Things to Come (1936)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

William Cameron Menzies

Writers:

H.G. Wells (novel)
H.G. Wells (screenplay)

Release Date:

31 March 1936 (Denmark)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Tagline:

What will the next hundred years bring to mankind?

Plot:

A story of 100 years: a decades-long second world war leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and tries space travel.

Plot Keywords:

Plague | Progress | 1940s | Aviation | Utopia Quest

Cast

Raymond Massey	...	John Cabal / Oswald Cabal
Edward Chapman	...	Pippa Passworthy / Raymond Passworthy
Ralph Richardson	...	Rudolph - The Boss
Margaretta Scott	...	Roxana / Rowena (as Margueretta Scott)
Cedric Hardwicke	...	Theotocopulos
Maurice Braddell	...	Dr. Harding
Sophie Stewart	...	Mrs. Cabal
Derrick De Marney	...	Richard Gordon (as Derrick de Marney)
Ann Todd	...	Mary Gordon
Pearl Argyle	...	Catherine Cabal
Kenneth Villiers	...	Maurice Passworthy
Ivan Brandt	...	Morden Mitani
Anne McLaren	...	The Child
Patricia Hilliard	...	Janet Gordon
Charles Carson	...	Great Grandfather
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patrick Barr	...	World Transport Official (uncredited)
Noel Brophy	...	Irishman (uncredited)
John Clements	...	The Airman (uncredited)
Anthony Holles	...	Simon Burton (uncredited)
Allan Jeayes	...	Mr. Cabal (uncredited)
Pickles Livingston	...	Horrie Passworthy (uncredited)
George Sanders	...	Celestial Body (uncredited)
Abraham Sofaer	...	The Jew (uncredited)
Terry-Thomas	...	Man of the Future (uncredited)
Torin Thatcher	...	Celestial Body (uncredited)

Directed by
William Cameron Menzies

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
H.G. Wells		novel "The Shape of Things to Come"
H.G. Wells		screenplay

Produced by
Alexander Korda	....	producer

Original Music by
Arthur Bliss		(music specially composed by)

Cinematography by
Georges Périnal		(photography by) (as Georges Perinal)

Film Editing by
Charles Crichton
Francis D. Lyon		(as Francis Lyon)

Art Direction by
Vincent Korda		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
John Armstrong
René Hubert		(as Rene Hubert)
Cathleen Mann		(as The Marchioness of Queensbury)
Sam Williams		(uncredited)

Production Management
David B. Cunynghame	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Geoffrey Boothby	....	assistant director

Art Department
Vincent Korda	....	settings designer
Frank Wells	....	assistant art director
John Bryan	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Frederick Pusey	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
A.W. Watkins	....	recording director
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lawrence W. Butler	....	assistant special effects (as Lawrence Butler)
Ned Mann	....	special effects director
Ross Jacklin	....	special effects (uncredited)
George J. Teague	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
Wally Veevers	....	assistant special effects (uncredited)
Harry Zech	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Edward Colman	....	special effects photography (as Edward Cohen)
W. Percy Day	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Peter Ellenshaw	....	assistant matte artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Krasker	....	camera operator
Bernard Browne	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Jack Cardiff	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
William Hornbeck	....	supervising editor

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	musical director
Lionel Salter	....	assistant musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Nigel Tangye	....	aeronautical advisor

Production Companies

• London Film Productions

Distributors

• United Artists Corporation (1936) (UK) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Exclusive Films (1943) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release) (edited)
• Film Classics (1947) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• British Lion Film Corporation (1948) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Hollywood Classics (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Ventura Distribution (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Timeless Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Navarre Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Allied Artists Classic Library (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Dr. Hauser & Company (1936) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Aurora DVD (2006) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Englewood Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Genius Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• GoodTimes Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Legend Films (2006) (worldwide) (DVD)
• Legend Films (2008) (USA) (DVD) (special edition)
• Legend Home Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Network Enterprises (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Unknown Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Special Effects

• General Service Studios
• Teague Process Service

Other Companies

• Legend Films  colorization
• Legend Films  restoration
• Scala Theatre, London  music scoring

Also Known As:

H.G. Wells' Things to Come (UK) (complete title)
The Hundred Years to Come (UK) (working title)
The Shape of Things to Come (UK) (working title)
Whither Mankind (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min | UK:117 min | Canada:91 min (VHS version) | UK:108 min (premiere cut) | UK:113 min (original version) | USA:92 min (cut version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

London Film Productions

Trivia:

The date on the newspaper in the scene in 1966 when the war ends is 21st September 1966--which would have been the 100th birthday of H.G. Wells.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Near the end of the film, we hear the helicopter's rotor slowing almost to a stop while it's still descending at constant speed.

Quotes:

John Cabal: If we don't end war, war will end us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Time Flies (1944)

Soundtrack:

Ballet for children

Simply stunning.

While a bit preachy on the topic of progress as the saving grace of mankind, this is still a stunning film that presages the science-fiction special effects blockbusters that would take another 40 years to arrive on the silver screen. It predicts the global chaos of WWII, but expands on the premise by having the conflict last 30 years, and then tells the epic tale of man's struggle out from under the rubble and into the wilds of space. The acting seems wooden and strangely sterile, but this is perhaps a result of its contrast with the visuals which must have been utterly breathtaking at the time of the movie's release, and which still impress today. This is a film not to be missed by anyone at all interested in the SF genre.