The Story of Mankind
The Story of Mankind is an American feature film from 1957. Irwin Allen produced it, directed it and, together with Charles Bennett, also wrote the screenplay based on a model by Hendrik Willem van Loon .
action
Humans have developed a new super weapon whose destructive power would be enough to destroy all life on earth in one blow. That is why aliens have chosen to judge humanity to determine whether humanity is worth surviving. The devil and the spirit of mankind compete against each other in front of the tribunal in order to argue for one or the other verdict on the basis of various episodes from history and prehistory. But when the tribunal does not come to any real result in the end, the chief judge leaves the final decision on the further fate of humanity to the public.
background
- After the documentaries The Sea Around Us (1953) and The Animal World (1956), The Story of Mankind was Irwin Allen's first film with actors.
- In order to secure a success at the box office, Irwin Allen hired a considerable cast for the film (including horror star Vincent Price, Ronald Colman, Hedy Lamarr, Virginia Mayo, and Cedric Hardwicke).
- The Story of Mankind was the last film for Ronald Colman, who died a little later. It was also the last joint appearance of the Marx Brothers Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx in a film. The latter, however, did not appear in the same scenes.
- For the scenes that take place in the respective epochs, Irwin Allen largely used archive material from earlier Warner Bros. productions, including from the 1955 monumental film Land of the Pharaohs .
reception
When it was first released, The Story of Mankind was completely panned by most film critics. The film also fell through with the audience.
The Story of Mankind was included in their book The 50 Worst Films of All Time by Harry Medved and Randy Dreyfuss in 1978 .
Web links
- The Story of Mankind in the Internet Movie Database (English)