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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Irwin Allen (writer)
Charles Bennett (writer)
more
Release Date:
8 November 1957 (USA) more
Tagline:
The Story of Men and Their Women From the Beginning of Creation! more
Plot:
The council of elders of outer space is deliberating on a very important subject: Must mankind be allowed to survive... more | add synopsis
User Comments:
Campy Classic 'Judgment Day' Tale! more (11 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Ronald Colman | ... | The Spirit of Man | |
| Hedy Lamarr | ... | Joan of Arc | |
| Groucho Marx | ... | Peter Minuit | |
| Harpo Marx | ... | Sir Isaac Newton | |
| Chico Marx | ... | Monk | |
| Virginia Mayo | ... | Cleopatra | |
| Agnes Moorehead | ... | Queen Elizabeth I | |
| Vincent Price | ... | Mr. Scratch / The Devil | |
| Peter Lorre | ... | Nero | |
| Charles Coburn | ... | Hippocrates | |
| Cedric Hardwicke | ... | High Judge | |
| Cesar Romero | ... | Spanish Envoy | |
| John Carradine | ... | Khufu | |
| Dennis Hopper | ... | Napoleon Bonaparte | |
| Marie Wilson | ... | Marie Antoinette |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
100 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
UK:U (original rating) | Finland:K-12
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Ronald Colman and Vincent Price previously appeared together in Champagne for Caesar (1950). more
Quotes:
First Angel:
This story here in the newspaper... Some devilish fellow down on Earth has actually discovered the secret of the super H-bomb!
Second Angel:
That's impossible! The super H-bomb is not scheduled for invention by the Devil until the year... let's see... until... here it is... 2016. Why, they're not ready or wise enough to handle it yet. According to our heavenly statistics, if exploded now, the bomb would blow Man and his Earth sky-high. No one would be left alive. Everyone would be dead.
First Angel:
My, my, the housing shortage up here would be terrible! What'll we do?
more
Movie Connections:
Edited from Land of the Pharaohs (1955) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (11 total)
Message Boards
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
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Irwin Allen's production of 'The Story of Mankind' has been called one of the worst films ever made, a film so bad that it has NEVER been released on video, and barely ever appears on television (and only then in a VERY abbreviated form.) This is UNFAIR! While the film is intentionally (and sometimes unintentionally) campy, it has many milestones that make it worthy of respect. First, it is Ronald Colman's final film (he died a year after the release), and he still shows the urbanity, the kindness, and the 'voice' that made him unique. Second, it is the last theatrical appearance of the Marx Brothers (although they appear separately), and Harpo plays the harp one last time, a bittersweet experience. Third, Vincent Price plays the Devil, and certainly no actor is more perfect for the role! Fourth, the film foreshadows Irwin Allen's later work, on television ('Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', 'Time Tunnel') and in film ('The Poseidon Adventure', 'The Towering Inferno'). There are other milestones to this film, as well, but I think you can see my point!
The story is VERY loosely based on Henrik Van Loon's wonderful, witty history of the human race (which is a fabulous read, if you ever get the chance!) The 'basic' framework of the story has been changed into an 'End of the World' tale, set in the heavens. High Judge Cedric Hardwicke must decide whether or not Earth should be allowed to blow itself up, after the creation of a 'super' bomb. Two counsels are selected; for the Prosecution is the Devil (Vincent Price), sly and sarcastic, and pleased that God's ultimate creation has fallen on it's face; for the Defense is the Spirit of Mankind (Ronald Colman), an entity that carries the essence of all of Man's achievements, both good and bad.
As both sides present their cases, the 'history' of the world is played out, using Warner Brothers' stock footage and guest star cameos. Among the most memorable of these cameos are Virginia Mayo as a vampy Cleopatra, Peter Lorre, a lazily derranged Nero, Hedy Lamarr as a pious Joan of Arc, Harpo Marx miming Sir Issac Newton, Groucho Marx leering and wisecracking as Peter Minuit, buying Manhattan Island, and Dennis Hopper as a WAY over-the-top young Napoleon!
Throughout the proceedings, Price and Colman (who had appeared together seven years earlier, in 'Champagne for Caesar') trade barbs over Man's worthiness, in exchanges both funny and sadly true, at times!
'The Story of Mankind' is NOT classic cinema, but it is fun, and has a kind of charm uniquely it's own. It should NOT be forgotten!