Our motion picture this evening was "The World, The Flesh and The Devil"(1959), discovered through my Inger Stevens search, mentioned yesterday. She costars with Harry Belafonte in this unusual story that uses science fiction as a context to explore issues of race, women's equality and the human capacity to adapt and survive. Belafonte is a mining engineer working deep underground in an unspecified Midwestern state. He's in the mine alone, talking by radio to his supervisor at ground level. Suddenly the earth shakes, the mine shaft trembles, a wall collapses and there is a partial cave-in. Belafonte is pinned under a support beam but manages to free himself. He's still trapped in the mine, though, and he remains there for several days, hoping a rescue team will come . But when his battery powered lights start to fail, he can't wait any longer. He panics, which leads to an adrenaline surge, and suddenly he is breaking through rubble that seemed impenetrable, the survival instinct at work.
As he hammers with his pick, the rocks fall away......and then he sees daylight. On the other side of the rubble is a shaft leading to a ladder that extends to the surface. He's ecstatic at his luck, until he climbs up to street level and sees..........that the city is entirely empty. Holy Rod Serling, Batman! What on Earh has happened?
Belafonte spends several minutes walking the streets, calling out to anyone who might hear, but the city is desolate. Cars have been left askew at odd angles. Trash cans are knocked aside. A newspaper blows haphazardly down the sidewalk. Belafonte picks it up, to read a horrific headline : "U.S. Retaliates For Atomic Poisoning". Nukes have gone off all over the world. The end of mankind is at hand.
Okay, so it's one of those super pessimistic Atomic Age premises that culminated in "The Omega Man" in 1972. The world is toast, there's only one man left, but he's ultra resourceful. That's how this story starts out, at any rate. Belafonte hot wires a car (a nice Caddy right out of the shop) and drives it to New York City, figuring it's as good a place as any to search for survivors. Also, as a metropolis, there will be plenty of supplies on hand, food, gasoline and whatnot. When he arrives, he begins to set up shop. As an engineer, he knows enough about electricity to get the local power station up and running, giving him light and refrigeration. He turns on the transmitter at a nearby radio station and begins to broadcast, stating his location. In a scene reminiscent of "Cast Away" (though 40 years earlier), he finds two mannequins in a department store and brings them back to his new apartment, for company. Like Tom Hanks, he tries conversing with the male of the two, whom he's dubbed "Snodgrass", but is soon frustrated by Snodgrass' neverending silence and the wide grin on his face. Though Belafonte has stabilised his situation and is in no danger of imminent death, he finds nothing happy for Snodgrass to be smiling about. He's the last man on Earth, for God's sake!
Or is he? One day, while he is out salvaging various items (lamps, books, etc), we see a pair of feet trailing him. They belong to Inger Stevens. Belafonte will soon see her, too, but she's frightened of him at first. You can understand the implication. Just as she was afraid to be left alone with Neville Brand in last night's "Cry Terror", because he was a degenerate, here she is alone with Harry Belafonte, and though he's very handsome and clean cut, he's still a man and she's a woman, and there's no one else around to help her if he turns out to be a bad guy. We know, of course, that he isn't. He's Harry Belafonte, for cryin' out loud! Hasn't Stevens ever heard "The Banana Boat Song"? He can see she's a scared rabbit, so after telling her "I won't hurt you. I've got food and electricity, take it or leave it", he starts to walk away. Stevens considers for a minute, then catches up with him. The chance for companionship outweighs any negligible danger.
Now the plot will change gears to focus on relationships. Soon Belafonte and Stevens are good friends. She trusts and relies on him and appreciates his ingenuity. Stevens would like to be more than friends, but Belafonte insists they keep it platonic. He wants Stevens to continue living in her own apartment. She doesn't understand why, so he explains that he's still used to the old social mores that considered it taboo for a black man and white woman to be together. "But there's nobody else around"!, she protests. "You don't understand"!, Belafonte responds, and goes on to remind her that generations of class reinforcement, to say nothing of their slave history, has created mental and emotional barriers to keep black people in their place.
He tells her he'll do anything for her. He even takes her to a nightclub he's refurbished, where he himself provides the evening's entertainment (singing a Belafonte hit), but...."just don't ask me to love you, because it's wrong". She's still not buying his argument, but she can see it's fixed. He's not gonna change his mind......but then wait a minute.......he just might after all.
Because, one day, while Belafonte is at the radio station, Stevens comes running in to tell him there's a boat approaching the harbor. They hurry to the dock, where Belafonte jumps in a motorboat and sputters out to greet the new arrival, who turns out to be Mel Ferrer. He's in bad shape, so Belafonte guides his boat the rest of the way in, and he and Inger Stevens nurse Ferrer back to health. Now there are three of them - two men and a woman - and after a shave, Ferrer is looking handsome, and unlike the serious-minded Belafonte, he has a sense of humor and is very charming. Since Belafonte won't respond romantically to her, Stevens soon shows Ferrer more attention. Hmmm......now that there's some competiton, Belafonte decides that he does love Stevens after all. But he keeps it to himself, because he just can't overcome the old predjudices. Ferrer notices, however, and tells Belafonte he's not trying to step in......but he's not gonna step out of the way, either. "If you aren't gonna make a move, I will", he says finally, adding "Oh, and by the way.....in case you were wondering I have nothing against Negroes". Indeed, Harry Belafonte seems to be the only one here with outdated racial ideas.
But now that Ferrer has horned in on his girl, he decides he really does want her.....or maybe not......he just can't make up his mind because his pride is getting in the way. He knows that Stevens and Ferrer rely on him, and thus need him, for his many practical talents, and it's good enough for him to be King in their little world. He doesn't need Stevens' love.....but he doesn't want it to go to Mel Ferrer, either. This won't set up a conflict on his part. Belafonte is content to suck it all up and continue to work day-by-day to rebuild society. But to Mel Ferrer, it's all about Inger Stevens. He wants Belafonte to put up or shut up. There will be a showdown of some kind, but you'll have to see that for yourself. "The World, The Flesh and The Devil" is an interesting movie that includes not only a great many philosophical and social considerations but also a lot of witty dialogue in the early part of the script between Belafonte and Stevens, about what it's like to be the last two people on Earth. All in all, you've never seen anything quite like it, except possibly the aforementioned "Omega Man", but that film, while having a biracial element, concentrated on life or death struggle and was more of a pure science fiction movie. "TWTFATD", on the other hand, leaves you more hopeful, with an ending that is actually..........well, you'll just have to see "The Ending" for yourself, because it isn't really an ending at all. I loved the movie and give it Two Very Big Thumbs Up. With great performances from all three cast members and another black and white tour of 1950s New York (deserted this time), it's Highly Recommended. ////
Well, that's all for the moment. It's super windy outside, my most hated weather condition, so I'm gonna postpone my walk for the time being in hope that it'll die down by tonight. Gonna make a quick stop at Vons for supplies and then head back to Pearl's. See you tonight at the Usual Time!
Tons of love. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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