Frank Capra's Wonders of Life: Our Mr. Sun/Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays

Glimpses of some of the scientists of the time--Walter Roberts, Jack Evans, Donald Menzel, and others--appeared.

The quality of the transfer was pretty good. Only occasionally did I notice some film grain or scratches in the corner of the color movie.

The movie was fun to watch. Also on the DVD is "The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays," another Capra movie in the series.

No extras on the disc, but there is an insert with some condensed liner notes. More on Baxter and Carlson, et al, would have been welcome additions to the DVD. Regardless, it will be a great treat for the science aficionado.

In "Our Mr. Sun", a young Eddie Albert plays Mr. Fiction Writer, and introduces the Imagination Screen that the cartoons are projected on. Richard Carlson ("Creature From the Black Lagoon") takes over in the remaining three installments as the Fiction Writer, while Dr. Frank Baxter is present in all four shows as Mr. Scientist.

"The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays" tries valiantly to explain, so far as we knew in 1957, what cosmic rays are and how we detect them. The idea of a mystery contest overseen by Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky is clever, and the puppets make the science somewhat more accessible. Even so, this is probably the most inscrutable installment because the subject matter itself is somewhat inscrutable to the layman. Try as they might, when Carlson and Baxter start talking about Mu Mesons, some of the audience (admittedly, this includes myself), will get a bit lost.

"Our Mr. Sun" is probably the better of the two, while some of the science is clearly outdated in both. We've certainly come a long way in the understanding of the Sun and cosmic rays since 1957! Voice artist Marvin Miller (narrator of "The FBI" among other shows), plays Mister Sun, and Capra regular Lionel Barrymore plays the kindly Father Time.

In "Sun", Baxter and Albert explain what the sun is and how it works. The film of the sun in action is interesting, but has been surpassed by SOHO, RHESSI, and other satellites, which now regularly beam back incredible imagery of solar prominences, sunspots, flares, the corona, and comet impacts. The mechanics of the sun are also more understood then they were in 1957, and solar cell technology (shown in it's very infancy in the film), has advanced by leaps and bounds during the intervening years.

But the sheer enthusiasm of Baxter, Albert, and Carlson, combined with the incredible optimism of the era that is infused in each of the four films of the series, make up for any outdated elements. Perhaps the only downside of the two DVDs (the other being "Hemo the Magnificent/The Unchained Goddess") is that the very same optimism present in these films has long since died away from our society, and the films serve to remind us of that sad, long-lamented fact.

"Cosmic Rays" ends with a wonderful challenge to Mankind to "come back in 50 years" and see how much we've learned about the Universe. Since the 50 years is almost up, wouldn't it be fun to compare our knowledge then to our knowledge now?