This is the perhaps the best script from a writer's point of view of any of the 1950s low-budget "B" sci-fi films. Galactic fiction being beyond the capacities of Hollywood writers' imaginations, the best they could do is "futuristics", stories of apocalyptic, invaded, poisoned or plagued Earth. Larger budgets made possible color features such as "War of the Worlds"; and "When Worlds Collide"; others with less backing made "Kronos", "Earth Versus the Flying Saucers" and this gem of the genre. Here four astronauts who return from a mission to Mars are caught in the usual 'time warp'; and so they return to find a devastated Earth of the future--atomic war being the destructive force. The astronauts are led by dependable leading man Hugh Marlowe; the others are young Rod Taylor, Christopher Dark and announcer--voiced nice guy Nelson Leigh. They become involved with The Council, led by Everett Glass and run afoul of fine actor Booth Colman as a man jealous of their potency as political leaders and their genetic potential to please the local female population. Others in the cast include fine character actors Paul Brinegar and Herb Vigran. Borrowing a page from Edgar Rice Burroughs' Opar tales, author and director of the film, Edward Bernds, has introduced beast men, impotent males and gorgeous women who seem seem almost to belong to a different race. The three lovelies are played by capable leading lady Nancy Gates, Lisa Montell and Shawn Smith. What sets this film apart is fine music by Leigh Harline, intelligent sets, enjoyably-revealing costumes for the ladies and its dialogue and interestingly-developed characters. The four astronauts learn about the new society of wrecked Earth, its problems and hopes, as we do, adding to the impact of the story. Dark has a good part as he mourns his lost family; the older Leigh enjoys his status as a sought-after-male and scientist, Taylor is stalwart and promising but battles his Australian accent. Marlowe makes everyone else look better as usual by his intelligence and ability to handle adventure-level dialogue. The action climax sets the four up to be the leaders of a new and perhaps better world, with the beast men at bay and affairs of the heart settled admirably-- and Dark in charge of the children who are the hope of a rebuilt Earth... I cannot recommend this exercise in clever low-budget sci-fi film-making too highly. This is an exciting and interesting narrative.
69 Reviews
Civilization kept alive in earth's caves
bkoganbing27 September 2013
World Without End has four astronauts on a Mars mission enter a time warp similar to what Charlton Heston and his crew encountered in Planet Of The Apes. Only they figure out before the end that it is earth about 500 years into the future where an atomic war has pretty well decimated the planet.
Fortunately for them the world is not just the savage mutants they inhabit outside. There is a civilization kept alive in earth's caves. But they're a pretty pacific lot and frown on these 20th century types with their weaponry which simply consists of handguns.
The four astronauts are Hugh Marlowe, Nelson Leigh, Christopher Dark, and Rod Taylor who would soon star in his own film about time travel. In the end it turns out that these guys and their knowledge of weapons come in pretty useful after all.
The director of this film Edward Bernds who did this for Allied Artists. Bernds who started out working on Frank Capra films was a director of several Bowery Boy features for Allied Artists formerly Monogram Pictures. This was a man used to working with minuscule budgets and realizing that the film didn't turn out half bad.
And unlike Planet Of The Apes it ends on a somewhat optimistic note.
Fortunately for them the world is not just the savage mutants they inhabit outside. There is a civilization kept alive in earth's caves. But they're a pretty pacific lot and frown on these 20th century types with their weaponry which simply consists of handguns.
The four astronauts are Hugh Marlowe, Nelson Leigh, Christopher Dark, and Rod Taylor who would soon star in his own film about time travel. In the end it turns out that these guys and their knowledge of weapons come in pretty useful after all.
The director of this film Edward Bernds who did this for Allied Artists. Bernds who started out working on Frank Capra films was a director of several Bowery Boy features for Allied Artists formerly Monogram Pictures. This was a man used to working with minuscule budgets and realizing that the film didn't turn out half bad.
And unlike Planet Of The Apes it ends on a somewhat optimistic note.
A Bernds' near-classic
ctomvelu116 June 2012
A low-budget kiddie sci-fi flick from the same period that brought us "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers," and interestingly enough starring the same actor, Hugh Marlowe, a sort of older version of that other '50s sci-fi star, Richard Carlson. Four astros headed for Mars go through a time warp in space and end up on Earth after atomic Armaggedon has decimated the planet. This makes things convenient both set- and costume-wise, as all the cities and highways are gone and all that's left on the planet's surface is a bunch of murderous cavemen. Ah, but inside one particular cave, the astros encounter an underground habitat containing what's left of humanity. The plot is sort of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine" in reverse. Because the story is actually interesting (the sun-deprived humans are dying out and the astros try to convince them to return to the planet's now-decontaminated surface), it's easy to forgive the theatrical photography, cardboard sets, and the three '50s-type females in their restaurant hostess outfits and bouffant hairdos. One way or the other, the always-dependable Marlowe keeps everything nicely grounded as the leader of the astros. The film looks like it cost $1.98 to make, but a reasonably strong story and decent-enough cast make it worth a glimpse. A young Rod Taylor. the Russell Crowe of his day, plays one of the other astros -- although he's given little to do except to bare his chest and make the ladies swoon.
All of the elements of Great 50s SciFi -Space,Mutants,Future
SciFi-50s10 May 2004
Space pioneers are returning to Earth from a trip to Mars when their spaceship is propelled into the future. They land and discover a vastly different Earth than the one they left. All of the elements that went into the 50s scifi genre are here. Space travel, mutant creatures, and life in the far distant future. This film was a better than average film for its time. The effects are poor compared to today but the dialog makes up for it. The color is sharp and clear and there is a good cast to make it enjoyable. Pull up a chair and break out the popcorn. Following the adventures of the newly returned space travelers makes for a good Saturday afternoon viewing.
"The female of the species hasn't changed much. She still goes for a good pair of shoulders."
utgard1413 June 2015
Four astronauts on a mission to Mars find themselves accidentally transported 500 years into the future. There they discover a post-apocalyptic Earth with cyclopean mutants and giant spiders. Luckily for them there are also plenty of beautiful babes around. Plus all of the men left on the planet are pacifist wimps, so the ladies are in desperate need of some Vitamin "D," if you catch my drift.
Fun Technicolor sci-fi movie, filmed in CinemaScope, from the golden age of science fiction. As others have stated, there are some plot similarities to sci-fi classic "The Time Machine." Coincidentally one of the astronauts here, Rod Taylor, would go on to star in the definitive film version of that story. This is an early role for Aussie Taylor, who is clearly still working on his American accent. The leader of the astronauts is 'old reliable' Hugh Marlowe, who was in a couple of sci-classics himself ("The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" ring any bells?). Nelson Leigh plays the requisite scientist of the group. He knows what's going on no matter what's going on. Christopher Dark plays the emotional one upset because he left his wife & kids behind. Booth Colman is the villain among the wimpy future men. He doesn't like how the future women are attracted to these "reckless and brutal" primitives from the past. The lovely ladies of future Earth are well-represented by Nancy Gates and Lisa Montell, among others.
Love the great old sets, costumes, and special effects. One man's cheese is another man's treasure. The astronauts dress and act like grunts from a WW2 movie, which is awesome. Some of the dated views expressed in the film provide some unintended comedy today but, to me, the added historical and sociological aspects are a plus not a minus. And, let's be real, some of it is pretty funny. I think if you're someone who enjoys sci-fi from the '50s you will like this a lot. It's not one of the best but it is very entertaining.
Fun Technicolor sci-fi movie, filmed in CinemaScope, from the golden age of science fiction. As others have stated, there are some plot similarities to sci-fi classic "The Time Machine." Coincidentally one of the astronauts here, Rod Taylor, would go on to star in the definitive film version of that story. This is an early role for Aussie Taylor, who is clearly still working on his American accent. The leader of the astronauts is 'old reliable' Hugh Marlowe, who was in a couple of sci-classics himself ("The Day the Earth Stood Still" and "Earth vs the Flying Saucers" ring any bells?). Nelson Leigh plays the requisite scientist of the group. He knows what's going on no matter what's going on. Christopher Dark plays the emotional one upset because he left his wife & kids behind. Booth Colman is the villain among the wimpy future men. He doesn't like how the future women are attracted to these "reckless and brutal" primitives from the past. The lovely ladies of future Earth are well-represented by Nancy Gates and Lisa Montell, among others.
Love the great old sets, costumes, and special effects. One man's cheese is another man's treasure. The astronauts dress and act like grunts from a WW2 movie, which is awesome. Some of the dated views expressed in the film provide some unintended comedy today but, to me, the added historical and sociological aspects are a plus not a minus. And, let's be real, some of it is pretty funny. I think if you're someone who enjoys sci-fi from the '50s you will like this a lot. It's not one of the best but it is very entertaining.
Desptie it's hokeyness, this is good 50s scf-fi fare.
bux15 November 1998
Patterned somewhat after H.G Wells novel "The Time Machine" and a fore-runner of "Planet of the Apes" (1968) This space-time travel story is better than it sounds. The astronauts are thrown forward in time but. actually it seems the opposite, as they return to a planet inhabited by cave-man like creatures-save a small group hiding out underground. The tight script and superior cast prop up this small budget picture, and the action moves it along so we don't have time to concentrate on it's short-falls. One of the better 'B' sci-fi flicks of the 50s.
He-men and the flight to tomorrow
jamesrupert20148 January 2020
Due to relativistic time dilation, the crew of a rocket ship that inexplicably accelerated to a tremendous velocity find themselves on a post-apocalyptic Earth in the year 2508, a world divided into effete and brutal societies. The film is highly sexualised, with the virile and 'manly' astronauts finding themselves in an underground society of timorous, weak-willed and physically unimpressive 'girly-men' (the leader is 'Timmek", a name evoking Dicken's famous little crippled boy) wearing outfits that look like elf-costumes, and lusty, full-bodied women, many of which are wearing halter tops or short skirts (designs were by the pin-up artist Alberto Vargas) and high-heels. The women are immediately attracted to the 'real' men from the past (this is not subtle, you could almost see the drool when one of them (Elain, Shirley Patterson) spots a buff and shirtless Herbert Ellis (Rod Taylor)). Outside the underground sanctuary, the world is ruled by 'mutates' - the grotesque results of radiation exposure. In contrast to the social selection in the city, in which generations of caution have resulted in spindly, enervated men, the 'mutates' have selectively bred themselves for brutal ugliness by killing 'normal' children (or keeping them as slaves, which allows an escapee (Deena, Lisa Montell) from the mutate society to be both a translator and a gorgeous love interest for the muscular Ellis). The whole premise is pretty loopy and there is not much to the story as the newcomers try to convince the weedy councillors to assist, and or at least allow, them to attempt to establish a beachhead on the mutate-infested surface. There is also a time-killing side story about one of the impotentates who promptly loses his girlfriend (?) to one of the time-travelling alpha-dogs, and his attempts to frame the temporal interlopers for murder. Despite being a Technicolor/Cinemascope production, the film's special effects are limited: the rocket ship is recycled footage from 'Flight to Mars' (1951), early-on the astronauts are attacked by a couple of very unconvincing giant spiders, and little is seen of the future city beyond some oft-repeated corridor footage. The cast is pretty good for a genre-picture but the script, especially Rod Taylor's lines, is not. The 'climatic battle' with the mutates is underwhelming, especially the classic "you only have to defeat the leader' cop-out. One of a number of time-travel movies from the late '50s and early 60s (the best known being 1961's 'The Time Machine', which also starred Rod Taylor), 'World Without End' film suffers from trying to address a complex 'social science-fiction' premise on a limited budget and with a '50s B-movie adventure aesthetic.
"We are a peaceful people. We are sick of weapons and war."
bensonmum24 January 2009
I've been struggling to write a plot synopsis of World Without End and finally decided to take a look at what was posted on IMDb. The posted synopsis from D.A. Kellough is much better than anything I've been able to come up with - "Four astronauts returning from mankind's first mission to Mars enter a time warp and crash on a 26th Century Earth devastated by atomic war. Our heroes meet with hideous mutant cavemen, giant spiders, love-struck beauties in short dresses, and jealous old geezers in sparkly skullcaps as they struggle to save humanity and build a new world." That sums it all up rather nicely.
At first glance, World Without End might seem like any number of the mass produced sci-fi clones that came out in the 50s. And in some ways, you'd be right. The poorly done rocket shots, the bizarre notion of having guns and hatchets on board a spacecraft, and the giant spider attacks are straight out of the 1950s Sci-Fi How To Guide. But for whatever reason, World Without End is more enjoyable than many of its brethren. The cast that features Hugh Marlowe and Rod Taylor is more than capable. The interesting script and the snappy direction of Edward Bernds help to create a nicely paced film with few dead spots. Even the more romantic, schmaltzy scenes don't drag the film down like in other sci-fi movies of the period. All of the "creatures" from Earth's future are adequately explained and (mostly) believable. And the film has a sense of fun about it that I enjoyed. I've got no problem recommending World Without End to fans of 50s sci-fi cinema.
I said that things were adequately explained. Well, for the most part that's true. One thing that's not is the difference between the men and women of Earth's future. The men are pasty, old, bloodless (that's what one of the characters from Earth's past call them) beings without a spark for life. The women, in contrast, are young and beautiful creatures with a need to live and to be loved. Why the difference? It's not really a weakness of the film, just something that nagged at me as I watched the movie.
At first glance, World Without End might seem like any number of the mass produced sci-fi clones that came out in the 50s. And in some ways, you'd be right. The poorly done rocket shots, the bizarre notion of having guns and hatchets on board a spacecraft, and the giant spider attacks are straight out of the 1950s Sci-Fi How To Guide. But for whatever reason, World Without End is more enjoyable than many of its brethren. The cast that features Hugh Marlowe and Rod Taylor is more than capable. The interesting script and the snappy direction of Edward Bernds help to create a nicely paced film with few dead spots. Even the more romantic, schmaltzy scenes don't drag the film down like in other sci-fi movies of the period. All of the "creatures" from Earth's future are adequately explained and (mostly) believable. And the film has a sense of fun about it that I enjoyed. I've got no problem recommending World Without End to fans of 50s sci-fi cinema.
I said that things were adequately explained. Well, for the most part that's true. One thing that's not is the difference between the men and women of Earth's future. The men are pasty, old, bloodless (that's what one of the characters from Earth's past call them) beings without a spark for life. The women, in contrast, are young and beautiful creatures with a need to live and to be loved. Why the difference? It's not really a weakness of the film, just something that nagged at me as I watched the movie.
Prototype For Later Science Fiction.
AaronCapenBanner19 October 2013
A returning spaceship crew of four astronauts(including Rod Taylor & Hugh Marlowe) find themselves sent through a time-warp into the 26th century, where an atomic war has taken place, resulting in a primitive tribe of men on the surface, and a society of intelligent(but tyrannical) people living below. The astronauts discover that they likely can't get home again, and so must sort out this world if they have any hope of surviving(and dodge the odd giant spider!). Good cast, but silly film with a pulp-minded story and clichés. Still, it is interesting to note how this may have influenced "The Time Machine", "Planet Of The Apes", and even "Star Trek"! (Though they greatly improved on these ideas, and made them more imaginative.)
Seen on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater in 1964
kevinolzak2 April 2019
"World Without End" was a 1956 Allied Artists release in color, which proved most influential to later efforts like "The Time Travelers" in its depiction of a future ravaged by nuclear war, itself chiefly inspired by Monogram's 1951 "Flight to Mars," from which its brief space footage was cribbed. The H.G. Wells estate considered this to be a ripoff of "The Time Machine" (later promoting supporting cast member Rod Taylor to the title role), but its lack of surprises make it seem quite conventional. A quartet of scientists take off for Mars in 1957 but after a skirmish through time land back on Earth in 2508. The snow covered landscape is mere hours away from the nearest colony, an underground society unaffected by the nuclear holocaust of the 22nd century, with mutated humans a constant threat on the surface. Things go swimmingly for our little band, receiving a warm greeting from all except the scheming Mories (Booth Colman), jealous of how their women are attracted to the newcomers, but by the climax both sides are working above ground for a stronger future. It looks quite colorful and was obviously produced on a budget higher than normal, with props like the muppet spider reused in another Allied Artists effort, "Queen of Outer Space." Top billed Hugh Marlowe kicked off a short career in sci/fi with "The Day the Earth Stood Still", followed by "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" and finally "Castle of Evil" (as one might expect, Rod Taylor proves to be a scene stealer while Nelson Leigh and Christopher Dark make little impression).
Radiated Mutants And Beautiful Women With Legs That Go On Forever - Must Be 50's Sci-Fi!
sddavis6325 February 2017
The more I think about this movie the more I realize that it's kind of "The Time Machine" with a bit of a space travel twist to it - and one of the stars is actually Rod Taylor, who also starred in the definitive movie version of "The Time Machine." It also had Hugh Marlowe, who did a few sci-fi movies in the era, along with westerns and a fair bit of TV work in his later career. It also has a few things in common with "Planet Of The Apes" - which, of course, was still quite a way in the future. This movie gives us four astronauts who somehow on a trip home from Mars (and this is set in 1957) end up being hurtled forward in time and land back on Earth about 500 years in the future. What they discover is a post-apocalyptic earth, an atomic war apparently having erupted in the 22nd century. The dangers of radiation were a staple of 1950's Cold War sci-fi movies, of course, because everyone was afraid of atomic war breaking out. So, as with many sci-fi pictures of this era, we do get mutants - silly looking giant spiders, and cyclopean looking humans on the surface who seem interested in little but attacking whatever they find. But our intrepid astronauts also discover an underground and non-mutant human society (unless the mutation is that all women are beautiful and long-legged and naturally inclined to wear really short skirts - although the most beautiful of the women may have been Lisa Montell as Deena, brought below from the surface, who wore pants.) This society locks itself away from the world above out of fear of the mutants and has really developed a rather passionless and fearful outlook on life - perhaps understandable for people who essentially spend their entire existence cowering in fear. The beautiful women, of course, are quite taken with the handsome muscular men from the past - we're told that even in the 26th century when they haven't seen anything except this rather pathetic collection of the male of the species women can't resist men with "good shoulders." The girls fall in love, jealousy erupts among the underground men, and eventually the men of the past - apparently having accepted that they can't return home - try to "un-wimp" this society and get them back to the surface - where humans belong!
It's a pretty quick movie. Special effects are what would be expected from a 50's sci-fi movie, although the producers chose to spend extra to film this in colour. The women may have been beautiful and the men may have been muscular (or pale and wimpy, depending on which group you're thinking of) but one thing that pretty much everyone in the cast had in common was that they offered somewhat bland performances. It was never really explained how the spaceship travelled forward in time. There was some mythical scientific theory referred to, and the point was made that the ship travelled pretty fast. But ... The speed was originally 15 miles per second (which in terms of space travel is standing still.) Once they hit the phenomenon, they hit 100 miles per second (still standing still in space) and at that speed their instruments froze, so the point was made that since nothing beyond that was recorded they could have been going ten or even a hundred times faster than that - which is still kind of standing still in space. Certainly there seemed nothing to suggest that this little ship could have approached the speed of light - which, basically, it would have had to do to facilitate this kind of time travel.
But I'm getting too technical. They travelled through time. Somehow. That's all that matters. And the four astronauts ultimately seemed to have a positive impact, and the movie does seem to end on an optimistic note. It's OK. In a lot of ways it's standard 50's sci- fi - hokey by today's standards, but entertaining enough at the time. And if you like beautiful women who all seem to have legs that go on forever - well, what's to complain about? (4/10)
It's a pretty quick movie. Special effects are what would be expected from a 50's sci-fi movie, although the producers chose to spend extra to film this in colour. The women may have been beautiful and the men may have been muscular (or pale and wimpy, depending on which group you're thinking of) but one thing that pretty much everyone in the cast had in common was that they offered somewhat bland performances. It was never really explained how the spaceship travelled forward in time. There was some mythical scientific theory referred to, and the point was made that the ship travelled pretty fast. But ... The speed was originally 15 miles per second (which in terms of space travel is standing still.) Once they hit the phenomenon, they hit 100 miles per second (still standing still in space) and at that speed their instruments froze, so the point was made that since nothing beyond that was recorded they could have been going ten or even a hundred times faster than that - which is still kind of standing still in space. Certainly there seemed nothing to suggest that this little ship could have approached the speed of light - which, basically, it would have had to do to facilitate this kind of time travel.
But I'm getting too technical. They travelled through time. Somehow. That's all that matters. And the four astronauts ultimately seemed to have a positive impact, and the movie does seem to end on an optimistic note. It's OK. In a lot of ways it's standard 50's sci- fi - hokey by today's standards, but entertaining enough at the time. And if you like beautiful women who all seem to have legs that go on forever - well, what's to complain about? (4/10)
enjoyable science fiction from the 1950's
garyoverman25 March 2000
I first remember seeing this movie on TV as a young boy in the early 1960's. From then on I watched it as often as it came on until they stopped showing science fiction movies on that station. For about twenty years or so, I did not see it, and then last year, I found it on video.
Much to my delight, I found that I still enjoyed it as much as ever.
The film concerns the first flight to Mars, and what happens when they start back. Hitting a great turbulence, the ship crash lands on an unknown planet, and the crew meets with many adventures before they discover that they are are on earth in the far future, and they deduce that an atomic war has taken place a couple of centuries prior to their landing.
The film has a good plot, cast and script, and even if the special effects are not what we are capable of today, it still is a movie that is worthwhile seeing.
Like I said before, I still enjoy it even after thirty years.
Much to my delight, I found that I still enjoyed it as much as ever.
The film concerns the first flight to Mars, and what happens when they start back. Hitting a great turbulence, the ship crash lands on an unknown planet, and the crew meets with many adventures before they discover that they are are on earth in the far future, and they deduce that an atomic war has taken place a couple of centuries prior to their landing.
The film has a good plot, cast and script, and even if the special effects are not what we are capable of today, it still is a movie that is worthwhile seeing.
Like I said before, I still enjoy it even after thirty years.
Good 1950s Sci-Fi, But a Bit Slow
mrb198016 August 2005
Warning: Spoilers
This sci-fi film tells the story of a Mars mission (led by Marlowe) which somehow is stuck in a time warp and arrives on Earth of the far future. Future Earth people are living underground like scared rabbits, since savage "mutates" rule the surface and kill all humans that venture out. Marlowe and company are held captive by the humans, and after much discussion, finally prevail on the timid people to fight the mutates with real 20th century weapons (like an improvised bazooka). The leader of the mutates is killed, and the mutates and humans are shown living in harmony at the end of the film.
The entire cast is good, but Leigh (in his usual dignified way), and a very young Rod Taylor stand out, along with Shawn Smith (Shirley Patterson, as one of the future humans). The color cinematography is very good, and the direction is okay. My main complaint with the movie is its very slow and methodical pace, with lots of discussion about every plot detail.
For me, what nearly ruined the film was the appearance of a giant purple spider, which was very obviously a puppet! Leigh, Marlowe, and the group capture and kill the spider with guns, but had to do so with straight faces. Otherwise, this is thoughtful and well-done sci-fi.
The entire cast is good, but Leigh (in his usual dignified way), and a very young Rod Taylor stand out, along with Shawn Smith (Shirley Patterson, as one of the future humans). The color cinematography is very good, and the direction is okay. My main complaint with the movie is its very slow and methodical pace, with lots of discussion about every plot detail.
For me, what nearly ruined the film was the appearance of a giant purple spider, which was very obviously a puppet! Leigh, Marlowe, and the group capture and kill the spider with guns, but had to do so with straight faces. Otherwise, this is thoughtful and well-done sci-fi.
Awful Movie with mildly charming aspects.
tomfsloan15 November 2018
Men travel to the future and meet beautiful horny women, awful interior sets, and horrendously crappy spiders. They shoot their bazooka at the mutants like it's a heartless video game. Sappy ending. Edward Bernds genius lies with the 3 Stooges, not here. On the plus side it had nice color.
Fun Movie about Time Travel and our Future
Enrique-Sanchez-5622 March 2001
Today was the first time I have seen this movie. Although I adore the SCI-FI genre, I really don't dribble or quibble over Special Effects like smaller-minded viewers. I much rather watch a SCI-FI movie that has a good story and fairly good acting.
Folks so quickly forget what pre-2001 A Space Odyssey and pre-Star Wars SCI-FI movies were like and become jaded in their views. Suddenly all perspective is gone. Goodness, these were simple times in the mid-50's, have some compassion. We have come far even in comparison to 50 years ago.
WORLD WITHOUT END offers a story taking off from the classic Time Machine and anticipating the post-apocalyptic nightmare of Planet of the Apes. It presents yet another version of what could be the future. The sets and complete production values are all fine and well realized.
But what is important here is the story and the hope that mankind can survive through any adversity because he has and will always have the will to live and carry on. Warts and all.
I would recommend this to any real fan of storytelling.
Folks so quickly forget what pre-2001 A Space Odyssey and pre-Star Wars SCI-FI movies were like and become jaded in their views. Suddenly all perspective is gone. Goodness, these were simple times in the mid-50's, have some compassion. We have come far even in comparison to 50 years ago.
WORLD WITHOUT END offers a story taking off from the classic Time Machine and anticipating the post-apocalyptic nightmare of Planet of the Apes. It presents yet another version of what could be the future. The sets and complete production values are all fine and well realized.
But what is important here is the story and the hope that mankind can survive through any adversity because he has and will always have the will to live and carry on. Warts and all.
I would recommend this to any real fan of storytelling.
Im an old man.. I wish I had died before I saw a day like this
sol121818 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** Top of the line Allied Artists motion picture in both Technicolor and Wide Screen, reserved for the biggest blockbusters of major films studios back in the 1950's, has a quartet of US astronauts end up getting caught in a time warp. This cause their space craft accelerate beyond the speed of light that takes them form the year 1957 to 2508 in a matter of seconds on their maiden flight to Mars as the first men in outer space! Landing on this mysterious and forbidden planet the boys from space John Borden, Hugh Marlow, Dr. Galbarithe,Nelson Leigh, Herbert Ellis, Rod Taylor, & Hank Jaffe, Chris Dark, are at first in the dark to where they are. It's after being attacked by giant spiders as well as mutant and for the most part one eyed cave men that they get the picture, in escaping into an underground cave complex, that the place or planet their on is the good old earth itself!
Taken in by the few humans still left on the planet the fly or space boys learn that a nuclear war had broken out in the 22th century and destroyed almost the entire human race. As for the surviving humans lead by the dilapidated and undernourished looking Timmak, Everett Glass, who've over the years had lost their nerve or willingness to fight the mutants and are now satisfied to live out their entire lives underground without as much as even seeing the light of day! It's when the astronauts get a look at the women in the cave who all look like their in their early 20's who just stepped out of a 1950's girlie magazine that they changed their minds about coming back to 20th century earth if that's at all possible. With all the shapely women flocking to the astronauts it's Mories, Booth Colman, one of the wimpy men in the cave , who for some reason all wear shower caps, who plans to discredit the time travelers to his leader Timmak. Mories does this by murdering one of of his fellow futuristic humans James, William Vadder, and then blaming his death on the innocent astronauts.
Astronaut John Boden and his men have a tough time proving their innocence but it's young Deena, Lisa Montell, who saw Morise murder James who rats him out to her leader Timmak who was ready to thrown the time traveler out in the wild and at the mercy of the mutant cavemen. This has Morise now exposed as James' murderer run for his life outside the safety of the cave complex only to get caught and brutally beaten to death by the mutant one eye cave-men who were waiting for him outside! By then Borden & Co. finally convinced Timmak and the some 2,000 humans cave dwellers that he's in charge of to finally get their act together, by making and taking up arms, and fight off the mutants before they all end up becoming extinct! In that by them and their offspring's by not getting enough sunlight or vitamin "D" the cave complex populations birth rate has just about dropped to zero!
Even though the flight crew were supposed to be future astronauts they wore 10 year old WWII style surplus US Army Air Force bomber and flight jackets not the air tight silvery and robot like astronaut outfits we became used to seeing in the many space flight, by both the US & USSR, over the years since the film was released. There's also Aussie actor Rod Taylor who some four years later would again travel into the future in the movie "The Time Machine" desperately trying to hide his very pronounced Australian accent, and sound American, but being totally unable to do it!
Taken in by the few humans still left on the planet the fly or space boys learn that a nuclear war had broken out in the 22th century and destroyed almost the entire human race. As for the surviving humans lead by the dilapidated and undernourished looking Timmak, Everett Glass, who've over the years had lost their nerve or willingness to fight the mutants and are now satisfied to live out their entire lives underground without as much as even seeing the light of day! It's when the astronauts get a look at the women in the cave who all look like their in their early 20's who just stepped out of a 1950's girlie magazine that they changed their minds about coming back to 20th century earth if that's at all possible. With all the shapely women flocking to the astronauts it's Mories, Booth Colman, one of the wimpy men in the cave , who for some reason all wear shower caps, who plans to discredit the time travelers to his leader Timmak. Mories does this by murdering one of of his fellow futuristic humans James, William Vadder, and then blaming his death on the innocent astronauts.
Astronaut John Boden and his men have a tough time proving their innocence but it's young Deena, Lisa Montell, who saw Morise murder James who rats him out to her leader Timmak who was ready to thrown the time traveler out in the wild and at the mercy of the mutant cavemen. This has Morise now exposed as James' murderer run for his life outside the safety of the cave complex only to get caught and brutally beaten to death by the mutant one eye cave-men who were waiting for him outside! By then Borden & Co. finally convinced Timmak and the some 2,000 humans cave dwellers that he's in charge of to finally get their act together, by making and taking up arms, and fight off the mutants before they all end up becoming extinct! In that by them and their offspring's by not getting enough sunlight or vitamin "D" the cave complex populations birth rate has just about dropped to zero!
Even though the flight crew were supposed to be future astronauts they wore 10 year old WWII style surplus US Army Air Force bomber and flight jackets not the air tight silvery and robot like astronaut outfits we became used to seeing in the many space flight, by both the US & USSR, over the years since the film was released. There's also Aussie actor Rod Taylor who some four years later would again travel into the future in the movie "The Time Machine" desperately trying to hide his very pronounced Australian accent, and sound American, but being totally unable to do it!
Or: How the Bazooka Saved Human Civilization
lemon_magic20 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I'd actually rate this 6 and 1/2 out of 7, but compared to the movie that came out immediately before it ("Forbidden Planet"), this somewhat derivative production comes off looking a bit less than classic. So down it goes to 6 stars.
Some of the SFX in the early part of the movie are poor enough to make a modern day fan of this genre wince (think Rocky Jones "Crash Of Moons" poor), but once the movie gets out of outer space and once you get past the ludicrous spider puppets, things look a lot better and you can start concentrating on what's good about the movie instead of what's painful about it.
Yes, the screenplay has more than a little resemblance to "The Time Machine", and some of the "underground scenes" and future costumes are undistinguished, but the actors manage to save it. The intrepid astronauts are practically interchangeable as characters, but they are, as I said, intrepid and daring and admirable, and the actors work hard to sell their lines, and somehow, most of the time, things work fine.
There are some enjoyable bits of staging here and there, and a nice climactic duel between the chief astronaut and the villain caveman. There's a believable depiction of human nature (and human frailty) in the far future, and a "Wagon's Ho!" coda that will probably put a nostalgic smile of the face of many viewers my age - that sense that hard work, a forward thinking attitude and perfect teeth will always save the day.
Worth seeing once for its own sake.
Some of the SFX in the early part of the movie are poor enough to make a modern day fan of this genre wince (think Rocky Jones "Crash Of Moons" poor), but once the movie gets out of outer space and once you get past the ludicrous spider puppets, things look a lot better and you can start concentrating on what's good about the movie instead of what's painful about it.
Yes, the screenplay has more than a little resemblance to "The Time Machine", and some of the "underground scenes" and future costumes are undistinguished, but the actors manage to save it. The intrepid astronauts are practically interchangeable as characters, but they are, as I said, intrepid and daring and admirable, and the actors work hard to sell their lines, and somehow, most of the time, things work fine.
There are some enjoyable bits of staging here and there, and a nice climactic duel between the chief astronaut and the villain caveman. There's a believable depiction of human nature (and human frailty) in the far future, and a "Wagon's Ho!" coda that will probably put a nostalgic smile of the face of many viewers my age - that sense that hard work, a forward thinking attitude and perfect teeth will always save the day.
Worth seeing once for its own sake.
50s sci-fi
SnoopyStyle26 September 2017
In 1957, four astronauts are returning to Earth from mankind's first mission to Mars. They are hit by some cosmic event and land on a strange planet. They are attacked by giant spiders and mutant humanoids. They find a human grave with an end date of 2068. They surmise that they have traveled through time to an Earth of the future. They stumble upon an underground civilization.
This is standard 50s sci-fi borrowing from Verne and Wells. The look and the premise are undeniable B-movie sci-fi. It would be nice to have some cool twist but that's not to be. It's all rather old fashion.
This is standard 50s sci-fi borrowing from Verne and Wells. The look and the premise are undeniable B-movie sci-fi. It would be nice to have some cool twist but that's not to be. It's all rather old fashion.
" In any path through Space and time, there is always a risk "
thinker16911 May 2010
In early Hollywood, movie scripts for any science fiction movie tended to gravitated around a standard formula. There were good guys, a menacing bad guy and of course pretty women. In addition, there was the danger of aliens, monsters or strange creatures. This 1956 science fiction movie had all those ingredients. Interestingly enough, it was Hugh Marlowe, playing the lead character John Borden. Nelson Leigh is brainy Dr. Eldon Galbraithe and Christopher Dark as 'Hank' Jaffe. Surprisingly last was future Mega-Star, Rod Taylor who despite low billing plays athletically handsome Herbert Ellis. Their story is of astronaut Earthmen traveling to Mars, on a routine reconnaissance mission to the red Planet. Unexpectedly, on their return trip, they are thrust into a time vortex and hurled 500 years into the future. There they are confronted with Mutants, Giant spiders and a timid race of humans living below ground, but in a high degree of comfort. A low budget, a slight degree of imagination and a puritanical often cautionary script, made for shallow entertainment. Still with Rod Taylor burgeoning to break out of his scripted shell, the movie displays an entertaining view of future film 'planet of the Apes.' Within the movie itself, there is the addition of much Eye-Candy galore which alone keep in tradition with the 1950's. Enjoy. ***
The movie's end comes too late.
dinky-48 April 1999
Like many other sci-fi movies from that glorious decade -- the 1950s -- this one begins with some promise. A team of astronauts flying past Mars is suddenly caught in a time-warp which sends them hurtling into ... Well, the set-up is much better than the pay-off which involves the usual futuristic women in short skirts and padded shoulders walking around in front of cheap sets mouthing banal dialog. Rod Taylor bares his chest for a I've-just-come-out-of-the-shower scene which easily qualifies as the best bit of "beefcake" in this entire genre.
"Tell Naga I'll leave my thunder and lightning behind me."
Hey_Sweden30 September 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A quartet of astronauts - John Borden (Hugh Marlowe), Dr. Eldon Galbraithe (Nelson Leigh), Herbert Ellis (Rod Taylor), and Hank Jaffe (Christopher Dark) - go on a fateful mission to Mars. On the return trip, they manage to break the time barrier, and they end up back on Earth - five centuries later. They learn that, in the meantime, the apocalypse has spawned a new version of primitive man, and that a few thousand untainted survivors live in underground kingdoms. Our astronaut heroes try to encourage these people to take action and take control of their lives.
"World Without End" was conceived by director Edward Bernds ("Queen of Outer Space", "Return of the Fly"), and it's a solidly entertaining story if not a great one. It's likely going to remind people of other, more well known tales such as "The Time Machine" (which Taylor starred in four years later) and "Planet of the Apes". It does have a fair bit going for it: a snappy pace, some amusing lines of dialogue, vibrant colours, impressive CinemaScope photography (by Ellsworth Fredericks), rousing music (by Leith Stevens), and good performances. Our heroes are inherently likable chaps, the ladies (such as Nancy Gates, as Garnet) are ravishing - gotta love those miniskirts - and there is at least one good villain worth booing. That would be Booth Colman, as the devious Mories. Bernds' script actually uses "mutates" as a noun and not a verb, referring to these aforementioned primitive men. The makeup on them is pretty clunky, but it serves its purpose. And, speaking of clunky: viewers are bound to erupt into tears of laughter, seeing those "giant spiders" in action!
All in all, this is good fun. It's fairly serious without ever getting TOO grim, and finishes on an upbeat, hopeful note that will be sure to leave smiles on some peoples' faces.
Seven out of 10.
"World Without End" was conceived by director Edward Bernds ("Queen of Outer Space", "Return of the Fly"), and it's a solidly entertaining story if not a great one. It's likely going to remind people of other, more well known tales such as "The Time Machine" (which Taylor starred in four years later) and "Planet of the Apes". It does have a fair bit going for it: a snappy pace, some amusing lines of dialogue, vibrant colours, impressive CinemaScope photography (by Ellsworth Fredericks), rousing music (by Leith Stevens), and good performances. Our heroes are inherently likable chaps, the ladies (such as Nancy Gates, as Garnet) are ravishing - gotta love those miniskirts - and there is at least one good villain worth booing. That would be Booth Colman, as the devious Mories. Bernds' script actually uses "mutates" as a noun and not a verb, referring to these aforementioned primitive men. The makeup on them is pretty clunky, but it serves its purpose. And, speaking of clunky: viewers are bound to erupt into tears of laughter, seeing those "giant spiders" in action!
All in all, this is good fun. It's fairly serious without ever getting TOO grim, and finishes on an upbeat, hopeful note that will be sure to leave smiles on some peoples' faces.
Seven out of 10.
20th Century males are magnificent
wijnandbodrij17 June 2013
This must be the dumbest 1950's sci-fi movie ever.It starts of fine, (like an early version of Planet of the Apes)only instead of apes we get a race of "mutates" on the surface of the earth and a small group of "regular humans" who have built a society underground(A lot of similarities with the Timemachine).Our 4 heroes end up in a cave and are taken in by the regular humans,finding out that after a big nuclear war the surface dwellers were mutated into hideous,violent,Cycloptic Neanderthal-like "mutates" due to radiation,and a group of humans went underground.These underground dwellers degenerated into spineless peace loving hippie treehuggers with no stomach for violence whatsoever (which seems logical considering the earth was decimated by nuclear war) Our 4 heroes however disagree with this peaceful society and take it upon themselves to lead the treehuggers back to the surface where humans belong,and propose to create weapons to take the surface back,because the underground society will go extinct due to the oh so obvious inbreeding.Now i am not sure about the morale of this tale but i'm sure American 2nd amendment lovers should adopt this movie.
My Favorite of the 1950s "B" Science Fiction Films
wdbasinger12 September 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I saw this film for the first time when I was about 8 years of age and never forgot a lot of the issues raised during the plot. The first 15 minutes or so, the viewer is shown a rocket traveling from Martian orbit which subsequently takes off suddenly at a fantastic undefined velocity. The special effects imply that it is going through some sort of convulsion or warp. The rocket eventually crashes on some planet.
After the astronauts start to explore the "unknown" planet, they encounter some unearthly phenomena such as a surface reading of elevated background radiation that would be uncharacteristic of comparable measurements on earth. Tnen, inside a cave, they encounter a giant spider (a staple of 1950s SF, somewhat hokey here) which would be impossible on the earth that they knew. Sunsequently, they meet a group of savage humanoids that could be throwbacks to a stone age era. Now, the key point which I never forgot - a visit to an abandoned cemetery that contains monuments dating back to at least the 20th century on earth. This shocking detail reveals that they have somehow returned to earth, but not the earth that they knew. Then, they discover the grave of someone who lived from the years 1985 - 2068 !!! (The astronauts went into space around 1957) The concept of time dilation dates back to the Einstein Special Theory of Relativity and I have been fascinated by the possibility ever since. The astronauts try to speculate about the velocity that they actually attained, beyond 100 miles / second - or, was it 1000 miles/second, 10000 miles/second, or faster still (the velocity of light is 186,000 miles/ second at which fundamental physical concepts such as length, mass, and time undergo fantastic values in magnitude). As one approaches the velocity of light, time becomes asymptotic and at actual light speed, time is reduced to 0. According to physicists, light speed is the absolute limit in the universe. That is why concepts such as warps in space-time are being discussed as possible methods of achieving faster than light conditions. In any case, the astronauts discover that sometime between their departure in 1957 and their appearance on earth several centuries later, there was some horrific atomic world war that decimated civilization as they knew it.
The astronauts are chased into a cave by the savages in another encounter where they meet descendants of survivors of the atomic war living underground. At this point, the plot starts to focus on human interactions and the various behavioral passions and characteristics (including human frailties and weaknesses such as mistrust and jealousy) that seem to be universals in any era of the history of mankind, from ancient times to the present, to the future time of the year 2508. The girls in the movie are all knockouts (especially the bare-legged ones) which are a staple of 1950s SF (such as in "Missile to the Moon", "Queen of Outer Space", and others). After a number of debates followed by an act of treachery by one of the men from the future, the astronauts finally convince the subterranean people to let them fight their way to the surface, fight off the savages, and establish a base upon which the underground people can rebuild civilization.
As the future men and women from the year 2508 rebuild civilization, would they be able to control their negative passions in order to create a world at peace? Or once re-established on the surface, would new kingdoms, principalities, and nations take root again followed by the usual cycles of peace and war ? The saga of human history is marked by cycles of rise and fall and then subsequent rise and fall. Is this all we humans can do ? Or can we do better ? Can the human race rise above the flaws and frailties that made the atomic war (and all of the wars before it) possible ? Or can we learn to put intellect above violence and put an end to war forever ? Would this imply that Homo Sapiens would really learn to live up to its name. The term "Homo Sapiens" means "wise man". How "wise" are men who slaughter each other in cycles of wars that have come close to destroying entire segments of the population ? How "wise" would we actually be to destroy the earth and us with it ? There is nothing "wise" about taking another human life. Wars have plagued us humans from ancient times to the present. Can we eventually learn to control our lower instincts and passions in order to make war impossible? Can we truly create a civilized human order at peace with itself? These are questions that function as the subtext of the movie.
10/10
Dan Basinger
After the astronauts start to explore the "unknown" planet, they encounter some unearthly phenomena such as a surface reading of elevated background radiation that would be uncharacteristic of comparable measurements on earth. Tnen, inside a cave, they encounter a giant spider (a staple of 1950s SF, somewhat hokey here) which would be impossible on the earth that they knew. Sunsequently, they meet a group of savage humanoids that could be throwbacks to a stone age era. Now, the key point which I never forgot - a visit to an abandoned cemetery that contains monuments dating back to at least the 20th century on earth. This shocking detail reveals that they have somehow returned to earth, but not the earth that they knew. Then, they discover the grave of someone who lived from the years 1985 - 2068 !!! (The astronauts went into space around 1957) The concept of time dilation dates back to the Einstein Special Theory of Relativity and I have been fascinated by the possibility ever since. The astronauts try to speculate about the velocity that they actually attained, beyond 100 miles / second - or, was it 1000 miles/second, 10000 miles/second, or faster still (the velocity of light is 186,000 miles/ second at which fundamental physical concepts such as length, mass, and time undergo fantastic values in magnitude). As one approaches the velocity of light, time becomes asymptotic and at actual light speed, time is reduced to 0. According to physicists, light speed is the absolute limit in the universe. That is why concepts such as warps in space-time are being discussed as possible methods of achieving faster than light conditions. In any case, the astronauts discover that sometime between their departure in 1957 and their appearance on earth several centuries later, there was some horrific atomic world war that decimated civilization as they knew it.
The astronauts are chased into a cave by the savages in another encounter where they meet descendants of survivors of the atomic war living underground. At this point, the plot starts to focus on human interactions and the various behavioral passions and characteristics (including human frailties and weaknesses such as mistrust and jealousy) that seem to be universals in any era of the history of mankind, from ancient times to the present, to the future time of the year 2508. The girls in the movie are all knockouts (especially the bare-legged ones) which are a staple of 1950s SF (such as in "Missile to the Moon", "Queen of Outer Space", and others). After a number of debates followed by an act of treachery by one of the men from the future, the astronauts finally convince the subterranean people to let them fight their way to the surface, fight off the savages, and establish a base upon which the underground people can rebuild civilization.
As the future men and women from the year 2508 rebuild civilization, would they be able to control their negative passions in order to create a world at peace? Or once re-established on the surface, would new kingdoms, principalities, and nations take root again followed by the usual cycles of peace and war ? The saga of human history is marked by cycles of rise and fall and then subsequent rise and fall. Is this all we humans can do ? Or can we do better ? Can the human race rise above the flaws and frailties that made the atomic war (and all of the wars before it) possible ? Or can we learn to put intellect above violence and put an end to war forever ? Would this imply that Homo Sapiens would really learn to live up to its name. The term "Homo Sapiens" means "wise man". How "wise" are men who slaughter each other in cycles of wars that have come close to destroying entire segments of the population ? How "wise" would we actually be to destroy the earth and us with it ? There is nothing "wise" about taking another human life. Wars have plagued us humans from ancient times to the present. Can we eventually learn to control our lower instincts and passions in order to make war impossible? Can we truly create a civilized human order at peace with itself? These are questions that function as the subtext of the movie.
10/10
Dan Basinger
Memories of movies made without hi tech
pietclausen16 April 2017
I came across this movie, which I had never seen in the 50's. It starred Rod Taylor, who subsequently had great success with "The Time Machine" in 1960, which I remember very well and have a copy of.
I find it intriguing watching this oldie for its simplicity, even a little corny, but gave me much pleasure in taking me back to this era of movie making. Watching it on Blu-Ray now, probably gave me a better reproduction than was available then. I remember many old films that I saw in those years and watched them again recently in Blu-Ray. It surprised me that there were parts that I could not distinguish then and now are clear for all to see. Using modern technology to watch old movies is really a wonderful experience in nostalgia.
I am happy to give this movie a solid 6 for what it is, but the enjoyment I got out of it is worth 8 out of 10.
I find it intriguing watching this oldie for its simplicity, even a little corny, but gave me much pleasure in taking me back to this era of movie making. Watching it on Blu-Ray now, probably gave me a better reproduction than was available then. I remember many old films that I saw in those years and watched them again recently in Blu-Ray. It surprised me that there were parts that I could not distinguish then and now are clear for all to see. Using modern technology to watch old movies is really a wonderful experience in nostalgia.
I am happy to give this movie a solid 6 for what it is, but the enjoyment I got out of it is worth 8 out of 10.
What is there to like about this movie?
Andy Sandfoss17 July 2000
What is there to like about this movie? Some bumbling incompetent astronauts blunder their way 500 years into the future. Once there they notice that civilization has been all but destroyed in a nuclear war caused by the warlike suspicious tendencies prevalent in the 20th century world they left. They have no moral authority to lecture the survivors about anything, but they do just that. They accuse the (understandably) pacifist survivors of complacency when they refuse to take up once again the weapons that destroyed their world, to wage an unjustified eugenic war of extermination against the deformed (but obviously human) surface dwellers. "World Without End" is a sorry piece of Cold War propaganda, combining a justification of aggression with a dismissal of the danger of nuclear holocaust. It is really quite immoral in its own way, and if it weren't so crudely and cheaply done, it would make me even madder.
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