I'd never heard of this film until I saw it scheduled at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens. I'm so glad I saw it -- this movie has everything! Guileless inventors, ruthless pirates, a winsome heroine, hot-air balloons, a villain's lair in a volcano, submarines with duck-foot paddles, roller-skating camels, a giant man-eating octopus, and the most charming production design this side of Edward Gorey's sets for "Dracula." I look forward to the steampunk movement's embrace of this film, assuming they don't already know about it. Even if they have, they should check out this restoration, which is crisp, clear, and gorgeous.
Review of Invention for Destruction
