Master of the World (1961 film)
| Master of the World | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | William Witney |
| Produced by |
Samuel Z. Arkoff Anthony Carras James H. Nicholson |
| Written by | Richard Matheson |
| Based on | the novels Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World by Jules Verne |
| Starring |
Vincent Price Charles Bronson Henry Hull Mary Webster Richard Harrison |
| Music by | Les Baxter |
| Cinematography | Gil Warrenton |
| Edited by | Anthony Carras |
| Distributed by | American International |
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Release date
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1961 |
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Running time
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102 min / USA:99 min (including prologue) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Master of the World is a 1961 science fiction film based upon the Jules Verne novels Robur the Conqueror and its sequel, Master of the World. The movie was written by Richard Matheson, directed by William Witney, and features Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, and Henry Hull. American International Pictures released the film as a double feature with Konga.
A man known only as Robur (Price), shoots down and takes on board his flying ship Prudent (Hull), his daughter Dorothy (Webster), her fiance Evans (Frankham), all of whom were exploring a volcanic crater in their hot air balloon, along with US government agent Strock (Bronson), who had hired them to look for evidence of an eruption. The supposed eruption was caused by Robur working on his airship, who had also inadvertently broadcast a biblical passage over a voice amplifier, stirring religious fears among the citizenry of the nearby town. Robur has been traversing the globe in his airship, the Albatross, with a goal of forcing peace on the world by virtue of his superior military capabilities. He has a loyal crew of like-minded, equally fanatical idealists. The captives learn how his ship operates, and about his technical advances, including generation of electrical power by crossing "lines of magnetic force" (presumably created by the earth's own magnetic field). The captives wish to escape, but don't fully trust Strock, who appears at times to side with Robur. After saving Evans' life, Strock explains that his oath of loyalty to Robur was insincere, and that as a captive, he feels no compunction to behave as a gentleman.
After the airship is seriously damaged by a storm, the captives manage to rig the gunpowder in the airship's armory to explode, while the ship is anchored to the shoreline of an island for repairs. All escape down the anchor line except Strock, who follows while being shot at by the crew. First Strock, then Evans, work at cutting the anchor line, finally releasing the airship, which is damaged beyond repair moments later when the gunpowder explodes. Robur orders his crew to abandon ship, but they choose to ignore his final order, and gather in his quarters while he reads from Isaiah 2:4 (the well-known "Swords into Plowshares" passage), reminding them of their pledge to try to rid the world of war. The ship, along with Robur and his crew, crashes into the ocean and explodes, while the captives watch, injured but alive, from the shore.
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