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Director: Irwin Allen
Cast: Ronald Colman, Hedy Lamarr, Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Virginia Mayo, Agnes Moorehead, Vincent Price, Peter Lorre
The Story of Mankind © 1957/Renewed © 1985, Package Design © 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.
Here is the most far-out courtroom thriller you’ll ever see. The setting is outer space, the defendant is all of us and the issue is whether we should be allowed to survive. Defending counsel, the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman), says yes. Prosecuting counsel, the Devil (Vincent Price), says no. And each presents historical evidence in vignettes that feature Hedy Lamarr as Joan of Arc, Dennis Hopper as Napoleon, Harpo Marx as Isaac Newton, plus Groucho, Chico, Virginia Mayo, Peter Lorre, Charles Coburn, Agnes Moorehead – 25 stars in all! Produced, directed and co-written by Irwin Allen (The Poseidon Adventure), this uncommon curio is Colman’s final film and the last time the three Marx Brothers appeared in the same movie.
Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from Pasadena, CA on 4/23/2011Comments about Story of Mankind (DVD):
Watchable print, technicolor is rarely very good on DVD: Contrast acceptable,good Sound, but the Transfer looked a little faded,decent Sharpness.
Anyway average quality for a "weird Film".
Strange as that might seem is a fun Movie to watch mostly because of his amazing cast, but not that good enough to be "Cult Movie"
Fast Shipping, Very Well Pack, Thanks!
[0 of 1 customers found this review helpful]
from Los Angeles CA on 4/11/2011Comments about Story of Mankind (DVD):
Irwin Allen moved into directing feature films with this "Hellzapoppin" type approach to the history of the world. Did Mel Brooks take his inspiration from this? The assumption is there was some tongue in cheek style applied here.
Vincent Price seems to be the actor most in sync with this approach.
Having only seen it on TV in the 1960s and 1970s, I had no idea it was in color! Thank you WB Archives for releasing this obscurity. Not very good, but quite entertaining.
The Marx Brothers (I think Groucho and Irwin Allen were professional friends) are shoehorned into unfunny vignettes. Where were the Three Stooges??
[3 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
Comments about Story of Mankind (DVD):
Classic film lovers already know this is a bomb.
What you need to know is:
1. Watchable print, technicolor is rarely very good on DVD. Good contrast, acceptable for a direct transfer DVD.
2. Good audio
3. Low quality DVD-R product worth purchasing during sale events only
[0 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
from zion, il. on 3/28/2010Comments about Story of Mankind (DVD):
This is an amazing artifact of the 50s - an all star cast - many miscast - doing their "best" to bring a multitude of historic characters and incidents to life. All the guest stars are really very entertaining - Dennis Hopper as Napoleon, Marie Wilson as Marie Antoinette, Virginia Mayo as Cleopatra,etc. - were they in on the joke? In his last movie role, Ronald Colman as the Spirit of Man tries admirably to take the material seriously.
The DVD has an excellent wide screen picture and clear sound -- recommended for all film fans of bad cinema.
[0 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
Comments about Story of Mankind (DVD):
I have always heard that this is a bad movie that deservedly flopped. But what I was not prepared for was a film so inept in every area that it was a comic delight. An all star cast must have been playing this tounge in cheek - if they thought this was a serious film, I have lost respect for them. One of the best bad moviesever made.
[2 of 3 customers found this review helpful]
from Santa Fe, NM on 7/24/2009Comments about Story of Mankind (DVD):
An early all-star disaster from Irwin Allen--yet with not one natural disaster to be seen. Stock footage from myriad other films are comically mismatched to horrid effect. Agnes Moorehead as Queen Liz I? Hedy Lamarr as Joan of Arc? Harpo Marx as Isaac Newton? Doesn't get much worse--or more fun--than this train wreck. A cringe-inducing hoot.
