FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON is another fantasy-spectacle-adventure from the producers of Journey to the Center of the Earth. The comic adventure begins when 19th-century explorer Fergusson (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) volunteers to head a balloon expedition to claim an otherwise unreachable chunk of African territory for the British Empire. Along for the ride are reporter Donald O'Shay (Red Buttons), absent-minded professor Sir Henry Vining (Richard Haydn), Vining's assistant Jacques (Fabian) and schoolmarm Susan Gale (Barbara Eden). During the voyage, the little party acquires another passenger when they rescue native girl Makia (Barbara Luna) from a slave trader. Their many near-death experiences include a run-in with evil potentate Sheik Ageiba (Henry Daniell). Other reliable characters on hand include Peter Lorre and Herbert Marshall in this lightly comic adaptation of French fantasist Jules Verne's novel.