| The Story of Mankind | |
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1957 US Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Irwin Allen |
| Produced by | George E. Swink Irwin Allen |
| Written by | Hendrik Willem van Loon (book) Irwin Allen Charles Bennett |
| Starring | Ronald Colman Vincent Price |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Cinematography | Nicholas Musuraca |
| Editing by | Roland Gross Gene Palmer |
| Distributed by | Warner Brothers |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 1957 |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Story of Mankind is a 1957 American fantasy film, based on the nonfiction book The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon, which is notable mostly for its campness, and for featuring an ensemble of notable Hollywood performers in the last years of their careers. The film was former publicist Irwin Allen's first attempt at directing live actors after his documentaries The Sea Around Us and The Animal World.
Like Allen's previous two films, it features vast amounts of stock footage, in this case, battles and action scenes culled from previous Warner Bros. costume films, coupled with cheaply-shot close-ups of actors on much smaller sets. It was the last film picture to feature the three Marx Brothers (and their only filmed in color), although they are seen in separate scenes rather than acting together. It was also the last film of star Ronald Colman and of character actor Franklin Pangborn, and the last American film of Hedy Lamarr.
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Scientists have developed a weapon, called the "Super H-bomb", which if detonated will wipe out the human race entirely. A "High Tribunal" in "The Great Court of Outer Space" is called upon to decide whether divine intervention should be allowed to stop the bomb's detonation. The Devil (Vincent Price), who goes by the name of Mr. Scratch, prosecutes mankind while the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman) defends it.
Price and Colman are allowed to take the tribunal to any period of time to present evidence for mankind's salvation or damnation. They take the tribunal from prehistory through Egyptian, Greco-Roman, medieval, Renaissance, Enlightenment and modern times, looking at historical figures played by a host of guest stars.
Warner Archives released the film on made to order DVD in the United States on July 20, 2009.
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