Movie based on M.P. Shiel's Purple Cloud
B166-ER
_World, the Flesh, and the Devil_. It was a 1959 black and white starring
Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens and Mel Ferrer. Has anyone seen it? Do you
remember it being faithful to Shiel's novel? Was it any good?
Thanks,
Rob
H. E. Taylor
Haven't seen it or read the Shiel, but there is a book called
_The World, the Flesh, and the Devil_ by J.D. Bernal [philosophical
considerations of the future of rationality] dating from the
late 60's. I noted it because Dyson thought highly of it.
<fwiw>
-het
--
"Did you know that the worldwide food shortage that threatens up
to five hundred million children could be alleviated at the cost
of only one day, only ONE day, of modern warfare." -Peter Ustinov
How's yer crap detector? http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~het/detector.html
H.E. Taylor http://www.autobahn.mb.ca/~het/
Karnak17
I've never read "Purple Cloud". I did see a B&W movie with Harry Belefonte as
a survivor in post-Apocalypse Manhattan. This was nearly two decades ago so I
cannot give you much of a review, but it did make a very strong impression on
me at the time, so much that I still have some pretty vivid memories.
I was particularly impressed at the time with the early part of the movie--with
Belefonte's character trapped underground--and with Belefonte's performance.
The other characters, and the ending, not so much.
If this is the movie you mean, I could give you a rundown of the plot as I
remember it, so you can tell for yourself how faithful it was. IF it turns out
that the latter and less impressive portions of the film were unfaithful to the
book, then I would like to read the book very much.
B166-ER
"Karnak17" <karn...@cs.com> wrote in message
news:20040509025920...@mb-m07.news.cs.com...
Thanks
Karnak17
Okay. Here goes. SPOILERS AHOY!!!
It starts out with Harry Belefonte working underground. He is trapped by what
he thinks is an earthquake or something.. He keeps banging on the pipes
trying to alert rescuers to come and get him.
He is trapped down there for quite some time, growing increasingly desperate.
Eventually, I forget how, he makes his way to the surface. The city is
completely deserted. He realizes that what trapped him below was not an
earthquake, but World War III.
He lives all alone in the deserted city, trying via radio to make contact with
other survivors, but he cannot. He realizes he is the only man left in the
world.
I think at this point he starts to go a little bonkers. Then he suddenly
discovers another survivor--a young blonde woman--living right there in New
York with him. At first she's nervous and a little fearful, and rushes off
after a short coversation with him. Naturally they become freinds, but they
are a little inhibited and formal with eachother.
Each of them lives alone in their own abandoned apartment building. Belefonte
does a lot of work fixing up the girl's apartment for her. She suggests to him
that maybe she should move into one of the apartments in HIS building, so as to
cause him less work, but he refuses to let her do this because "People might
talk".
Then a second man, a white man, arrives via boat, which naturally turns the
situation into a love triangle. The girl is indecisive and keeps both men at
arms-length. The new guy is not the gentleman Belefonte is, and has little
patience for this. In a date at the girl's apartment he threathens to make up
her mind for her, but she responds that this would only make her choose
Belefonte, so he backs off.
However, he then decides that murdering Belefonte is the way to go, and the
last scenes involve the two of them playing cat and mouse around the streets of
New York trying to do away with eachother.
Belefonte realizes that what they are doing is the same sort of thing which
destroyed the human race in the first place. I think he throws down his arms.
His rival is unable to kill him if he won't fight back, and skulks away in
shame.
Harry and the girl are reunited, go after the other guy, and the film ends with
the three of them walking off into the sunset together.
B166-ER
Thanks -- Much Obliged!