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

According to TCM's Robert Osborne, this is the first feature film to depict the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.

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Goofs

When looking at the soap box powder in the store, the name of the soap is "Atomic Suds" but when the box is tilted by the actor you can clearly see the box top reads "Tide".

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Quotes

Michael: [as they watch Eric climbing nearby heights] That crazy idiot.
Roseanne: Why does he do it?
Michael: Some people have to climb mountains to justify their existence.

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Connections

Featured in Great Balls of Fire! (1989)

User Reviews

Bleak end of mankind flick seems oddly like Bergman

I 'd never heard of this movie, so I was surprised at how good it was, shoestring budget or not. The acting isn't that bad, although James Anderson (Eric) has one of the strangest accents I've ever heard (It's somewhere between London, Bombay and Berlin). One fascinating 6th surivivor in the movie is the house itself that most of the scenes take place in. It is a cliff house designed by the great American Architect , Frank Lloyd Wright. Somehow the house and scenery add an extra sense of elegance to the movie that would have been lost if it was set in another setting. The characters are frequently filmed against the spectacular views from the house's large glass windows, emphasizing their loneliness in a world now so large and unpopulated. The pacing is glacial and seems to dwell on the (frequently depressed) moods of the characters, bringing to mind Bergman films like Persona (although Arch Oboler is no Igmar Bergman). The most likeable character is Charles, played by Charles Lampkin, who would go on to appear in films as varied as 'The Man', 'Islands in the Stream' and 'Coccoon' as well as a semi-regular character 'Ralph' on Mayberry RFD. He has a sweetness and naturalness that makes his paraphrasing of the beginning of Genesis one of the high points of the movie. It's a pity that he wasn't born later, or we would have seen more of him than the string of uncredited appearances in movies throughout the 60s and 70s.