I remember seeing this, right before Alan Shepard became the first American in space...

[GReedDiamond]

I was 6 y.o.

The clip was introduced by the local TV news guy at the end of his report on the imminent launch of Freedom 7.

I think it triggered my interest in "surrealism" and making art, in general.

From the YouTube link:

One of the most famous gag films from the 1960s, "The Lighthouse That Never Fails" was made anonymously by the good folks at Cape Canaveral. Supposedly it was inspired by a common gag. With so many tourists visiting the vicinity and asking "where are the rockets", locals would point to the nearby lighthouse which, from a distance, looked a bit like a rocket. During launches supposedly some tourists were told (with the local pointing to the lighthouse) to "keep and eye on that black and white rocket out there." When the real rocket would explode from its launch pad, the bewildered tourists' reactions were appraised by the amused locals.

[edbermac]

1. Pretty good FX for that time.

[Rhiannon12866]

2. I know that they used to bring an actual TV into my elementary classroom so we could watch the space

Launches, but they kind of run together for me. So thanks for posting this clever look at history.

[nuxvomica]

3. The sergeant out of breath after the climb is a clever detail

That really lends authenticity, just before the surreal stuff.

[3Hotdogs]

4. What impresses me, I've climbed dozens of lighthouses. My grandkid like 'em. So we go climb.

Anyway, Figure 150 to 200 stairs in many of them.

And the early lighthouse keepers had to cary oil up the stairs every day. 30 gallons a day up 50 stairs in the lighthouse on the Hudson River. 30 gallons up 192 stairs in the Absecon, N.J. lighthouse. Every day.

And they also had to continuously polish the lens to remove the soot from the burnt oil.