My late grandmother was mentioning to me a few years back about seeing “Just Imagine” at the theater when she was a teen back in 1930, and how fascinating she found it. I actually had the film on tape, which I recorded when it was shown on a local station in the early-1990s. So, I showed her the film, but this time, nearly 70 years later, she found it pretty bad. I always thought it was an interesting curiosity, but I would have prefered someone besides El Brendel in the lead. He’s a comedian I never particularly cared for.
But it was fun to see the young and fetching Maureen O’Sullivan. I actually once opened a car-door for her, in her later years, after she attended an event.
Interesting reaction from your grandmother. Older people are pretty generous towards their youthful impressions as a rule. But it is more of a ‘curiousity’ to most people than a good movie- a picture of how people in the 30’s viewed the future.
I watch it as a picture of how people of any time- ncluding ours- view the future.
Good thing it was ‘pre-code’, that’s a lot of it’s charm.