Five (1951)

The world is destroyed in a nuclear holocaust. Only five Americans survive, including a pregnant woman, a neo-Nazi, a black man and a bank clerk.

Director:

Arch Oboler

Writers:

Arch Oboler, James Weldon Johnson (poem)

Stars:

William Phipps, Susan Douglas Rubes, James Anderson

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Phipps	...	Michael
Susan Douglas Rubes	...	Roseanne (as Susan Douglas)
James Anderson	...	Eric
Charles Lampkin	...	Charles
Earl Lee	...	Mr. Barnstaple

Storyline

Five people are miraculously spared when the fall-out from a super-atomic bomb eventually kills all of the rest of humanity on earth. They are Roseanne Rogers, a pregnant woman who was in an X-ray room; Michael, a sensitive young poet and philosopher; Charles, a black man; Mr. Barnstaple, a banker; and Eric, a cosmopolitan Alpinist who was saved from the radio-active dust because he was climbing Mt. Everest at the time of the explosion and fall-out. Eventually, they all wind up in a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house on a California mountaintop. There is a lot of symbolism, especially with the mountain climber, who represents decadent and alien fascism and the banker who brings greed and arrogance to this new Eden on Earth. Soon, only two are left.

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Plot Keywords:

mountain climber | california | bank clerk | hairy chest | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

Four men and one woman are the last five people on Earth...This is their story!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

October 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

5ive

Filming Locations:

South Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arch Oboler Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Eric, the bigoted quasi-Nazi, was a good warm-up for actor James Anderson, who would take on his most famous movie role, the monstrous Robert E. Lee Ewell, so memorably in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) more than a decade later.

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Goofs

Before they enter the Country store Eric is holding the door open for Roseanne but at the next cut Eric walks in first instead.

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Quotes

Michael: He's dead, they're all dead! We live in a dead world! And I'm glad it's dead... cheap, honky-tonk of a world.

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Connections

Featured in Great Balls of Fire! (1989)

User Reviews

More a film noir than an S-F film.

A bit overwrought and florid, but very enjoyable. Several reviewers pick on it because they seem to think that the characters are walking around in a totally depressed state throughout the movie. I don't see this at all. In fact, I perceive them as incredibly upbeat and positive about their situation, all things considered. One of the aspects of this film that I enjoy the most is the pure villainy of the bad guy. It's rare nowadays to see such an uncompromising and ungrateful jerk written into a script. He's human and believable, but he has no redeeming qualities at all. Also, he accomplishes this without the aid of technology, secret weapons, or even any sort of clever scheming or evil plans.

The cinematography is pretty good, with some startling shots and quite a bit of hand-held camera.

Finally, and I simply can't pass on this, the title is numerically correct for the majority of the movie. A couple other reviewers have stated that it is incorrect and I'm not sure if they're numerically challenged or what.