The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971)

A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.

Directors:

Walon Green, Ed Spiegel

Writer:

David Seltzer

Stars:

Lawrence Pressman, Conlan Carter, Ian McShane

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Lawrence Pressman	...	Dr. Hellstrom

Storyline

This unique and quirky offering combines elements of documentary films and horror movies to illustrate the potential threat posed by the world's insects. With their collective intelligence, high capacity for work and sharp instincts, the film argues, they are waging a struggle against humans for supremacy of our planet. Expert cinematography captures footage of the small creatures, some quite tiny and elusive, interspersed with clips from horror films to achieve dramatic effects.

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Plot Keywords:

insect | driver ant | termite mound | locust | termite | 

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Taglines:

Shocking. Beautiful. Brilliant. Sensual. Deadly... and in the end only they will survive.

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

David Wolper and Cinema 5 got audiences into theatres to see this documentary by promoting it as if it were a science fiction thriller.

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Quotes

Dr. Hellstrom: Man will point to nature, claiming War was meant to be. But here they died with reason - through selflessness, not greed.

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Crazy Credits

End Credits: Nils Hellstrom, M.S., Ph.D., is a fictional character who was portrayed by Lawrance Pressman. His statements relating to the impermanence of the human species have been synthesized from contemporary opinions. All statements about the insect world are factual and have been reviewed by Roy Snelling and Charles Hogue, Ph.D., of the Entomology Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

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Connections

Features If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969)

User Reviews

The less visible one's enemy the more powerful his threat

One of the best documentaries ever to come to the screen "The Hallstrom Chronicle" is not only educational about the insect world but visually stunning with its eye popping microscopic and telescopic photography showing the viewer a world that for the most part he or she are almost totally unaware of.

Were introduced to Prof. Niles Hellstrom, Lawrence Pressman, who's study of the insect world has had him become greatly alarmed in that the final battle of mankind would not be among itself in an Armageddon like nuclear holocaust but in a life and death confrontation with the what seems like indestructible insect! The insects who've been around for some 300 million years are the only creatures on earth who can give man a run for his money living space and food supply. In fact besides man the insect is the only species on earth who's population has increased instead of diminished over the last two or three centuries! with the insects now threatening the worlds food supply,like it did since Biblical times, and killing far more people, with insect borne diseases, then all the wars of mankind put together it's only a matter of time according to Prof. Hellstrom before man not insect will disappear off the face of the earth! That's unless man learns to live within his environment and not end up killing himself in wars pollution and nuclear radiation which the insect has over the centuries, unlike man, became completely immune to!

A film not to be taken lightly "The Hellstrom Chronicle" is just as effective now as it was back in 1971 when it was released in showing that man is not in control of his own destiny but he for either good or bad has to work within the world he lives in and the life forms he share it with in oder to survive. The insect world is by far the biggest threat to mans survival and the sooner man realizes that the better chance he has to survive in the future.

The fact that insects have shown that they can survive and even increase despite everything that man throws at them, like DDT and other insecticides, should tells us something. They unlike man have only one thought, if thats what you can call it, in mind survival of the species! Something that man in his greed and arrogance has yet to learn in his obsession of destroying himself in both wars and polluting the world that he lives in. The insect world seems to have no problem or worries in its future existence. It's been around for hundreds of millions of years and will continue to be around for countless more long after man like the dinosaurs have disappeared and been forgotten off the pages of history.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 1971 (France)

Also Known As:

A Crônica de Hellstrom

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$39,767

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wolper Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1