The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)

Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in... See full summary »

Director:

Ranald MacDougall

Writers:

M.P. Shiel (novel), Ferdinand Reyher (story),

Stars:

Harry Belafonte, Inger Stevens, Mel Ferrer

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Harry Belafonte	...	Ralph Burton
Inger Stevens	...	Sarah Crandall
Mel Ferrer	...	Benson Thacker

Storyline

Ralph Burton is a miner who is trapped for several days as a result of a cave-in. When he finally manages to dig himself out, he realizes that all of mankind seems to have been destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. He travels to New York City only to find it deserted. Making a life for himself there, he is flabbergasted to eventually find Sarah Crandall, who also managed to survive. Together, they form a close friendship until the arrival of Benson Thacker who has managed to pilot his small boat into the city's harbor. At this point the tensions rise between the three, particularly between Thacker, who is white and Burton, who is black.

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Plot Keywords:

cave in | miner | trapped | boat | new york city | 

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Taglines:

The Most Unusual Story Ever Told!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Sci-Fi

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

20 May 1959 (USA)

Also Known As:

The End of the World

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

HarBel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Ralph marks his route to New York City on the map, he starts at a point in the center of Pennsylvania. There is no real town of Chatsburg in PA, but there is a town near his starting point called "Bellefonte" (the character Ralph Burton in the movie is played by Harry Belafonte).

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Goofs

The rifles carried by Ben and Ralph change. Ben is initially shown shooting at Ralph with a bolt action rifle. Later, he is armed with a Remington pump action. Ralph grabs a tube fed Winchester lever action from the sporting goods store, but when he throws his rifle down, it has changed into a Winchester 1895 with a box magazine.

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Quotes

Benson Thacker: I have nothing against negroes, Ralph.
Ralph Burton: That's white of you.

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Connections

Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007)

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Soundtracks

"FIFTEEN"
Written by Alan Greene and Robert Nemiroff
Sung by Harry Belafonte

User Reviews

"The World, the Flesh and the Devil"

It is a movie at a time when a comfortable 50's America was 'asleep' re: the possibilities of a nuclear war......a sort of 'mass denial'. This movie started a trend re: the nuclear issue and 'the end of the world'; for later on that year (1959) there was "On the Beach", and in the early 60's, there was "Alas Babylon", etc. The movie "The World, the Flesh" and the Devil" was in startling black and white in both the filming and the actors. I was only in the 6th grade, so it made an enormous impact on me. The images of New York City completely EMPTY was shocking and too real to be believed! I was a bit disappointed when it succumbed to a romantic and sexual attraction level --- but now as an adult, I feel that those situations could very well happen as well....and after all , the movie had to make money! I am glad that this movie will be released on April 10, 2006.