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:

psychotronic film | one word title | crying baby | dialogue driven | bearded man | 

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Taglines:

ONE WOMAN... FOUR MEN... and no one else on earth!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles' soliloquy is taken from the poem "The Creation" by noted African-American professor and diplomat James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938). It is part of his work "God's Trombones" published in 1927.

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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: 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

My feelings about this movie are genuine.

My first and only viewing of this film was over 25 years ago on New York's old Million Dollar Movie channel 9. Its theme of how the human race almost put an end to itself was presented in a very simple, bleak and thought provoking manner by its director Arch Obelor. I often remember that movie as my first and most impressionable "end of mankind" movies. It was made on a shoestring budget, with unknown actors and yet I consider it the most powerful film of that genre. I have not seen it on television since and cannot find it on video. I still can envision that night as a young teen, after having viewed that movie, thinking of our world, our future and what humankind is capable of. Wherever a print of that film is, I wish our present generation could view it as food for thought. Thank-you for allowing me to express my opinions on a forgotten "little" film.

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