The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.
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Title: Things to Come (1936)
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Cast
| Complete credited cast: | |||
| Raymond Massey | ... | John Cabal / Oswald Cabal | |
| Edward Chapman | ... | Pippa Passworthy / Raymond Passworthy | |
| Ralph Richardson | ... | The Boss | |
| Margaretta Scott | ... | Roxana / Rowena (as Margueretta Scott) | |
| Cedric Hardwicke | ... | Theotocopulos | |
 |
Maurice Braddell | ... | Dr. Harding |
| Sophie Stewart | ... | Mrs. Cabal | |
| Derrick De Marney | ... | Richard Gordon (as Derrick de Marney) | |
| Ann Todd | ... | Mary Gordon | |
| Pearl Argyle | ... | Catherine Cabal | |
|
|
Kenneth Villiers | ... | Maurice Passworthy |
|
|
Ivan Brandt | ... | Morden Mitani |
|
|
Anne McLaren | ... | The Child |
|
|
Patricia Hilliard | ... | Janet Gordon |
| Charles Carson | ... | Great Grandfather | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
See All (66) »
Storyline
A global war begins in 1940. This war drags out over many decades until most of the people still alive (mostly those born after the war started) do not even know who started it or why. Nothing is being manufactured at all any more and society has broken down into primitive localized communities. In 1966 a great plague wipes out most of what people are left but small numbers still survive. One day a strange aircraft lands at one of these communities and its pilot tells of an organization which is rebuilding civilization and slowly moving across the world re-civilizing these groups of survivors. Great reconstruction takes place over the next few decades and society is once again great and strong. The world's population is now living in underground cities. In the year 2035, on the eve of man's first flight to the moon, a popular uprising against progress (which some people claim has caused the wars of the past) gains support and becomes violent. Written by Kevin Steinhauer <K.Steinhauer@BoM.GOV.AU>
Plot Keywords:
progress | sleeping gas | rocket to the moon | utopia quest | year 1940 |Taglines:
Only Alexander Korda could give this tremendous story the bigness and scope it deserved! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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Details
Country:
UKLanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
14 September 1936 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Things to Come See more »Edit
Box Office
Budget:
GBP300,000 (estimated)Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
| (video) | (premiere cut) | (original) | (cut) | (DVD)Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System Noiseless Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
(uncredited)
Traditional 18th Century Cornish Christmas Carol
Arranged by Arthur Bliss
Heard during opening montage.
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Korda had such great respect for H.G. Wells that he gave him contractual permission to have approval on every phase of production. See more »Goofs
When the pilot, John Cabal, arrives in Everytown in 1970, he is wearing a large half helmet with a clear cover over the lower part of his face and neck. When he is walking with the people of Everytown to meet "The Boss", he is no longer wearing the half helmet. It's possible he may be carrying it, but in the following scenes the half helmet is never seen. See more »Crazy Credits
During the opening credits, as the title is revealed, the shadow over the letters is removed as if the clouds in the background are blowing past it. See more »Alternate Versions
Available in a colorized version on DVD and Blu-ray. See more »Soundtracks
The First Noel(uncredited)
Traditional 18th Century Cornish Christmas Carol
Arranged by Arthur Bliss
Heard during opening montage.
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
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This sci-fi masterpiece has too many flaws after the editors had butchered it after its opening in 1936. Visually it is a wonder to behold, but the script allows too many intellectual speeches about war and progress.This gets very corny when the actors are given to recite a lot of high minded messages at all times.Raymond Massey and Cedric Hardwicke,both great actors,come off as quite a pair of fanatics. Ralph Richardson is very good as the "The Boss" a megalomaniac warlord. The prediction of World War II was very eerie considering that the world was on the brink of the most devastating conflict in human history at the time. I'm sure glad that war didn't turn out as it did in the movie. There are some visually stunning montage sequences bridging the leaps of time between the movie's different episodes. Although its not as entertaining as I hoped it would be,this movie sticks in your mind long after you've seen it.