Master of the World (1961)

Director:

William Witney

Writers:

Richard Matheson (screenplay) and
Jules Verne (novels)

Release Date:

May 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Adventure

Tagline:

The fabulous adventures of the man who conquered the earth to save it!

Plot:

The world in the late 19th century: A scientist and his team are held as "guests" of Robur on his airship...

Plot Keywords:

19th Century | Hot Air Balloon | Zeppelin | Jules Verne | Main Character Dies

Cast

Vincent Price	...	Captain Robur
Charles Bronson	...	John Strock
Henry Hull	...	Prudent
Mary Webster	...	Dorothy Prudent
David Frankham	...	Phillip Evans
Richard Harrison	...	Alistair
Vito Scotti	...	Topage (as Vitto Scotti)
Wally Campo	...	Turner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Peter Besbas	...	Wilson (uncredited)
Gordon Jones	...	Talkative Morgantown Townsman (uncredited)
Steve Masino	...	Weaver (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Prudent's Butler (uncredited)
'Snub' Pollard	...	Man at Balloon Society Meeting (uncredited)
Ken Terrell	...	Shanks (uncredited)
Howard Wright	...	Morgantown Townsman (uncredited)

Directed by
William Witney

Writing credits
Richard Matheson		(screenplay)
Jules Verne		novels "Master of the World" and "Rubur, the Conqueror"

Produced by
Samuel Z. Arkoff	....	executive producer
Anthony Carras	....	co-producer
Bartlett A. Carre	....	associate producer
Daniel Haller	....	associate producer
James H. Nicholson	....	producer

Original Music by
Les Baxter

Cinematography by
Gilbert Warrenton		(director of photography) (as Gil Warrenton)

Film Editing by
Anthony Carras

Production Design by
Daniel Haller

Art Direction by
Daniel Haller

Set Decoration by
Harry Reif

Makeup Department
Fred B. Phillips	....	makeup artist (as Fred Phillips)

Production Management
Bartlett A. Carre	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Agnew	....	assistant director

Art Department
Richard M. Rubin	....	property master (as Dick Ruben)

Sound Department
Alfred R. Bird	....	sound editor
Karl Zint	....	sound
Jerry Alexander	....	sound engineer (uncredited)
Vinnie Vernon	....	sound engineer (uncredited)
William A. Wilmarth	....	sound engineer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Tim Baar	....	special effects
Wah Chang	....	special effects
Pat Dinga	....	special props and effects
Gene Warren	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Ray Mercer	....	photographic effects
Jim Danforth	....	miniature maker (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Kay Norton	....	aerial photographer
Bob Rose	....	additional grip (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marjorie Corso	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Les Baxter	....	conductor
Albert Harris	....	orchestrator
Eve Newman	....	music editor
Al Simms	....	music coordinator
Richard Bowden	....	musical cues (uncredited)

Other crew
Jack W. Cash	....	production assistant (as Jack Cash)

Production Companies

• American International Pictures (AIP)

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1961) (USA) (theatrical)
• Mercator-Film (1962) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1988) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Orion Home Video (1994) (USA) (video)
• Globo Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Krause & Schneider Multimedia (KSM) (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (video)

Special Effects

• Butler-Glouner (photographic effects)

Other Companies

• Glen Glenn Sound Company  sound recording
• Modern Film Effects  special color processes
• Warner Home Video  DVD package design

Also Known As:

Runtime:

102 min | USA:99 min (including prologue)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (StereoSonic Sound)

Certification:

West Germany:6 (nf) | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

Richard Matheson combined two stories by Jules Verne for this screenplay: "Clipper of the Clouds" (1886) and its sequel "Master of the World" (1904).

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The film is set in the 1800s, though as the Albatross flies over London, Robur looks through the scope and sees Elizabethan London, including Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The shot is stock footage from Henry V (1944). Soon after, more recent London footage appears, including the 19th century Tower Bridge. The aerial view of Paris is definitely 20th century.

Quotes:

Dorothy Prudent:[after Prudent has hit his already injured head on the top of his bunk] Did you hurt yourself?
Prudent:Of course I hurt myself!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

Soundtrack:

Master of the World

20,000 Leagues Above The Sea

Set in the Victorian era, a mad genius named Robur (Vincent Price) has devised a futuristic flying ship for a devious, slightly contradictory, though possibly admirable purpose. He travels halfway around the world with an imprisoned quartet and a crew of "air sailors".

Although there are some problems with this film primarily due to its budget, and some viewers might be put off by the obvious similarities to Disney's version of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954), I enjoyed this somewhat wacky sci-fi/fantasy/adventure film quite a bit, and gave it a 9 out of 10.

The film actually opens with a brief but clever, tongue-in-cheek black & white documentary about the history of flying machines. Abruptly, at the narrative line "Master of the World", the documentary ends. Then we change to color as we're taken to a sumptuously fantastic Pennsylvania town, complete with towering mountains and a seeming volcano.

I have to admit that director William Whitney already had me in the palm of his hand at that moment. I'm all for weird transitions, surrealism and beautifully saturated color cinematography. To make things even better, just as a character tells us how boring the town is, a booming voice (obviously Price's), quoting a doom-laden passage from scripture, emanates from the vicinity of the mountain.

I was also easily sold on the film because I'm a big Vincent Price fan. Price is great, even though the context of the role is a bit unusual for him. There is a lot of comic relief throughout most of the film, and the genre wasn't his norm. However, he comes across as menacingly demented yet suave as always. The rest of the principle cast was marvelous, too, with Charles Bronson playing an early version of Harrison Ford (maybe he always did that), Mary Webster as an appealing love triangle target, and some very fun and appropriate overacting from Henry Hull doing an early obnoxious "I'm an American" shtick and David Frankham as the perpetually irascible Victorian sap.

It's a blast noting all of the future tech elements from past eras' perspectives, and the set design and special effects are actually admirable given that this was a low-budget film for its ambitions. Even the stock footage and footage from the 1944 Henry V (the shots of London that look like a medieval town), although at times obvious, are incorporated well. On the other hand, there is some similarity between the set design and that of a particular era and class of television show--say the Adam West Batman, the original Star Trek, or even the Tom Baker Doctor Who--which all have a fairly low-budget look, but I have to admit that I love those shows, too.

There isn't much of an easily discernible subtext in the film, but of course that's because Master of the World wears its messages proudly on its sleeve. I won't state them explicitly here, as in my view that would be a spoiler, but it's notable, like many other aspects of the film, for its similarity to 20,000 Leagues, including its moral ambiguity. This would actually be a good film, as would 20,000 Leagues, to show a freshman-level ethics class as an exemplification of and discussion launching pad for both utilitarianism and deontology.

Although it's not exactly the most original film to come down the pike (but primarily just because of 20,000 Leagues), and it's not a faithful adaptation of author Jules Verne's work, I don't subtract points for either of those characteristics. Master Of The World has an engaging, solid story that is both thought provoking and a lot of fun.