Introduction
Welcome to my corner! Last week, I shared my thoughts on the film Blossoms in the Dust. This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The World, the Flesh and the Devil.
On March 15, the TCM TV channel played The World, the Flesh and the Devil in the evening as part of their Harry Belafonte double-feature lineup. The following movie was Bright Road.
Enjoy!
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
The World, the Flesh and the Devil is a 1959 American science fiction doomsday film written and directed by Ranald MacDougall. The film stars Harry Belafonte, who was then at the peak of his film career. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world with very few human survivors. It is based on two sources: the 1901 novel The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel and the story "End of the World" by Ferdinand Reyher.
Plot: A man (Harry Belafonte), a woman (Inger Stevens) and a bigot (Mel Ferrer) roam the city of New York, deserted after a nuclear war.
Acting: Harry Belafonte played Ralph Burton. Going into this I really didn't know much about Harry Belafonte. I thought he was just the guy behind the songs "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" and "Jump in the Line (Shake, Senora)," both songs that I love. Boy, was I wrong.
Harry Belafonte was so much more than just a musician. He was also an actor in about 20 films and TV series. The majority of them were in the 50s and 70s. Four films that he was most known for were Bobby, BlacKKKlansman, Kansas City, and The World, the Flesh and the Devil.
I haven't seen any of his other films or TV appearances, but it seems to me like he could succeed at anything he put his mind to, much like the character he played in this movie. He was a delight to watch on-screen.
Belafonte died on April 25, 2023, at the age of 96.
Inger Stevens played Sarah Crandall. She was beautiful. Her character was a little annoying at times, but overall well acted. I haven't seen any of her other work, but it looks like she had a lot of TV appearances in her career. She's most known for Hang 'Em High, The Farmer's Daughter TV series, The Buccaneer, and The World, the Flesh and the Devil. I'm starting to sense a theme here.
Stevens died on April 30, 1970, at the young age of 35, due to an apparent suicide. Having researched her and the other actors after watching the movie, learning of her cause of death really struck me. Her death came years after the movie, but the characters in The World, the Flesh and the Devil go through periods of suicidal ideation. Knowing of her death and how she died (overdose), it really broke my heart.
Mel Ferrer played Benson Thacker. He played a good guy/bad guy really well. I did not like his character for obvious reasons, but he was good in the role. He seemed innocent enough at first, but shifty. Ferrer is most known for Lili, War and Pease, Knights of the Round Table, and The World, the Flesh and the Devil.
Overall, the movie was well acted by all three of its actors.
Technical Aspects: Paramount wanted to produce this film under a different title in 1940 but it was delayed. Paramount revisited the project in 1945, however by this time many studios were making films that dealt with nuclear warfare after the atomic bombings on Japan, so with the market saturated, production once again was put on hold. It wasn't until 1956 that Sol C. Siegel purchased the rights to The Purple Cloud and thus that The World, the Flesh and the Devil would finally be produced. With this film, Siegel held a strong ideal and hope that blending the issues of racial tension and potential nuclear conflict would catalyze audiences to find some kind of resolution to both.
As a modern viewer, I find it hilarious that the production company felt they needed to wait with this film because the market was already over-saturated with post-apocalyptic movies. I'm sure it was a smart business move at the time, and probably true, but being a fan of post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories, you couldn't give me enough of them. I love them, always have! I think it was also brave of the filmmakers to make this movie that dealt with not only nuclear war, but also racial issues. It's very interesting, and was relevant at the time. It can still be considered relevant today.
Harry Belafonte's production company, Harbel Productions, helped co-produce the film. With his company, Belafonte hoped to create films that would accurately depict African-American lives and experiences as well as promote an African-American presence in Hollywood filmmaking. The World, the Flesh and the Devil was the first film that Harbel helped to produce.
That is awesome! Harry Belafonte was such a cool man, a good man, by all accounts. He was an activist in so many ways. How many minds do you suppose helped open to the possibilities of the future? How many people did he help get jobs in the industry when they weren't necessarily welcome? Incredible! I also love that this film was the first that his production company helped to produce.
According to multiple members of the production team, the original ending was reshot for various reasons: scene quality differing between shooting locations, production office arguments, and the effect the original ending being different than what was artistically intended. The new ending that was used instead received some negative critical attention from audiences as well as cast members. Apparently, all three co-stars, Inger Stevens, Mel Ferrer, and Harry Belafonte, complained to Siegel during production that they were concerned by the representation of race in the movie.
I want to know what the original ending was! I tried to research it but couldn't find anything. This is going to drive me crazy! However, I did find out that the stars fought for Ralph and Sarah to kiss at the end of the film, instead of just holding hands, but the director and company thought that was too much for society at the time. Honestly, I wish they would have gone with the kiss. I was waiting for it the entire movie. It would have been the braver and bolder way to go.
Themes: The World, the Flesh and the Devil explores themes of nuclear war and racial prejudice. I think the themes are pretty obvious so I won't go into them.
Final Thoughts: I liked this movie, and would probably watch it again. Belafonte is easily the best part of this film. He makes this movie worth watching I would recommend giving it a view.
Where to watch it: The World, the Flesh and the Devil is available to watch on the streaming services Hulu and Sling TV (according to Google), or you can purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. I've also donated a DVD copy of the film to the Emil M. Larson Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
That's it for this week! What were your thoughts? Feel free to share them with us! You can call us, email us, visit us at the office, leave us a comment or message on Facebook, or even mail us something. Keep the comments, suggestions, questions, submissions, etc. coming our way! We'd love to hear from you!
