The Story of Mankind

The phenomenal success of Mike Todd's Around the World in 80 Days (1956) inspired several directors to make similarly lavish all-star extravaganzas. This effort comes from a young Irwin Allen and features a blockbuster cast. The sprawling plot is based on Hendrik Willem Van Loon's best-selling 1921 book. It is framed by the story of a Celestial tribunal convened to debate the worthiness of humanity following the invention of the hydrogen bomb sixty years ahead of schedule. Their arguments will determine whether or not the leader of the Supreme Tribunal (presumably God) will authorize the destruction of planet Earth. The Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman in his final film appearance) points out all of humankind's achievements for good while wily Satan (Vincent Price) calls men worthless. Both of their points are illustrated via vignettes. Highlights include Hedy Lamarr as Joan-of-Arc, a young Dennis Hopper as Napoleon and Peter Lorre as Nero. The Marx Brothers also made their final appearance as a team. Interestingly, each appeared separately. Groucho played a lusty Peter Minuit, the Dutchman who bought Manhattan from the Indians, while Harpo played Sir Issac Newton. Chico played a monk. Hailed by some as one of the worst movies ever, The Story of Mankind proved one of the biggest box-office bombs of the '50s.