Subject: RETROSPECTIVE: THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL (1959)

From: [email-masked] (Rod Crawford)
Date: 3 Feb 1997 15:50:39 GMT

THE WORLD, THE FLESH AND THE DEVIL
                       A film review by Rod Crawford
                        Copyright 1997 Rod Crawford

MGM, B&W, 95 min.                       Science Fiction/post-apocalyptic
Director: Ranald MacDougall         Cinematographer: Harold S. Marcorati
Wide-screen process credited as CinemaScope, but really Panavision.
Written by the director from a story by Ferdinand Reyher and M.P. Shiel's
1901 novel 'The Purple Cloud.' Co-produced by Belafonte's HarBel
Productions.
Stars: Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens, Mel Ferrer.
Full details in Internet Movie Database.

Miner Ralph Burton (Harry Belafonte), trapped in a cave-in, waits in vain
for rescue. After several days, he manages to dig his own way out, and
emerges jubilant into daylight...to find a completely deserted world. Not
a voice, not a bird call. The only moving, acting things are wind, water,
fire...and himself. Making his way to New York, he's greeted by
lifelessness (except for a seagull or two that perhaps I shouldn't have
noticed). In a radio station, Ralph plays a tape of the last newscast;
tears roll down his cheeks as he hears the story of humanity's end.

In this first half of the film, with Ralph (as far as he knows) alone on
Earth, compelling and ironic images abound. Bridges jammed with hundreds
of abandoned cars. Panoramic vistas of deserted Manhattan. Cutting to a
different empty street with each toll of the church bell Ralph rings. He
puts litter in a never-to-be-emptied receptacle; his huge shadow dances on
a wall; in a long shot, he looks over the parapet of a windblown
skyscraper roof. Cinematographer Marcorati certainly should have been
Oscar-nominated. As far as I know, this was the last film of his short
career: what a pity! Miklos Rosza also deserves notice for a score that
contributes to dramatic impact without ever becoming overblown.

After a while, ultimate aloneness makes Ralph a little eccentric. But his
super-solitary life is not without touches of humor. When he finally meets
a second survivor, the focus and interest of the film narrow drastically;
with a more familiar type of interpersonal relationship to deal with,
MacDougall sets aside his depiction of one man against immensity, to the
audience's great loss. Ironically, but an obvious source of conflict under
the circumstances, Ralph just can't shake off the 1959-style racial
attitudes of the world that is no more. Race, though seemingly a central
issue to this part of the film, is not dealt with in any depth. Worse yet,
when the population of New York grows to three, MacDougall can think of
nothing more original for them than an "eternal triangle." But wait: the
last minutes offer a brief return to pictorial excellence, and the
conclusion is not as pat as you were afraid it was going to be.

As science fiction, the film is ahead of its time, despite (or because of)
no attempt at high-tech special effects. The explanation for Earth's
depopulation is actually fairly plausible; especially by the standards of
'fifties screenwriters, who seldom rose much above the "radiation grows
giant grasshoppers" level. The biggest "suspension of disbelief" required:
you just have to stop asking where all the bodies are! Really, not showing
the bodies seems to be a convention of post-apocalyptic cinema...

Belafonte's acting is just fine in all respects. And he sings, too. Inger
Stevens, not always considered an outstanding actress, here gives a
competent, if low-key, performance. Besides, she's lovely, and nicely
costumed and photographed. As for Mel Ferrer, he's just a vacuum here, not
even a hissable villain; the film would have been far better without him.

As a whole, The World, the Flesh and the Devil (wonder why this title?) is
badly flawed because of the lackluster second half. But even this doesn't
really dim (for me at least) the sheer brilliance of the first half. It
remains my favorite post-apocalyptic movie.

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My reviews won't use numeric ratings; if I bother to review it, I like it.
Anyone wishing replies to comments should e-mail me.

Rod Crawford, Seattle, USA             <[email-masked]>