The Story of Mankind (1957)

Director: Irwin Allen
Starring: Ronald Colman, Hedy Lamarr, Groucho Marx

Synopsis:
The development of the "super H-bomb" results in a special tribunal in Heaven for humanity to determine its fate, setting the Devil against the Spirit of Man.

Impressions:
This very silly movie takes an interesting premise, a bevy of big name actors, a dodgy grasp of history, some cheap costumes and stock footage to create something that's far from great but not without its merits. I was immediately drawn to the film when I saw Ronald Colman was going to be set against Vincent Price. This is the final film role of the former and it's a bit of a shame he couldn't get a better send-off, but he delivers a solid performance. Vincent Price is an absolute treat as Mr. Scratch and we get a couple gloriously hammy performances by Peter Lorre and Agnes Moorehead as Nero and Elizabeth I. Dennis Hopper has an early role as a fairly understated Napoleon. (It would've been great to see him ham it up too.) Groucho Marx has one of the best skits as Peter Minuit.

As I said, the movie's grasp on history is squishy, even for the time, and the morality being pushed is a bit muddled. It's schmaltzy but not that dramatically out of step from other films of the period. As I've said, it's not particularly good, but there are some charm points that may just be enough to consider giving it a shot.

Rating:
50/50