THE STORY OF MANKIND (1957)

[Raffine]

TCM is airing Irwin Allen's rarely seen epic THE STORY OF MANKIND (1957) tomorrow morning (Monday 3/13) at 3:15 AM.

It's supposed to be a real hoot! I've been wanting to see it for years.

The all-star cast includes:

Ronald Colman ...  The Spirit of Man
Hedy Lamarr ...  Joan of Arc
Groucho Marx ...  Peter Minuit
Harpo Marx ...  Sir Isaac Newton
Chico Marx ...  Monk
Virginia Mayo ...  Cleopatra
Agnes Moorehead ...  Queen Elizabeth I
Vincent Price ...  Mr. Scratch / The Devil
Peter Lorre ...  Nero
Charles Coburn ...  Hippocrates
Cedric Hardwicke ...  High Judge
Cesar Romero ...  Spanish Envoy
John Carradine ...  Khufu
Dennis Hopper ...  Napoleon Bonaparte
Edward Everett Horton ...  Sir Walter Raleigh
Franklin Pangborn ...  Marquis de Varennes
Henry Daniell ...  Pierre Cauchon - Bishop of Beauvais
Francis X. Bushman ...  Moses
Jim Ameche ...  Alexander Graham Bell

[RCMerchant]

What an oddball cast!
Vincent Price as the Devil? Who would have guessed? 
And all three of the Marx Bros.???? Harpo as Newton???? Wow-was the casting director drunk? 
Lorre and Carradine too!!!! 
I can see Dennis Hooper as Napolean,though....
All they need now would be Moe Howard as Hitler!   
I really need to see this....

[Flick James]

Never heard of this film. Looking it up and looking at the year, clearly much of the cast were at the ebb of their careers. Must have been a bizarre project to work on.

[Hammock Rider]

I was just talking about this movie with a friend of mine this morning. We were discussing Hedy Lamar and he mentioned it as the most "B" movie he's ever seen her in. Now I really need to check it out. Seems like ol' Irwin was going for the DeMille vibe.

[Raffine]

Hre's a review of this I just wrote for another site:

THE STORY OF MANKIND (Irwin Allen, 1957)

Two bored angels discover mankind has developed the 'Super Hydrogen Bomb' 30 years before schedule and is moments away from blowing itself up ("My, my, the housing shortage up here would be terrible!" one quips). Heaven/The Outer Space Council (the movie is unclear exactly who they are) convenes a tribunal to determine if mankind should be allowed to blow itself into smithereens or be given another chance at redemption. Mr. Scratch (Vincent Price) is the prosecutor and The Spirit of Man (Ronald Coleman) appears for the defense. Sir Cedrick Hardwicke is the judge. Price presents vignettes depicting man's inhumanity to man, while Coleman tries to show man's more tender and heroic side.

Irwin Allen's infamous epic is as awful as its reputation suggests. The endless parade of ludicrous guest stars (Harpo Marx as Sir Isaac Newton, Hedy Lamarr as the most shapely St. Joan, Dennis Hopper as Napoleon, the usually marvelous Agnes Moorehead channeling Endora as Queen Elizabeth I, Groucho Marx as Peter Minuit, Edward Everett Sloane as Sir Walter Raleigh, Chico Marx as 'A Monk' (Chico musta had one terrible agent), Virginia Mayo as a giggling Cleopatra, etc. etc. ad nauseum) might be fun, but their bits are so unfunny or nauseatingly melodramatic there's absolutely no enjoyment in them. The stars mostly appear on a series of really bad cheap studio sets which would embarrass The Bowery Boys, which are intercut with endless miles of stock footage from better movies.

In the opening credits all the stars get huge screen-filling credits, which was probably a first for Franklin Pangborn. Poor Don Megowan doesn't get a huge screen-filling credit despite having just starred as the land Gillman in THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US.

Personal favorite bit: Angelo Rossitto chasing a big busty blonde around all during Nero's (Peter Lorre) big scene.

[RCMerchant]

Angelo Rossitto too???  MUST SEE! 

[BoyScoutKevin]

There are some films that are hated, such as "Peeping Tom" and "The Seven Faces of Doctor Lao," when they first are released to theaters, but become cult classics years later. "The Story of Mankind" is not one of them. It's probably hated as much now as, when it was first released to theaters.

But, I liked it, seeing it twice on TV. Part of the reason I like it, is--of course--the cast, and the fact that Vincent has two great moments in the film. One his reaction when faced with the Good Book. The other when he talks about pickling Sir Walter Raleigh's head in beer. LOL!

Here's some trivia on the film.

Based on the best selling novel of the same title by Henrik Van Loon. Which, I unfortunately have not read.

Jim Ameche is of course Dom Ameche's brother. Don Ameche himself playing Alexander Graham Bell in "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell." He was so well known for playing the part that the telephone, for awhile, was called an ameche.

If is unfortunate that Ronald Colman could not end his career on a better note, but this would be his last film before he died.

And the Marx Brothers are not the only Marx to appear in the film. Apparently, Groucho's daughter Melinda, would make her motion picture debut in this film

[Raffine]

Jim Ameche is of course Dom Ameche's brother. Don Ameche himself playing Alexander Graham Bell in "The Story of Alexander Graham Bell." He was so well known for playing the part that the telephone, for awhile, was called an ameche.

Jim Ameche's cameo is decidedly weird, even for this movie. When Coleman talks about Bell you see Ameche's back as he goes through the whole "Come here, Watson! I need you!" routine. He then turns and smiles broadly right into the camera, like the audience is supposed to be dumfounded he's making an appearance.

[Flangepart]

Yeesh. Its that bad? Even the stuff I'd read before on this thing diden't warn me.
Thanks for the heads uo, guys.