Story of Mankind, The

Synopsis: Fantasy film. Scientists have developed a weapon, called the ‘Super H-bomb’ which if detonated will wipe out the human race. A High Tribunal is called in Outer Space to decide whether Heavenly intervention should be allowed to stop the bomb’s detonation. The Devil (Price) prosecutes mankind, while the Spirit of Man (Colman) defends it. Price and Colman 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 to modern times, looking at historical figures played by a host of guest stars - e.g. Dennis Hopper as Napoleon, Hedy Lamaar as Joan of Arc. Reginald Gardiner plays William Shakespeare.
Language: English
Country: United States
Medium: Film
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 1957
Duration: 100 mins

Director

Irwin Allen

Producer

Irwin Allen

Cinematographer

Nicholas Musuraci

Screenplay

Charles Bennett; Irwin Allen; Marjorie Best

Music

Paul Sawtell

Art Direction

Loel. Art

Cast

Notes: Available from amazon.com in the compilation The FANTASY WORLDS OF IRWIN ALLEN (3/2007).
General: Based on the non-fiction book The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon. It is notable mostly for its campiness and for featuring an ensemble of notable Hollywood performers in the last years of their careers. It uses considerable amounts of stock footage, in this case, battles and action scenes culled from earlier Warner Bros. costume films. Hailed by some as a cult classic and others as one of the worst films ever made, the film was a box office failure.

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British Universities Film & Video Council