Miles collapsed and later expressed his amazement o the doctors: "I can""t believe this! My doctor said I""d be up and on my feet in five days.After the first shot, Tatum popped out the used flash-bulb and the discarded object flew in Leo""s direction and struck him!Thrilled by the thought of publicity for himself, Leo (forgetting his dire circumstances) began to think of himself as a celebrity, and suggested how he could be positively portrayed in the story:Tatum: Everybody""ll want to see how ya look.And the best man.And I bid no welcome to any man fool enough to pay a thousand pounds for a bit of land that isn""t worth wo hundred.] Milo""s identity was deliberately being kept secret, because if it was known, "it would be regarded as a great threat to mankind.With three years advance publicity and Hollywood myth-making, hree and one-half hours running time (with one intermission), a gala premiere in Atlanta on December 15, 1939, highest-grossing film status (eventually reaching an unadjusted intake of almost $200 million domestic, and just over $402 million worldwide), and Max Steiner""s sweeping musical score, the exquisitely-photographed, Technicolor film was a blockbuster in its own time.