionette
Marionette
A marionette is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a manipulator. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms...
puppet characters in a filming process that the Andersons termed "Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
". Intended to provide a lighter-hearted cinematic experience to contrast with the harder science of Thunderbirds Are Go, the Andersons elected to base the plot of Thunderbird 6 on Skyship One, a futuristic airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
that is the latest project of the scientist Brains
Brains (Thunderbirds)
Brains is a fictional character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 , and the 2004 live-action remake film Thunderbirds. Brains was born 14 November 2040 and was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family's...
.
Alan
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
, Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin Kyrano
Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice....
, Lady Penelope and Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....
prepare to represent International Rescue on Skyship One
The Hood (Thunderbirds)
The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge...
is plotting once more to acquire the secrets of the Thunderbird machines
Thunderbirds machines
The Gerry Anderson Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and the subsequent feature films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 featured a large variety of futuristic air, land and sea vehicles and machines, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek...
. Paid agents of The Hood murder the original crew of Skyship One before launch and assume their identities, entertaining the guests while scheming to lure the Tracy brothers into a trap. Meanwhile, Brains' efforts to produce a satisfactory design concept for Jeff
Jeff Tracy
Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live...
's proposed Thunderbird 6 collide with fate when Skyship One is damaged and Alan's old Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
biplane appears to be the only hope of saving the International Rescue group and their impostor hosts.
Actors John Carson
John Carson (actor)
John Carson is a British actor noted for his appearances in film and television.Making his film debut in 1947, he carved out a career appearing in low budget British movies such as Seven Keys ; Smokescreen ; and Master Spy...
and Geoffrey Keen
Geoffrey Keen
Geoffrey Keen was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many famous films.-Early life:Keen was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom...
provide guest speaking roles, with additions to the regular voice cast in the form of Keith Alexander
Keith Alexander (actor)
Keith Alexander is a British actor and voice actor.Alexander's television credits include Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , Minder and The Day of the Triffids...
and Gary Files
Gary Files
Gary Files was born in Melbourne, Australia and is an Australian-Canadian actor, writer and director who has resided in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has lived in Australia since 1976.-Early life:...
. The design of the puppets of Thunderbird 6 marks a transition between the caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
which the Century 21 team used until Thunderbirds Are Go and the realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
introduced for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
. Filming ran from May to December 1967, and the art
Art department
Art department in movie terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall look of the film as desired by the film director...
and special effects departments collaborated to realise Skyship One as both a miniature model and a collection of themed internal designs. Some sequences depicting the Tiger Moth in flight were filmed on location with a full-size plane, but a legal dispute with the Ministry of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
concerning alleged "dangerous flying" from stunt pilot Joan Hughes
Joan Hughes
Joan Lily Amelia Hughes, MBE was a World War II ferry pilot and one of Britain's first female test pilots.Hughes was born in the West Ham district of London in 1918...
forced the production team to film remaining shots in-studio with scale replicas.
Released in July 1968, Thunderbird 6 met with a mediocre reception at the box office, which ruled out the production of further sequels in the Thunderbirds film franchise. Critical response has remained mixed: although the special effects have been praised, commentators are divided on the quality of the plotting, which is considered either well-paced and concluding on a note of high action, or confusing and inordinately long, with little visual spectacle to contrast with dialogue. Nevertheless, Thunderbird 6 is viewed favourably in comparison to Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
' 2004 film adaptation
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
, receiving praise for the perceived agelessness of its entertainment value.
Plot
In 2068,A newspaper that appears in one scene in a close-up shot is dated 11 June 2068 (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 99; Bentley: Gerry Anderson, 305), which places the maiden flight of Skyship One nine months after the conclusion to Thunderbirds Are GoThunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
in September 2067 (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 95), and six months after the events of the final Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
Series Two episode, "Give or Take a Million", in December 2067 (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 95). The events of Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
also occur in 2068. the New World Aircraft Corporation (NWAC) provides Brains
Brains (Thunderbirds)
Brains is a fictional character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 , and the 2004 live-action remake film Thunderbirds. Brains was born 14 November 2040 and was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family's...
, the inventor of the Thunderbird machines
Thunderbirds machines
The Gerry Anderson Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and the subsequent feature films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 featured a large variety of futuristic air, land and sea vehicles and machines, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek...
of the humanitarian International Rescue organisation, with an open brief to design a revolutionary aircraft. Although Brains is ridiculed when he proposes an airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
for the 21st century, NWAC accepts his blueprints and builds Skyship One, which will circumnavigate the world on its maiden flight with pre-programmed stopover destinations. Alan
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
, Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin Kyrano
Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice....
, Lady Penelope and Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....
will represent International Rescue as special guests. Brains, meanwhile, is forced to remain on Tracy Island
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s television series Thunderbirds. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue organisation is heavily camouflaged.Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar...
when Jeff
Jeff Tracy
Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live...
decides that International Rescue requires a Thunderbird 6. Contracted to design this latest addition to the Thunderbirds fleet with no specification, Brains produces a range of concepts, all of which are rejected by Jeff.
Alan and Tin-Tin travel to England in an old Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
biplane and join Penelope and Parker. As Skyship One embarks on its round-the-world voyage, the International Rescue guests are unaware that Captain Foster and the stewards have been murdered and replaced by agents in the pay of The Hood
The Hood (Thunderbirds)
The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge...
,The Hood
The Hood (Thunderbirds)
The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge...
is apparently killed in Thunderbirds Are Go, but returns in Thunderbird 6 under a new codename (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 98). However, in the DVD audio commentary for Thunderbird 6, Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
states that Black Phantom is not The Hood. who is operating under the alias of "Black Phantom" and is based at the disused El Hadim airfield near Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
in Morocco. Codenamed "White Ghost", the impostors are not required to demonstrate technical knowledge of Skyship One since it incorporates automated systems, meaning that the trip passes without incident as the airship visits such locations as New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
, then Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
and India.
Penelope has been warming to the dashing impersonator of Captain Foster, but uncovers a listening device in her room after Skyship One passes through the Egyptian Pyramids
Egyptian pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found...
. Foster and his associates have secretly been recording and editing Penelope's speech to assemble a false transmission, which requests that Jeff dispatch Thunderbirds 1 and 2, with Brains on board, to El Hadim airfield where The Hood and his henchmen will be waiting to hi-jack the machines. When Skyship One makes its final stop in the Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
, Parker locates the editing equipment, but the transmission has been finished and is soon sent to John
John Tracy (Thunderbirds)
John Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6...
on Thunderbird 5. Alan determines the threat against International Rescue just in time for Penelope to contact Jeff in person and warn that Thunderbirds 1 and 2 are about to be ambushed. Dispatched by Jeff in accordance with the transmission, Scott
Scott Tracy
Scott Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
and Virgil
Virgil Tracy
Virgil Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
now open fire on and annihilate The Hood's hideout.
On Skyship One, Alan, Penelope and Parker battle Foster and his associates in a gunfight and kill two of the five White Ghost operatives, but are forced to surrender when Tin-Tin is captured as a hostage. One of the "Gravity Compensators" has also been damaged in the fighting, causing the airship to lose altitude. Crossing the English coast, it crashes into a radio mast at a missile base in Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
. With the airship balanced precariously on top of the mast and its anti-gravity
Anti-gravity
Anti-gravity is the idea of creating a place or object that is free from the force of gravity. It does not refer to the lack of weight under gravity experienced in free fall or orbit, or to balancing the force of gravity with some other force, such as electromagnetism or aerodynamic lift...
field dropping, it is up to the Scott, Virgil and Brains to rescue all on board before it collapses onto the base. On Tracy Island, Gordon
Gordon Tracy
Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
proposes that Alan's Tiger Moth, in storage at the NWAC Headquarters, is light enough to land on the airship without precipitating its fall.
Brains pilots the plane onto the top deck but is confronted by Foster and his two surviving associates. Holding Penelope hostage in the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
, Foster intends to abandon the others, but Alan shoots and kills the impostor. The Tiger Moth lifts off again with all hanging on to either the wings or undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
, just before Skyship One crashes to the ground and obliterates the evacuated missile base in a chain reaction.Lady Penelope's Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
, FAB1
FAB1
FAB1 is the name given to the pink six-wheeled car in the Thunderbirds franchise.-The original series and films:In the original Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds , as well as the films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 , FAB1 is a modified Rolls-Royce...
, is stored in the cargo hold during the round-the-world trip, so is lost along with Skyship One (Bentley: Thunderbirds, 99; Bentley: Gerry Anderson, 305; La Rivière, 173). A shootout on board the Tiger Moth disposes of the last of the White Ghost agents, but a bullet has penetrated the fuel tank and the controls will not respond to Penelope. After narrow misses with a bridge on the unfinished M104 motorway and an exhaust tower, Alan and Penelope finally manage to ditch the plane into a field with Tin-Tin, Parker and Brains all unhurt. Back on Tracy Island, Brains unveils Thunderbird 6 as none other than the repaired, repainted and revamped Tiger Moth, which all agree has proven its value as a rescue aircraft.
Production
Despite the unexpected failure of Thunderbirds Are GoThunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
on its release in December 1966, the United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
distributors authorised a sequel, to be budgeted at £300,000. Major production credits were unchanged from the first film: while Gerry and Sylvia Anderson scripted the film in three months and returned as producers, David Lane
David Lane (director)
David Lane is a British television and film director, best known for his association with series produced by Gerry Anderson's AP Films.Lane directed several episodes of the Thunderbirds television series, including "Attack of the Alligators!", as well as the two cinema films Thunderbirds are GO and...
filled the position of director.
The plot of the ill-fated Skyship One was intended to be more light-hearted than that of Zero-X
Zero-X
The Zero-X is a fictitious Earth spacecraft that appeared in two of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation productions...
in Thunderbirds Are Go, although at the earliest production stage the focus was to be a "Russo-American space project". From an idea of Desmond Saunders
Desmond Saunders
Desmond Saunders is a British television director and film editor.He has a long association with producer Gerry Anderson, having served as a director for the series Supercar , Stingray , Thunderbirds , Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons , Joe 90 and Terrahawks...
, a long-standing collaborator who had an interest in aviation, the Andersons based the plot on the destruction of the British R101
R101
R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry-appointed team and was effectively in competition...
in 1930. Gerry Anderson researched airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
history by reading books on the R101, the R100
R100
HM Airship R100 was a privately designed and built rigid airship made as part of a two-ship competition to develop new techniques for a projected larger commercial airship for use on British empire routes...
and the Graf Zeppelin
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was a German built and operated passenger-carrying hydrogen-filled rigid airship which operated commercially from 1928 to 1937. It was named after the German pioneer of airships, Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who was a Graf or Count in the German nobility. During its operating life,...
. The plot also emulates the Thunderbirds
Thunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
Series Two episode "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker", which stars another of Brains
Brains (Thunderbirds)
Brains is a fictional character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 , and the 2004 live-action remake film Thunderbirds. Brains was born 14 November 2040 and was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family's...
' pioneering aircraft, Skythrust.
Introducing a vintage de Havilland Tiger Moth
De Havilland Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH 82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and was operated by the Royal Air Force and others as a primary trainer. The Tiger Moth remained in service with the RAF until replaced by the de Havilland Chipmunk in 1952, when many of the surplus aircraft...
as the new Thunderbird 6, in their script the Andersons allude to 1960s publicity for Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
, which advertised under the promotional banner of "Put a Tiger in Your Tank". A line from Virgil Tracy
Virgil Tracy
Virgil Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds....
during the final rescue of the Skyship One occupants adapts this slogan to refer to the "Tiger" stored inside Thunderbird 2
Casting
Voice actingVoice acting
Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters and radio and audio dramas and comedy, as well as doing voice-overs in radio and television commercials, audio dramas, dubbed foreign language films, video games, puppet shows, and amusement rides.Performers are called...
was recorded in six days at the Anvil Films Recording Studio
Denham Film Studios
Denham Film Studios were a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952.The studios were founded by Alexander Korda, on a 165 acre site near the village of Denham, Buckinghamshire. At the time it was the largest facility of its kind in the UK, but it was merged with Rank's Pinewood...
at Denham
Denham, Buckinghamshire
Denham is a village and civil parish in the South Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is north west of Uxbridge and north of junction 1 of the M40 motorway. Denham contains the Buckinghamshire Golf Club.-Origin:...
in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, where dialogue for Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
would also be recorded. Dialogue for characters returning from Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, such as the Tracy family, Tracy Island
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s television series Thunderbirds. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue organisation is heavily camouflaged.Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar...
's other residents, Lady Penelope, Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....
and The Hood
The Hood (Thunderbirds)
The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge...
is, with two exceptions, provided by the same actors. Voice actors introduced in Thunderbird 6 are:
| Cast list | |
| Actor | Voices |
|---|---|
| Peter Dyneley Peter Dyneley Peter Dyneley was a British actor, born in Hastings, East Sussex, England.Although appearing in many smaller roles in both film and television, he is best remembered for his performance as the voice of Jeff Tracy in the Gerry Anderson 1960s TV series Thunderbirds and the subsequent movies... |
Jeff Tracy Jeff Tracy Jeff Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The voice for the character in these shows was supplied by Peter Dyneley. The character also appeared in the live... |
| Shane Rimmer Shane Rimmer Shane Rimmer is a Canadian actor and voice actor, probably best known as the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds.He has mostly performed in supporting roles, frequently in films and television series filmed in the United Kingdom, having relocated to England in the late 1950s, initially performing... |
Scott Tracy Scott Tracy Scott Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds.... , Steward Carter (original) |
| Sylvia Anderson Sylvia Anderson Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975.... |
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward is the London Agent for the secret organisation International Rescue in the hit television series Thunderbirds... |
| Jeremy Wilkin Jeremy Wilkin Jeremy Wilkin is a British actor, possibly best known for his contributions to the television productions of Gerry Anderson.... |
Virgil Tracy Virgil Tracy Virgil Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds.... , Steward Lane (original), Steward Martin (impostor) |
| Matt Zimmerman | Alan Tracy Alan Tracy Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds.... , Steward Martin (original), Steward Hogarth (impostor) |
| David Graham David Graham (actor) David Graham is a British character actor and voice artist. Born in London, after a period in the R.A.F as a Radar Mechanic he trained as an actor in New York but has worked mainly on British television series.... |
Gordon Tracy Gordon Tracy Gordon Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the live action movie Thunderbirds.... , Brains Brains (Thunderbirds) Brains is a fictional character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 , and the 2004 live-action remake film Thunderbirds. Brains was born 14 November 2040 and was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family's... , Aloysius "Nosey" Parker Aloysius "Nosey" Parker Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds.... , Kyrano Kyrano Kyrano is a fictional character from the television series Thunderbirds and the 2004 feature film based on it.Kyrano is the father of Tin-Tin and the half brother of The Hood and acts as a manservant in the Tracy household, sharing domestic duties with Grandma Tracy... , Indian Stall-keeper |
| Keith Alexander Keith Alexander (actor) Keith Alexander is a British actor and voice actor.Alexander's television credits include Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , Minder and The Day of the Triffids... |
John Tracy John Tracy (Thunderbirds) John Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6... , Steward Carter (impostor), Missile Base Announcer, Narrator |
| Christine Finn Christine Finn Christine Finn was a British actress, known primarily for her work for the Thunderbirds television series of the 1960s, and the 1958–59 television serial Quatermass and the Pit... |
Tin-Tin Kyrano Tin-Tin Kyrano Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice.... , Indian Fortune-Teller |
| Gary Files Gary Files Gary Files was born in Melbourne, Australia and is an Australian-Canadian actor, writer and director who has resided in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has lived in Australia since 1976.-Early life:... |
The Hood The Hood (Thunderbirds) The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge... , Captain Foster (original), Steward Hogarth (original), Steward Lane (impostor) |
| John Carson John Carson (actor) John Carson is a British actor noted for his appearances in film and television.Making his film debut in 1947, he carved out a career appearing in low budget British movies such as Seven Keys ; Smokescreen ; and Master Spy... |
Captain Foster (impostor) |
| Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many famous films.-Early life:Keen was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom... |
NWAC President James Glenn |
- Keith AlexanderKeith Alexander (actor)Keith Alexander is a British actor and voice actor.Alexander's television credits include Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , Minder and The Day of the Triffids...
as John TracyJohn Tracy (Thunderbirds)John Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6...
and the Narrator. John's original voice, Ray BarrettRay BarrettRaymond Charles "Ray" Barrett was an Australian actor. He was one of the more popular leading men on British television in the 1960s, where he was best known for his appearances in The Troubleshooters . Back in Australia he was a leading man in many TV series over the years.-Biography:Barrett was...
, had returned to his native Australia on the completion of Thunderbirds Are Go. Replacing Barrett in this role for Thunderbird 6, Alexander was also contracted to provide an opening narration, which describes the secrecy of the International Rescue organisation and Tracy Island. Emigrating from Australia in 1965, Alexander continued his association with the Andersons after Thunderbird 6, voicing the characters of Sam Loover in Joe 90Joe 90Joe 90 is a late-1960s British science-fiction television series documenting the exploits of a nine-year-old boy, Joe McClaine, who embarks on a double life as a schoolboy turned spy when his scientist father invents a pioneering machine capable of duplicating and transferring expert knowledge and...
(1968) and Agent Blake in the final SupermarionationSupermarionationSupermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
series, The Secret ServiceThe Secret ServiceThe Secret Service is a British children's espionage television series, made as a Century 21 production for ITC Entertainment and broadcast in 1969...
(1969). He also held the regular part of Lieutenant Keith Ford in UFOUFO (TV series)UFO is a 1970-1971 British television science fiction series about an alien invasion of Earth, created by Gerry Anderson and Sylvia Anderson with Reg Hill, and produced by the Andersons and Lew Grade's Century 21 Productions for Grade's ITC Entertainment company.UFO first aired in the UK and Canada...
in the 1970s. - Gary FilesGary FilesGary Files was born in Melbourne, Australia and is an Australian-Canadian actor, writer and director who has resided in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has lived in Australia since 1976.-Early life:...
as The HoodThe Hood (Thunderbirds)The Hood is the main villain and adversary of International Rescue in the Thunderbirds TV series.-TV series:The Hood's precise origins are unknown but it is thought to have been based loosely on Wayne Pembridge...
("Black Phantom"). International Rescue's nemesis, The Hood, was another role previously voiced by Barrett. While production of Thunderbird 6 progressed, Files, another Australian actor, also provided voices for Captain Scarlet (1967), including the recurring character of Captain MagentaCaptain MagentaCaptain Magenta is a character in the 1960s Supermarionation television series Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. He is a senior officer of the Spectrum organisation, but seldom leaves Cloudbase....
. More roles followed, from supporting voices in Joe 90 to the regular part of Matthew Harding in The Secret Service. He recalls that his lines in Thunderbird 6 were intended as a test prior to Captain Scarlet and has fond memories of his casting, stating in an interview, "I was just knocked out to be working with people like Geoffrey Keen, and those other marvellous people involved." - John CarsonJohn Carson (actor)John Carson is a British actor noted for his appearances in film and television.Making his film debut in 1947, he carved out a career appearing in low budget British movies such as Seven Keys ; Smokescreen ; and Master Spy...
as the replacement Captain Foster ("White Ghost"). A British actor of television and cinema, Carson's small-screen credits of the 1960s and 70s include The SaintThe Saint (TV series)The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
, Man in a SuitcaseMan in a SuitcaseMan in a Suitcase is a 1967 television series produced by Lew Grade's ITC Entertainment.-Origins and overview:Man in a Suitcase was effectively a replacement for Danger Man, whose production had been curtailed when its star Patrick McGoohan had decided to create his own series, The Prisoner...
, Department SDepartment SDepartment S is a United Kingdom spy-fi adventure series produced by ITC Entertainment. The series consists of 28 episodes which originally aired in 1969–1970. It starred Peter Wyngarde as author Jason King , Joel Fabiani as Stewart Sullivan, and Rosemary Nicols as computer expert Annabelle Hurst...
and The ProfessionalsThe Professionals (TV series)The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, while his film roles include Plague of the Zombies (1966) and Taste the Blood of DraculaTaste the Blood of DraculaTaste the Blood of Dracula is a British horror film produced by Hammer Film Productions and released in 1970. It stars Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, and was directed by Peter Sasdy...
(1970). His appearances in The Troubleshooters attracted the attention of the Andersons. Carson's delivery of Foster's lines has led to a mistaken assertion that fellow British actor James MasonJames MasonJames Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
was cast for the role. - Geoffrey KeenGeoffrey KeenGeoffrey Keen was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many famous films.-Early life:Keen was born in Wallingford, Oxfordshire, England, the son of stage actor Malcolm Keen. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He then joined the Little Repertory Theatre in Bristol for whom...
as James Glenn, the New World Aircraft Corporation President. Also known to the Andersons for his role in The Troubleshooters (as the leading character of Brian Stead), stage, television and cinema actor Keen appeared in more than 100 films in his lifetime, including Doctor Zhivago (1965), Born FreeBorn FreeBorn Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
(1966) and, with Carson, Taste the Blood of Dracula. Spanning 1977 to 1987, he portrayed Sir Frederick Gray, the fictional Minister for DefenceSecretary of State for DefenceThe Secretary of State for Defence, popularly known as the Defence Secretary, is the senior Government of the United Kingdom minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence, chairing the Defence Council. It is a Cabinet position...
in the James BondJames Bond (film series)The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
series, from the films The Spy Who Loved MeThe Spy Who Loved Me (film)The Spy Who Loved Me is a spy film, the tenth film in the James Bond series, and the third to star Roger Moore as the fictional secret agent James Bond. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum...
to The Living DaylightsThe Living DaylightsThe Living Daylights is the fifteenth entry in the James Bond series and the first to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent 007. The film's title is taken from Ian Fleming's short story, "The Living Daylights"...
.
Gerry Anderson biographers Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn suggest that Thunderbird 6 develops the character of Lady Penelope from her previous appearances in the Thunderbirds franchise. This is argued to be due, in part, to a more mature reading of the character's lines from Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson
Sylvia Anderson , born 25 March 1937, is a British voice artist and film producer, most notable for collaborations with Gerry Anderson, to whom she was married from 1962 to 1975....
, who provided Penelope's voice from the first episode
Trapped in the Sky
"Trapped in the Sky" is the first episode of Thunderbirds, a British 1960s Supermarionation television series co-created by Gerry Anderson, which originally aired on ATV Midlands on 30 September 1965. The plot revolves around master criminal the Hood, who sabotages the brand-new Fireflash prior to...
of the Thunderbirds television series. Archer and Hearn also praise the work of David Graham, particularly his reading of Parker's dialogue, but note that other regular characters, such as Gordon and John, appear infrequently in the film.
Puppets
With the cancellation of ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
after the six episodes of Series Two, the next small-screen project for AP Films
AP Films
AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s...
, re-branded as "Century 21" in December 1966, would be Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
. This series, which was screened from September 1967, starred a brand-new generation of Supermarionation
Supermarionation
Supermarionation is a puppetry technique devised in the 1960s by British production company AP Films. It was used extensively in the company's numerous Gerry and Sylvia Anderson-produced action-adventure series, the most famous of which was Thunderbirds...
puppets sculpted with more realistic proportions than the caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
d marionettes of Thunderbirds. However, in the pre-production
Pre-production
Pre-production or In Production is the process of preparing all the elements involved in a film, play, or other performance.- In film :...
stages for Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, it was decided that audiences who had seen Thunderbirds were too accustomed to the older style of puppet for the returning characters to be upgraded to the new design. To maintain continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
, a compromise was made to produce puppets for the second Thunderbirds film which would mix traits from the two Supermarionation generations: although the heads and hands would remain disproportionately large, the marked caricature from the television episodes would be reduced.
For guest roles, puppets were mainly recycled from their previous appearances in Thunderbirds Are Go, although the Captain Foster puppet was a new addition. Puppeteer Wanda Webb recalls that Thunderbird 6 maintained a high standard in the appearance of its cast, commenting on a shot which depicts Lady Penelope asleep on board Skyship One, "I had placed the sleeping eyelids in Plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...
and made the eye shadow a little too blue. We ended up re-shooting the whole sequence." One-use puppets appear in what Supermarionation historian Stephen La Rivière describes as "a contender for the most horrific scene ever produced by Century 21": in the opening scene, the characters of the NWAC executives present gaping mouths and teeth, complete with dental fillings
Dental restoration
A dental restoration or dental filling is a dental restorative material used to restore the function, integrity and morphology of missing tooth structure. The structural loss typically results from caries or external trauma. It is also lost intentionally during tooth preparation to improve the...
, when Brains' plan to design an airship sends them into howls of laughter. The decision to begin the film with a cold open
Cold open
A cold open in a television program or movie is the technique of jumping directly into a story at the beginning or opening of the show, before the title sequence or opening credits are shown...
and delay the title sequence
Title sequence
A Title Sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound...
and opening credits
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
was one of Century 21's efforts to distinguish Thunderbird 6 from the preceding film.
Design
Principal photographyPrincipal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
for Thunderbird 6 commenced on 1 May 1967, by which time Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons
Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, often referred to as Captain Scarlet, is a 1960s British science-fiction television series produced by the Century 21 Productions company of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, John Read and Reg Hill...
had already started production. One of the Century 21 production units was transferred from Captain Scarlet to the second Thunderbirds film and shooting was completed in four months alongside the new television series. Special effects director Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings
Derek Meddings was a British television and cinema special effects expert, initially noted for his work on the "Supermarionation" television puppet series produced by Gerry Anderson, and later for the 1970s James Bond films and the Superman film series.-Early years:Both Meddings' parents had...
constructed the Skyship One model and supervised the creation of scale replicas of destinations explored in the film, such as the Great Sphinx of Giza
Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza , commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt....
, the Egyptian Pyramids
Egyptian pyramids
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped masonry structures located in Egypt.There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of 2008. Most were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found...
and the Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is largely contained within the Grand Canyon National Park, the 15th national park in the United States...
. The Swiss Alps
Swiss Alps
The Swiss Alps are the portion of the Alps mountain range that lies within Switzerland. Because of their central position within the entire Alpine range, they are also known as the Central Alps....
shots which frame a scene set inside the fictional Whistle Stop Inn called for the FAB1
FAB1
FAB1 is the name given to the pink six-wheeled car in the Thunderbirds franchise.-The original series and films:In the original Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds , as well as the films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 , FAB1 is a modified Rolls-Royce...
model to skate across ice, while scale figures of Alan
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
and Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin Kyrano
Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice....
follow the Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
on skis. The length of movement required necessitated the construction of a special effects set that was between 40 and 50 feet (12 and 15 m) wide (the largest used for the film), filled with salt to simulate the snow-capped Swiss mountains.
The art department
Art department
Art department in movie terms means the section of a production's crew concerned with visual artistry. Working under the supervision of the production designer and/or art director, the art department is responsible for arranging the overall look of the film as desired by the film director...
, headed by Bob Bell and responsible for the interiors of Skyship One, designed each room in a unique style: while the airship's Ball Room
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...
includes spherical-shaped décor, a Games Room
Recreation room
A recreation room is a room used for a variety of purposes, such as parties, games and other everyday or casual use. The term is common in the United States and Canada, but is less common in the United Kingdom where the preferred term is games room...
is furnished to a dice and chessboards theme. Although Keith Wilson
Keith Wilson (production designer)
Keith George Wilson was an award-winning production designer who began work at AP Films, working as art assistant on Fireball XL5 and many other Gerry Anderson productions to follow. As a production designer he created all the futuristic sets for Space: 1999 and Star Maidens...
was attached to the production of Captain Scarlet, he contributed the design of Lady Penelope's bedroom, which is shaded a bright pink to match the colour of FAB1. In the course of filming, the floor of the Skyship One Bottle Room set ignited under the heat of the studio lights and had to be completely rebuilt. The interior of the Whistle Stop Inn is a favourite of Bell. Shooting on this set had to be carefully timed due to the presence of model trains, of a smaller scale than the puppets, which run on tracks and transport meals to the characters as their "cargo". In their biography of Gerry Anderson, Simon Archer and Marcus Hearn hold the Skyship One Gravity Compensation Room, in which the Gravity Compensators are represented by rotating metal frames, in high regard. However, Penelope's bedroom is described as resembling a "Barbara Cartland
Barbara Cartland
Dame Barbara Hamilton Cartland, DBE, CStJ , was an English author, one of the most prolific authors of the 20th century...
nightmare".
Stunts
The vintage Tiger MothTiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
appears as a scale model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
for sequences such as Alan
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
and Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin Kyrano
Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice....
's departure from Tracy Island
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s television series Thunderbirds. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue organisation is heavily camouflaged.Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar...
and Brains
Brains (Thunderbirds)
Brains is a fictional character in the 1960s British Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds, its sequel films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 , and the 2004 live-action remake film Thunderbirds. Brains was born 14 November 2040 and was orphaned when a hurricane struck his family's...
' arrival on the top deck of Skyship One. The production team also decided to arrange a live-action location shoot in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
to star a full-size biplane. Joan Hughes
Joan Hughes
Joan Lily Amelia Hughes, MBE was a World War II ferry pilot and one of Britain's first female test pilots.Hughes was born in the West Ham district of London in 1918...
, an experienced pilot who had flown Spitfires and Lancaster Bombers from factories to airbases during the Second World War, was selected to fly the aircraft. Sequences that comprise live-action filming include Brains launching the Tiger Moth from a field to rescue the occupants of Skyship One, Penelope's subsequent struggle to control the aircraft, the gun battle with Foster's remaining henchmen, the near collisions with the motorway bridge and the exhaust tower, and the final crash-landing. For the later sequences, stunt dummies fixed to the Tiger Moth's wings and undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
represent the characters of Alan, Tin-Tin, Parker, Brains and the White Ghost agents, while Hughes doubles
Stunt double
A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts...
for Penelope in the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
. The location filming was based at Wycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park/Booker Airport is located in Booker, Buckinghamshire, south-west of High Wycombe, England. It was formerly the Royal Air Force base, RAF Booker....
.
The M40
M40 motorway
The M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
motorway, which was nearing completion at the time of production, doubled for the fictitious M104. In the run-up to filming the plane's miss with the bridge between Junctions 4 and 5, at Lane End
Lane End, Buckinghamshire
Lane End is a village and civil parish within Wycombe district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is just south of the M40 from High Wycombe, about two miles west of Booker. The village is twinned with Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron in France....
on the High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
Bypass, Ministry of Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
officials and police demanded that, in accordance with the rules of the Ministry of Civil Aviation
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
, Hughes perform the manoeuvre with the wheels in contact with the ground. On one of the final takes of the sequence, a crosswind sprang up and the drag of the stunt dummies left Hughes fearing for the control of the aircraft if it hit the tarmac. She therefore piloted the Tiger Moth underneath the bridge, clearing it by nine feet (2.7 m), as had at first been planned. On a later attempt, she was forced to repeat the low-level glide to the objections of the Ministry of Transport officials. Hughes, a pilot of more than three decades' flight experience in 1968, later reported that the danger of the stunt marked the first occasion in her career that she had feared for her safety.
Hughes and production manager Norman Foster were arrested at the scene and prosecuted. Hughes was charged on seven counts of "dangerous flying" and Foster on three of aiding and abetting
Aiding and abetting
Criminal=Aiding and abetting is an additional provision in United States criminal law, for situations where it cannot be shown the party personally carried out the criminal offense, but where another person may have carried out the illegal act as an agent of the charged, working together with or...
, but it was not until 18 March 1968, after production on the film had ended, that both were called to Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
to stand trial. The jury viewed the final cut of Thunderbird 6 and dismissed the case on 20 March 1968. Publicised in the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
under the headline of "Under The Bridge Goes Lady Penelope", the acquittal inspired Foster to comment that the character had "opened the way for much greater realism in film-making."
In the meantime, the Ministry of Transport had withdrawn its permission for further stunts to be filmed on the M40, forcing the production team to resort to alternative methods to complete the Tiger Moth sequences. The special effects department constructed a -scale model re-creation, located on the Century 21 outdoor backlot
Backlot
A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio, containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction....
to reduce lighting discrepancies, with radio-controlled miniatures of the Tiger Moth made to replace Hughes' aircraft. Ranging from six feet (1.8 m) in width to a smaller -scale for filming with the puppet characters, the replicas were unreliable and frequently crashed, but Anderson asserts that the production team successfully merged the full-size and miniature shots so that it is difficult to distinguish which aircraft is piloted by Hughes and which is remote-controlled. The scale reconstruction of the M40 bridge was aligned with a backdrop of real trees and fields to simulate the intended setting as faithfully as possible. Bad weather forced the outdoor filming to run for six weeks.
Built in 1940 at the de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
production line at Hatfield Aerodrome
Hatfield Aerodrome
Hatfield Aerodrome, formerly , was an airfield and aircraft factory located in the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.-Early history:...
in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, the life-size Tiger Moth which appears in the film had served in the RAF and been sold to the Association of British Aero Clubs in 1953. Since Thunderbird 6, the plane has made other appearances in cinema, including Michael Apted
Michael Apted
Michael David Apted, CMG is an English director, producer, writer and actor. He is one of the most prolific British film directors of his generation but is best known for his work on the Up Series of documentaries and the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.On 29 June 2003 he was elected...
's 1978 film, Agatha
Agatha (film)
Agatha is a 1979 drama thriller film directed by Michael Apted, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Dustin Hoffman and Timothy Dalton, and written by Kathleen Tynan...
. Despite damage sustained in a crash in 1992, as of 2008 the repaired Tiger Moth forms part of the Diamond Nine aerobatics
Aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in normal flight. Aerobatics are performed in airplanes and gliders for training, recreation, entertainment and sport...
squadron, based at White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield
White Waltham Airfield , is located at White Waltham, southwest of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
.
Music
Barry GrayBarry Gray
Barry Gray was a British musician and composer who is best known for his work for Gerry Anderson.-Life:...
considered the musical score for Thunderbird 6 superior to that of Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
since its depiction of round-the-world travel provided scope for a large number of musical themes. Music was recorded in six sessions at the Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
at Barnes, London, between 1 and 5 February 1968, with an orchestra of 56 members. The main title music, described as "jaunty" in Gerry Anderson's biography, accompanies opening credits
Opening credits
In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
superimposed on shots of Skyship One as it sits on the NWAC airfield. The soundtrack was released in a limited edition in 2005. A rendition of the 19th-century song "The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze
"The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze", originally published under the title "The Flying Trapeze" and also known as "The Man on the Flying Trapeze", is a 19th century popular song about a flying trapeze circus performer, Jules Léotard...
" accompanies the aerial shots which chart Alan
Alan Tracy
Alan Tracy is a fictional character from Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation television show Thunderbirds and the subsequent films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6. The character also appeared in the 2004 live action movie Thunderbirds....
and Tin-Tin
Tin-Tin Kyrano
Tin-Tin Kyrano is a character in the mid-1960s British television show Thunderbirds. In the original TV series and its original movie adaptations, Tin-Tin, like the other characters, is portrayed using a marionette, and Christine Finn provided her voice....
's departure from Tracy Island
Tracy Island
Tracy Island is the home of the Tracy family in the Gerry and Sylvia Anderson 1960s television series Thunderbirds. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the island's true function as the secret base of the International Rescue organisation is heavily camouflaged.Thunderbird 1 launches from a hangar...
at the start of the film. Director David Lane
David Lane (director)
David Lane is a British television and film director, best known for his association with series produced by Gerry Anderson's AP Films.Lane directed several episodes of the Thunderbirds television series, including "Attack of the Alligators!", as well as the two cinema films Thunderbirds are GO and...
wanted the movements of the Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
to simulate a dance in mid-air, and to this end played the song on loudspeakers from the shooting helicopter to inspire the stunt pilot.
Release
Completed in December 1967 and awarded a "U" ratingHistory of British film certificates
-Overview:The UK's film ratings are decided by the British Board of Film Classification and have been since 1912. Previously, there were no agreed rating standards, and local councils imposed their own - often differing - conditions or restrictions...
from the British Board of Film Classification
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification , originally British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification of films within the United Kingdom...
on 22 January 1968, Thunderbird 6 did not premiere until 29 July, at the London Odeon Cinema in Leicester Square
Leicester Square
Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west...
. To promote the film, a Lady Penelope impersonator, Penny Snow, toured Britain in a pink Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
imitation of FAB1
FAB1
FAB1 is the name given to the pink six-wheeled car in the Thunderbirds franchise.-The original series and films:In the original Supermarionation TV series Thunderbirds , as well as the films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 , FAB1 is a modified Rolls-Royce...
. Commenting on the six-month postponement between classification and release, Thunderbirds historian Chris Bentley conjectures that United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
had lost faith in distributing the Thunderbirds franchise in light of the disappointing box office returns for Thunderbirds Are Go, and therefore intentionally shelved
Shelved
In politics, the term can be used for policy drafts, that have never been officially brought into legislation.In the film industry, a film is considered shelved if it is not released for public viewing after filming has started, or even completed....
the sequel between January and July.
Reception
Underperforming at the box office on its general release, Thunderbird 6 went on to become a commercial failure and spoilt chances for the production of a potential third ThunderbirdsThunderbirds (TV series)
Thunderbirds is a British mid-1960s science fiction television show devised by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and made by AP Films using a form of marionette puppetry dubbed "Supermarionation"...
film. In his review published in the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, critic Barry Norman
Barry Norman
Barry Leslie Norman, CBE is a British novelist, impresario, film critic and media personality. He was the BBC film critic on television from 1972 to 1998.-Early life:...
described the sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
as child-orientated
Children's film
A children's film is a film aimed for children as its audience. As opposed to a family film, no special effort is made to make the film attractive for other audiences. The film may or may not be about children. In Unshrinking the Kids: Children's Cinema and the Family Film which is a chapter in In...
but still a showcase of "technical excellence". In what he termed a "class-conscious" side to the film, Norman also discussed the characterisation of Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker
Aloysius "Nosey" Parker is a fictional character in the television series Thunderbirds, the feature films Thunderbirds Are GO and Thunderbird 6 and the 2004 live action film Thunderbirds....
, a manservant, as a butt of jokes, such as being the one unfortunate character to find himself stuck upside-down in a tree as the Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
crash-lands.
La Rivière theorises that the commercial failure of the film is attributable to the facts that ITC
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company was a British television company largely involved in production and distribution. It was founded by Lew Grade.-History:...
financier Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...
had cancelled Thunderbirds as a television series in 1966, and that, by July 1968, 18 months had passed since the screening of the final episode ("Give or Take a Million"), resulting in a loss of public interest in the franchise. He praises Thunderbird 6 for its visual work, and holds the model Tiger Moth effects in particularly high regard, writing that it represents "some of the best effects work Century 21 would ever create. It is a testament to their skill and ingenuity that, in the motorway sequence, the model shots are indistinguishable from the original." However, he questions whether the sparseness of the action sequences is a disappointment to child viewers, suggesting that the film "feels like an extended puppet version of holiday magazine programme Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...?
Wish You Were Here...? is a British television show that was first broadcast on 7th January 1974 on ITV. It was a series of 30 minute shows about travel and holidays. The show was broadcast during peak viewing hours and had gained a significant viewing audience in the UK...
" Adding to the "unfamiliar air" of the film are the characters, who La Rivière argues sound more mature than before in a development which he partly attributes to the new casting of Gary Files
Gary Files
Gary Files was born in Melbourne, Australia and is an Australian-Canadian actor, writer and director who has resided in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. He has lived in Australia since 1976.-Early life:...
and Keith Alexander
Keith Alexander (actor)
Keith Alexander is a British actor and voice actor.Alexander's television credits include Softly, Softly , The New Avengers , Minder and The Day of the Triffids...
. He also asserts that the film intentionally avoids iconic elements from the original Thunderbirds episodes, such as the Thunderbird
Thunderbirds machines
The Gerry Anderson Supermarionation television series Thunderbirds and the subsequent feature films Thunderbirds Are Go and Thunderbird 6 featured a large variety of futuristic air, land and sea vehicles and machines, the majority of which were designed by special effects director Derek...
launch sequences and the "Thunderbirds March" theme music.
La Rivière argues that the use of the Tiger Moth as the star vehicle, and the pun on the Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
promotional banner of "Put a Tiger in Your Tank", are more suited to an adult audience. Meanwhile, children "had spent the entire 90 minutes eagerly waiting for the most fantastic piece of hardware to arrive. They got an old plane." Thunderbirds historian John Marriott voices similar criticism of the Tiger Moth, writing that "the big screen was an unsuitable place for the gentle irony of steam-age technology scoring triumphantly over an array of fantasy machines." Science-fiction author John Peel
John Peel (writer)
John Peel is a British writer, best known for his books connected to several television series. He has written under several pseudonyms, including John Vincent and Nicholas Adams. He lives in Long Island, New York and his wife is a U.S...
is dismissive of the film in general and compares it pessimistically to the "well-made fun" of Thunderbirds Are Go. He summarises it as a "big mistake" and "a feeble last fling for a brilliant series", with a long and illogical plot, poor jokes and little action during the final rescue sequences. Responding to claims that the tone of Thunderbird 6 differs significantly from that of its predecessor, Gerry Anderson maintains that the time that had elapsed since the airing of the final television episode meant that "we were much more aware with the second one that it wasn't just a question of making a longer episode, but it was, indeed, to make something special for the cinema."
A BBC Online review suggests that the sequel to Thunderbirds Are Go is "a weak and perhaps too padded
Filler (media)
In media, filler is material that is combined with material of greater relevance or quality to "fill out" a certain volume.-Early television:...
adventure" which is an underwhelming experience as a feature-length film. Despite summarising it as having more "the extended feel of a special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
TV episode", and describing the plot as substandard in comparison to the original episodes, Thunderbird 6 is awarded a rating of three out of five stars. In contrast, Jim Schembri of Australian newspaper The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
asserts that the plotting is strong (and superior to that of Thunderbirds Are Go), and that the film also boasts "a snappier pace, with an action climax leaps ahead of anything in the latest Bond
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
epic." Writing in the same newspaper, Philippa Hawker notes an increase in humour, stating of Thunderbird 6 that it is "more self-consciously light-hearted but it's also more suspenseful." The Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
website offers a three-star rating to match BBC Online, praising the production team's decision to introduce more naturally proportioned puppets and comparing Thunderbird 6 favourably to Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Frakes
Jonathan Scott Frakes is an American actor, author and director best known for his role as Commander William T. Riker in the Star Trek franchise, as well as for his tenure as host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction ....
's 2004 adaptation
Thunderbirds (film)
Thunderbirds is a 2004 science-fiction adventure film loosely based upon the television series of the same name of the 1960s, directed by Jonathan Frakes....
, which is considered a "live-action bomb
Box office bomb
The phrase box office bomb refers to a film for which the production and marketing costs greatly exceeded the revenue regained by the movie studio. This should not be confused with Hollywood accounting when official figures show large losses, yet the movie is a financial success.A film's financial...
". Described as "great fun" and "entertaining if antiquated", the film is also referred to as "a slice of kid-friendly cinema made for a far more innocent age."
Home releases
In RegionsDVD region code
DVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
2 and 4, Thunderbird 6 was initially released on DVD by MGM in 2001, with special features including an audio commentary from director David Lane
David Lane (director)
David Lane is a British television and film director, best known for his association with series produced by Gerry Anderson's AP Films.Lane directed several episodes of the Thunderbirds television series, including "Attack of the Alligators!", as well as the two cinema films Thunderbirds are GO and...
and producer Sylvia Anderson, the theatrical trailer, stills and production galleries. A 2004 "International Rescue Edition", including Region 1 and packaged both separately and as part of a box set with the preceding film, Thunderbirds Are Go
Thunderbirds Are GO
Thunderbirds Are Go is a 1966 British science-fiction film based on Thunderbirds, a 1960s television series starring marionette puppets and featuring scale model effects in a filming process dubbed "Supermarionation"...
, contains a Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital
Dolby Digital is the name for audio compression technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories. It was originally called Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994. Except for Dolby TrueHD, the audio compression is lossy. The first use of Dolby Digital was to provide digital sound in cinemas from 35mm film prints...
5.1 surround sound mix and extends the 2001 special features material with three documentaries detailing the production of the film.