The Story of Mankind

1957
Approved
1h 40min

NOTE IMDb

MA NOTE

Ajouter une intrigue dans votre langueThe Devil and the Spirit of Man argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.The Devil and the Spirit of Man argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.The Devil and the Spirit of Man argue as to whether or not humanity is ultimately good or evil.

Voir les informations de production sur IMDbPro

NOTE IMDb

4,8/10

1,6 k

MA NOTE

Voir les informations de production sur IMDbPro

Anecdotes
Irwin Allen managed to assemble his all-star cast by promising them they would only be filming for one day and that they would get paid $25,000 for doing so.

Gaffes
The cheap production values of this film resulted in many anachronisms. Some of the most obvious include: In ancient Greece, the hand of Plato is shown writing in cursive with a stylus, but he has no inkwell, and his shirtsleeve (on a toga?) looks more medieval or renaissance. In the next shot, Aristotle is surrounded by bubbling glass beakers filled with colored liquids, a la Victor Frankenstein's laboratory. The Indian who sells Manhattan sits in front of a Plains tribe tepee and wears a full Western war bonnet.

Citations
Mr. Scratch: Then, came the red man, fighting for his very survival and the white man determined to take away this so-called god-given heritage, used the foulest of methods. Rather confusing, don't you think?

Connexions
Edited from Les aventures de Robin des Bois (1938)

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The Story of Mankind in under 2 hours

The technological development of the H-Bomb has caused the court of heaven to put mankind on trial.

Should man not be-allowed to proceed with his new invention or should he be allowed to blow himself to eternity? Somewhere in outer space (for it could hardly be held in heaven) the trial of the centuries takes place. Arguing for allowing man to blow himself up is Scratch (Vincent Price). Arguing for the goodness of mankind is The Spirit of Mankind (Ronald Coleman).

Scratch and Mankind then take the court (and the audience) on a tour throughout history showcasing some of the most interesting and important events and people that have shaped the world in which we live. The premise of the film is similar to a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode where Picard and the Enterprise crew have to defend the obliteration of mankind from a high powerful being known as Q who has put mankind on trial.

It is a film that touches on philosophical and theological issues but is more interested in highlighting historical events so it doesn't become a deep spiritual film filled with profound thought and insight. It starts out with an interesting premise, but as it travels along through history, although still interesting, seems somewhat respective and begins to be a tad bit tedious and thus maybe a little bit boring.

Of the more interesting moments includes Groucho Marx as Peter Minuit who swindled Manhattan Island from the Indians and Harpo Marx as Isaac Newton. Chico Marx plays a monk advising Christopher Columbus about why sailing across the world would be a bad idea. How can you go wrong with the Marx Brothers.

Overall 'The Story of Mankind' is interesting enough to watch especially if it is in a history class. It could have kept the hosts and perhaps could have had more engaging portraits of history. It has a fun premise and some good dialogue between Scratch and Mankind. But as an intriguing and gripping film about history it would be better to go with 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure'.

What does the court decide in the end? At the very least they decide to end the film.