At just about the end of the first reel of this confection Julien Carette, togged out in an aviator helmet and a heavy-duty raincoat and Madeleine Sologne kitted out in a white boiler suit climb into a spherical metal object resembling a diving bell which is suspended beneath a hot-air balloon and our disbelief needs to be suspended just as firmly if we are to get anything out of this 1942 movie. The balloon carries the bell into the stratosphere and when they return to earth a couple of days later we're in the 1980s and Sologne's lover is now a senior citizen. Shortly afterwards at a ceremony in which everyone is dressed as cut-rate Liberaces the bell lights out for Venus. This time there is no dress code nor age restriction nor medical examination. The space ship boasts a cocktail bar and cocktail waitresses and in time they arrive on Venus. As an example of Occupation Film-making in France this is an invaluable time-capsule and Carette didn't know how to turn in a bad performance.
Review of Croisières sidérales
