RARE B&W PHOTO OF FLYING SHIP "ALBATROSS" FROM 1961 FILM "MASTER OF THE WORLD"

Description

This is a 8 x 10 black & white photo showing Wah Chang’s model of the flying ship
Albatross
as seen in the 1961 film
Master of the World
.
Master of the World
is a 1961 color science fiction film released by American International Pictures starring Vincent Price and Charles Bronson with screenplay by Richard Matheson. The film is a combination of two Jules Verne stores,
The Clipper of the Clouds
and
The Master of the World
. It was a variation of the theme explored in 20,000 Leagues Under the Seas: a warped but idealistic scientist fighting against war and injustice. In place of a submarine, the central character, Robur (Vincent Price), had a flying clipper ship with propellers instead of sails.
The amazing solar powered flying ship the
Albatross
, which is prominently featured in the film, was built by Wah Chang at his firm Project Unlimited. Chang also built the communicators and tricorders used in the original
Star Trek
television series as well as the Romulan Bird of Prey spacecraft seen in the TOS episode “Balance of Terror.”
Interestingly enough, Gene Roddenberry, the creator of
Star Trek
, discussed with Christopher Knopf, a close friend and fellow writer who was working at MGM,
an idea about developing a new series that involved a multiethnic crew on an
airship
traveling the world during the end of the 19
th
century. Roddenberry’s idea was based upon on the film
Master of the World
.
The
Albatross
model did not survive. In order to save money, AIP used the actual filming model when filming the end scene of the
Albatross
burning and crashing.
Feel free to ask us any questions.