The Gospel Blimp

The Gospel Blimp is a 1967 curio, a comic short satire with a pronounced Christian theme that nevertheless casts a wary eye on flamboyant expressions of faith. A gaggle of Christian suburbanites come up with the wild idea of delivering the Word of God to lots of people by buying a blimp that will trail airborne messages from Holy Scripture. Using crude but effective special effects, director Irwin Yeaworth's oddball film charts the increasing absurdity of the enterprise, which evolves into a self-congratulatory corporation featuring a CEO who begins looking more and more like Captain Nemo. Also included here is the 1968 short “Mr. Big,” which has a bit of a Twilight Zone-like look and feel in its story of a pampered aristocrat who spends the night in lockup after a traffic accident and undergoes a spiritual conversion. (“Mr. Big” is ably directed by the wonderful Corey Allen, who helmed multiple episodes of Bonanza, Police Woman, and numerous entries from the Star Trek canon). Finally, the entertaining 1959 short “Front Page Bible” is about a crusading small-town newspaper editor who puts biblical messages in his headlines to capture public attention. A set of rare, somewhat strange, but often entertaining faith-based short films, this is a strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh)