The Story of Mankind (1957 film)
| The Story of Mankind | |
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1957 U.S. theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Irwin Allen |
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on |
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Edited by | |
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Production
company |
Cambridge Productions
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| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Story of Mankind (1957) is an American fantasy film, very loosely based on the nonfiction book The Story of Mankind (1921) by Hendrik Willem van Loon. The film was directed and co–produced by Irwin Allen and released by Warner Bros.
Scientists have developed a weapon, called the "Super H-bomb", which if detonated will wipe out the human race entirely. A "High Tribunal" in "The Great Court of Outer Space" is called upon to decide whether divine intervention should be allowed to stop the bomb's detonation. The devil (Vincent Price), who goes by the name of Mr. Scratch, prosecutes Mankind while the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman) defends it.
Scratch and the Spirit of Man are allowed to take the tribunal to any period of time to present evidence for Mankind's salvation or damnation. They take the tribunal from prehistory through Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment, and modern times, looking at historical figures.
Ultimately the tribunal is asked to rule. The high judge, facing Mr. Scratch and the Spirit, with a large assemblage of peoples in their native costumes behind them, declares that the good and evil of Mankind is too finely balanced. A decision is suspended until they return. When they do come back they expect to see a resolution of humanity's age old struggle with itself.
The film is notable mostly for its "campiness", and for featuring an ensemble of notable Hollywood performers in the last years of their careers. Screenwriter Charles Bennett recalled that Allen paid each of the stars US$2000, though Greer Garson turned down the role of Queen Elizabeth I. The galaxy of stars made Warner Bros. keen to distribute the film. The film was former publicist Irwin Allen's first attempt at directing live actors after his documentaries The Sea Around Us and The Animal World.
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Wikipedia