[5] In Victorian England, everyone is trying to make new scientific discoveries, including such failures as the Duke of Barset's attempt to create the first house in England illuminated by electricity (leading to its going up in flames), Sir Charles Dillworthy's suspension bridge (which falls apart directly as Queen Victoria cuts its inaugural ribbon) and, in Germany, Siegfried von Bulow's powerful new explosive (which is intended to require only a minute quantity)'s disastrous recoil.

The project attracts investment from all over the world; however, the spaceship designed by Sir Charles Dillworthy proves useless since it does not provide a means for returning to Earth.

Barnum then meets an American aeronaut, Gaylord Sullivan, who has run off with his girlfriend, Madelaine, on her wedding day to another man, the wealthy Frenchman Henri.

Meanwhile, Dillworthy and his shady brother-in-law, Harry Washington-Smythe, who have already embezzled most of Barnum's funds, immediately plot to sabotage Gaylord's flight in order to win large wagers on the failure of the moonship expedition.

Towers (as "Peter Welbeck") devised the story, very loosely based on the 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne, whilst the script was by Dave Freeman, a comedy writer for The Benny Hill Show.

[6] The film was originally announced as going to star Bing Crosby as Phineas T. Barnum and Senta Berger, along with Terry-Thomas, Gert Fröbe and Wilfred Hyde-White.

[13] In exchange, each of the film studios provided funds with the provisos that their national stars of Gert Fröbe, Terry-Thomas and Troy Donohue received more screen time expanding the originally much tighter screenplay.

One can't argue with the credits, of course; but a more instantly recognizable inspiration is that brand of screen comedy that assumes that a large gathering of well-known names plus some vintage piece of machinery (a car for preference, but a plane or rocket will do) adds up to irresistible mirth.