MartinHafer This film is supposed to be what life will be like in the distant future of 1980! And, amazingly enough, they got almost nothing right--sort of like "The Jetsons" portrays the future--but even worse! Because of this and the very, very strange musical numbers, it's probably the weirdest film I've seen in years--and I've seen a ton of films! In this future, everyone flies about in airplanes instead of cars (sort of like Jetson's vehicles) and there are traffic cops directing people in their own private hover planes. People are numbers and letters--names are no more. Marriages are only allowed by the government and they decide who you marry--in other words, a eugenics program to weed out the "undesirables". Everyone uses videophones. And, people eat and drink in pill form. Oddly, at the same time, fashions are mostly that of 1930! One of the weirdest story elements is a guy who is brought back to life by doctors. He'd been dead 50 years and the doctors didn't seem to care one bit about the man--just that the experiment worked!! So much for professional ethics, but in the bizarro world of the future, ethics are really not especially important.But, by far the weirdest part was late in the film. Since the hero in the story cannot marry his beloved (as he was rejected by the government organization that approves marriages), he's decided to try to make himself famous in order to gain their approval. So, he agrees to take a trip to Mars!! This first Earth flight to Mars is a hoot, as not only is this the same spaceship from the Flash Gordon series of the later 1930s but the planet is hilarious. The Earth men can breath the air just fine and the planet is populated by scantily clad humanoids (mostly women) and each Martian has an exact double who is evil!! I love the evil twin angle as well as the silly Busby Berkeley-style song and dance numbers they do on Mars! It's too funny for a mere written description! And the costumes and set designs are like something out of an LSD trip!! The movie, despite having poor acting, terrible writing, a dumb script, horrible songs throughout and many dull moments is STILL well worth seeing for all the goofy moments and the absolutely insane way they anticipated the future would be. I know I said it before, but you just have to see it to believe it. My score of 2 is for the quality of the film--not the watchability. It is VERY easy to see and enjoy despite a constant stream of stupidity! In fact, it's a great film to watch with friends so you can make fun of the thing! Plus, it's fun looking for actors who were later respected (such as Maureen O''Sullivan and Mischa Auer)--so you can marvel at their ability to salvage their careers after this turkey.

calvinnme This is one of the strangest films of the early talkie era. This is a sci-fi musical adventure about life fifty years in the future - 1980 at the time. The story revolves around John Garrick and Maureen O'Sullivan, whose characters are assigned alphanumeric names as is everyone else.Garrick and O'Sullivan were also teamed romantically in "A Song O' My Heart" during the same year, another early musical by Fox. At any rate, Garrick and O'Sullivan play lovers of the future that want to wed, but the state now intervenes when a woman accepts "competing bids" or proposals of marriage based on the merits of the applicants. Garrick has a competitor for O'Sullivan's hand, and the only way he can win in court is to do something outstanding. A nearby scientist needs a pilot for his spacecraft to Mars, and Garrick figures this is a way of distinguishing himself and winning the hand of his lady love.As comic relief there is El Brendel, who has a vaudeville brand of humor. He comes along for the ride to Mars too. There are several musical interludes in the film including one ode to old fashioned girls - the girls of 1930 - showing flappers as moms in a none too flattering light. They still show prohibition being enforced in 1980 too, though with a promise of light beers and wines being legalized shortly.I'd recommend this film as being good but strange fun for the right audience.

km1931 If only this movie had been better, how film history could have changed. A fantastical future world and a musical, no less! There could have been decades of movies that showed the future as a better place, rather than one where we are ravaged by technology or government or aliens. But unfortunately, "Just Imagine" is almost unwatchable. It's even hard to enjoy as camp; it's that bad. It's worse than "Plan 9." It's worse than "Horror at Party Beach." It's worse than "They Saved Hitler's Brain." At least they are all funny. "Just Imagine" might be the worst film ever made. My favorite exchange in the movie? When our protagonist, accidentally finding himself in the future world of 1980, expresses dismay at his situation. It's a good start. He's trying to show real emotion here, his loneliness and disorientation in a future world were everyone he knows and loves is gone. So how do the people of the future respond? "Well, if you're unhappy we can always kill you!" Wow, what an exploration of mortality. It chokes me up, the human feeling there.The rest of the movie continues it's hideous spiral down into the depths of awfulness. The only thing saving "Just Imagine" from a spot on the worst movies of all time list is its relative obscurity. Watch it at your own risk.

sagenplural "Just Imagine" appears on Fox Movie Channel. Hopefully there is a better print than the one on Fox. "Just Imagine" is full of those paradoxes that happen when we "imagine" the future. The song "Never Swat A Fly", later recorded by the Jim Kweskin Jug Band is included. The choreography sucks, the camera work is definitely 1930's, which is to say, many scenes are shot as if we were in an audience, that is, the camera is "fixed" or stationery. If you're a fan of early sound comedies with (now) obscure performers, this is a pretty good example. I only got into this because of the presence of "El Brendel" (who I had never heard of), and the fact that there are many references to a street in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. I watch "Just Imagine" when it comes up, but the Fox print isn't worth taping or securing on a DVD. It's the paradox of "imagining" 1980 from 1930's viewpoint that makes "Just Imagine" enjoyable. Imagine if alcohol prohibition were still around, for example....