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The Story of Mankind (1957 film)
Encyclopedia
The Story of Mankind is a 1957 American fantasy film
, based on the nonfiction book The Story of Mankind
by Hendrik Willem van Loon
, which is notable mostly for its campness
, and for featuring an ensemble of notable Hollywood performers in the last years of their careers. 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.
Like Allen's previous two films, it features vast amounts of stock footage, in this case, battles and action scenes culled from previous Warner Bros.
costume films, coupled with cheaply-shot close-ups of actors on much smaller sets. It was the last film picture to feature the three Marx Brothers
(and their only filmed in color), although they are seen in separate scenes rather than acting together. It was also the last film of star Ronald Colman
and of character actor Franklin Pangborn
, and the last American film of Hedy Lamarr
.
), who goes by the name of Mr. Scratch, prosecutes mankind while the Spirit of Man (Ronald 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 through Egyptian, Greco-Roman, medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment and modern times, looking at historical figures played by a host of guest stars.
Fantasy film
Fantasy films are films with fantastic themes, usually involving magic, supernatural events, make-believe creatures, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered to be distinct from science fiction film and horror film, although the genres do overlap...
, based on the nonfiction book The Story of Mankind
The Story of Mankind
The Story of Mankind was written and illustrated by American journalist, professor, and author Hendrik Willem van Loon and published in 1921...
by Hendrik Willem van Loon
Hendrik Willem van Loon
Hendrik Willem van Loon was a Dutch-American historian and journalist.-Life:He was born in Rotterdam, the son of Hendrik Willem van Loon and Elisabeth Johanna Hanken. He went to the United States in 1902 to study at Cornell University, receiving his degree in 1905...
, which is notable mostly for its campness
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
, and for featuring an ensemble of notable Hollywood performers in the last years of their careers. The film was former publicist Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series.- Biography :...
's first attempt at directing live actors after his documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
The Sea Around Us
The Sea Around Us
The Sea Around Us is a prize-winning 1951 bestseller by Rachel Carson about oceanography, marine biology and the ecosystem within and around the world's oceans and seas. It is the second book Carson wrote, following the well-reviewed but poor-selling Under the Sea Wind , and is the book that...
and The Animal World.
Like Allen's previous two films, it features vast amounts of stock footage, in this case, battles and action scenes culled from previous Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
costume films, coupled with cheaply-shot close-ups of actors on much smaller sets. It was the last film picture to feature the three Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
(and their only filmed in color), although they are seen in separate scenes rather than acting together. It was also the last film of star Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
and of character actor Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn
Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
, and the last American film of Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress celebrated for her great beauty who was a major contract star of MGM's "Golden Age".Lamarr also co-invented – with composer George Antheil – an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, necessary to wireless...
.
Plot
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 PriceVincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
), who goes by the name of Mr. Scratch, prosecutes mankind while the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
) 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 through Egyptian, Greco-Roman, medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment and modern times, looking at historical figures played by a host of guest stars.
Cast
- Ronald ColmanRonald ColmanRonald Charles Colman was an English actor.-Early years:He was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, the second son and fourth child of Charles Colman and his wife Marjory Read Fraser. His siblings included Eric, Edith, and Marjorie. He was educated at boarding school in Littlehampton, where he...
as The Spirit of Man - Vincent PriceVincent PriceVincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
as The Devil - Hedy LamarrHedy LamarrHedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress celebrated for her great beauty who was a major contract star of MGM's "Golden Age".Lamarr also co-invented – with composer George Antheil – an early technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping, necessary to wireless...
as Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the... - Groucho MarxGroucho MarxJulius Henry "Groucho" Marx was an American comedian and film star famed as a master of wit. His rapid-fire delivery of innuendo-laden patter earned him many admirers. He made 13 feature films with his siblings the Marx Brothers, of whom he was the third-born...
as Peter MinuitPeter MinuitPeter Minuit, Pieter Minuit, Pierre Minuit or Peter Minnewit was a Walloon from Wesel, in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, then part of the Duchy of Cleves. He was the Director-General of the Dutch colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1633, and he founded the Swedish colony of... - Harpo MarxHarpo MarxAdolph "Harpo" Marx was an American comedian and film star. He was the second oldest of the Marx Brothers. His comic style was influenced by clown and pantomime traditions. He wore a curly reddish wig, and never spoke during performances...
as Sir Isaac NewtonIsaac NewtonSir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."... - Chico MarxChico MarxLeonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian and film star as part of the Marx Brothers. His persona in the act was that of a dim-witted albeit crafty con artist, seemingly of rural Italian origin, who wore shabby clothes, and sported a curly-haired wig and Tyrolean hat.As the first-born of the...
as Monk - Virginia MayoVirginia MayoVirginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
as Cleopatra - Agnes MooreheadAgnes MooreheadAgnes Robertson Moorehead was an American actress. Although she began with the Mercury Theatre, appeared in more than seventy films beginning with Citizen Kane and on dozens of television shows during a career that spanned more than thirty years, Moorehead is most widely known to modern audiences...
as Queen Elizabeth I - Peter LorrePeter LorrePeter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
as NeroNeroNero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death.... - Charles CoburnCharles CoburnCharles Douville Coburn was an American film and theater actor.-Biography:Coburn was born in Macon, Georgia, the son of Scots-Irish Americans Emma Louise Sprigman and Moses Douville Coburn. Growing up in Savannah, he started out doing odd jobs at the local Savannah Theater, handing out programs,...
as HippocratesHippocratesHippocrates of Cos or Hippokrates of Kos was an ancient Greek physician of the Age of Pericles , and is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine... - Sir Cedric Hardwicke as High Judge
- Cesar RomeroCesar RomeroCesar Julio Romero, Jr. was an American film and television actor who was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years...
as Spanish Envoy - John CarradineJohn CarradineJohn Carradine was an American actor, best known for his roles in horror films and Westerns as well as Shakespearean theater. A member of Cecil B DeMille's stock company and later John Ford's company, he was one of the most prolific character actors in Hollywood history...
as KhufuKhufuKhufu , also known as Cheops or, in Manetho, Suphis , was a Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom. He reigned from around 2589 to 2566 BC. Khufu was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty. He is generally accepted as being the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one of the Seven Wonders of... - Dennis HopperDennis HopperDennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
as Napoleon Bonaparte - Marie WilsonMarie Wilson (American actress)Katherine Elisabeth Wilson , better known by her stage name, Marie Wilson, was an American radio, film, and television actress. She may be best remembered as the title character in My Friend Irma.-Career:...
as Marie AntoinetteMarie AntoinetteMarie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I.... - Helmut DantineHelmut DantineHelmut Dantine was a film actor remembered for playing many Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. The Vienna-born actor appeared uncredited in Casablanca early in his career .Dantine's father was the head of the Austrian railway system...
as Marc Antony - Edward Everett HortonEdward Everett HortonEdward Everett Horton was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television and voice work for animated cartoons. He is especially known for his work in the films of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.-Early life:Horton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Isabella...
as Sir Walter RaleighWalter RaleighSir Walter Raleigh was an English aristocrat, writer, poet, soldier, courtier, spy, and explorer. He is also well known for popularising tobacco in England.... - Reginald GardinerReginald GardinerReginald Gardiner was an English-born actor in film and television and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in Britain. His parents wanted him to be an architect and he studied at it but he wanted to be an actor and eventually got his way.He started as a super on stage and eventually...
as William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"... - Marie WindsorMarie WindsorMarie Windsor . Born as Emily Marie Bertelson in Marysvale, Piute County, Utah, Windsor was an actress known as "The Queen of the Bs" because she appeared in so many film noirs and B-movies like Cat-Women of the Moon...
as Joséphine de BeauharnaisJoséphine de BeauharnaisJoséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's... - George E. StoneGeorge E. StoneGeorge E. Stone was a Polish-born American character actor in movies, radio, and television.-Career:Stone's slight build and very expressive face first attracted attention in 1927, in the popular silent-film romance Seventh Heaven...
as WaiterWaiterWaiting staff, wait staff, or waitstaff are those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers — supplying them with food and drink as requested. Traditionally, a male waiting tables is called a "waiter" and a female a "waitress" with the gender-neutral version being a "server"... - Cathy O'DonnellCathy O'DonnellCathy O'Donnell was an American actress, best known for her many roles in film-noir movies.-Early life:She was born Ann Steely in Siluria, Alabama...
as Early Christian Woman - Franklin PangbornFranklin PangbornFranklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor. Pangborn was famous for small, but memorable roles, with a comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W.C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break...
as Marquis de Varennes - Melville CooperMelville CooperGeorge Melville Cooper , best known as Melville Cooper, was a British stage, film and television actor. Among his roles are the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, and Mr...
as Major Domo - Henry DaniellHenry DaniellHenry Daniell was an English actor, best known for his villainous movie roles, but who had a long and prestigious career on stage as well as in films....
as Bishop Cauchon - Francis X. BushmanFrancis X. BushmanFrancis Xavier Bushman was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. His matinee idol career started in 1911 in the silent film His Friend's Wife, but it did not survive the silent screen era....
as Moses - Jim AmecheJim AmecheJames Ameche was a familiar voice on radio, including his role as radio's original Jack Armstrong on Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy....
as Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone.... - David Bond as Early Christian
- Nick CravatNick CravatNick Cravat was an American film actor. His real name was Nicholas Cuccia . "Cravat" was a stage name based on a character in a play he had seen and rather liked....
as Devil's Assistant - Dani Crayne as Helen of Troy
- Richard H. Cutting as Court Attendant
- Anthony DexterAnthony DexterAnthony John "Tony" Dexter was an American actor known for his resemblance of Rudolph Valentino, whom he portrayed in the 1951 biographic Valentino. Dexter sometimes used the pseudonym Walter Craig...
as Christopher ColumbusChristopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the... - Toni Gerry as Wife
- Austin Green as Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
- Eden Hartford as Laughing Water
- Alexander Lockwood as Promoter
- Melinda MarxMelinda MarxMelinda Marie Marx is an American actress who had a brief movie career. She is the daughter of Groucho Marx and his second wife, Kay Marvis Gorcey.-Biography:...
as Early Christian Child - Bart Mattson as Cleopatra's Brother
- Don MegowanDon Megowan-Career:Born in California USA, Megowan starred in the Sci-Fi movies: The Werewolf in the role of sheriff Jack Haines, and in The Creation of the Humanoids as a captain in the army who must stop the Humanoids....
as Early Man - Marvin MillerMarvin Miller (actor)Marvin Elliott Miller was an American film and voice-over actor. Possessing a deep, baritone voice, he began his career in radio in St. Louis, Missouri before becoming a Hollywood actor...
as ArmanaArmanaArmana is a genus of moths of the Noctuidae family.-References:*... - Nancy Miller as Early Woman
- Leonard MudieLeonard MudieLeonard Mudie was a British-born character actor whose career ran many decades.His first film appearance was in 1921, and his last on-screen performance was in the Star Trek classic TV series....
as Chief Inquisitor - Burt Nelson as Second Early Man
- Tudor Owen as High Tribunal Clerk
- Ziva Rodann as Egyptian Concubine
- Harry RubyHarry RubyHarry Ruby was a Jewish American songwriter and screenwriter.After failing in his early ambition to become a professional baseball player,...
as Indian Brave - William SchallertWilliam SchallertWilliam Joseph Schallert is an American actor who has appeared in many films and in such television series as The Smurfs, The Rat Patrol, Gunsmoke, The Patty Duke Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Waltons, Bonanza, Leave It to Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Love, American Style, Get...
as Earl of Warwick - Reginald SheffieldReginald SheffieldReginald Sheffield was an English-born actor.He was born as Matthew Reginald Sheffield Cassan in the St. George Hanover Square District of Surrey near London, to Matthew Sheffield Cassan and Alice Mary Field...
as Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.... - Abraham SofaerAbraham SofaerAbraham Sofaer was a stage actor of Burmese-Jewish descent who became a familiar supporting player on film and television in his later years. He was born in Rangoon, Burma...
as Indian Chief - Bobby Watson as Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
- Sam HarrisSam Harris (playwright)Sam H. Harris was a Broadway producer and theater owner.-Career:After a stint as a cough drop salesman and boxing manager, Harris's first production was Theodore Kremer's The Evil That Men Do co-produced with Al Woods in 1903. Harris found success in 1904 as the producing partner of George M...
as Nobleman in Queen Elizabeth's Court (uncredited) - Angelo RossittoAngelo RossittoAngelo Rossitto was an American actor. He had dwarfism and was 2'11" tall.Rossitto was discovered by John Barrymore and made his screen debut opposite Barrymore in The Beloved Rogue . He appeared in the then controversial 1932 film Freaks directed by Tod Browning. He appeared in another...
as Dwarf in Nero's Court (uncredited) - Paul ZastupnevichPaul ZastupnevichPaul Zastupnevich was an American costume designer and assistant to movie producer and director Irwin Allen.-Biography:...
as Apprentice (uncredited)
Home media
Warner Archives released the film on made to order DVD in the United States on July 20, 2009.External links
- Irwin Allen News Network (The Irwin Allen News Network's Story of Mankind page)