I remember reading the classic comic version of this film contemporaneous with the release of the film. When I finally saw the movie, its trial of humanity with the Spirit of Mankind and the Devil walking through time to tell humanity's story appealed to my young imagination. It is, on the one hand, an efficient film--the story of mankind in 100 minutes, using stock footage from other movies, with cameos by stars who were getting up their in years and were anxious to appear in a film financed by a major studio again. As a film, it is hokey, with bad dialogue and cardboard sets through which the Devil and the Spirit of Mankind are obviously filmed at a separate time from the actors in their cameos. But I take pleasure in its being Ronald Colman's last film, giving him abundant screen time to use his melodious voice, although he does it in a far from meritorious vehicle. I enjoyed seeing him in scenes with Vincent Price and Sir Cedric Hardwicke, also of a beautiful voice. And I am intrigued that it was one of the last theatrical screenplays of Charles Bennett, who wrote classic films with Alfred HItchcock. The structure of the screenplay, which he co-wrote with the director is intriguing, although the poor dialogue appears improvised. It was a film of its time--audacious in that it did not shy away from including Hitler in its showing of recent history just 12 years after the Holocaust ended and having an actor portray him and that its story reflected the then-current fears of the atomic destruction of the world. It was just on Turner Classic Movies, and my wife watched it for the first time. She smiled at 43-year-old Hedy Lamar playing 19-year-old Joan of Arc and at Virginia Mayor playing a brunette Cleopatra as if she were Lucrezia Borgia. But my wife seemed captivated by some scenes--such as Agnes Moorehead as Queen Elizabeth I with Reginald Gardiner as William Shakespeare inspiring her by quoting the last lines of his play King John. It was an influential movie for its time. It seems silly and dated now, but evidently it can still entertain in spots.
Review of The Story of Mankind
