No Blade of Grass (1970)

Director:

Cornel Wilde

Writers:

John Christopher (novel)
Sean Forestal (writer) ...

Release Date:

23 October 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The creeping terror drifted towards them stamping out all civilization in its eerie path!

Plot:

When a deadly virus strikes London, John Custane takes his family to hoped-for safety in Scotland.

Plot Keywords:

Future | Bikers | Pollution | Flash Forward | Journey

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Nigel Davenport	...	John Custance
Jean Wallace	...	Ann Custance
John Hamill	...	Roger Burnham
Lynne Frederick	...	Mary Custance
Patrick Holt	...	David Custance
Ruth Kettlewell	...	Fat Woman
M.J. Matthews	...	George
Michael Percival	...	Police Constable
Tex Fuller	...	Mr. Beaseley
Simon Merrick	...	T.V. Interviewer (Fred Gray)
Anthony Sharp	...	Sir Charles Brenner
George Coulouris	...	Mr. Sturdevant
Anthony May	...	Pirrie
Wendy Richard	...	Clara
Max Hartnell	...	Lieutenant

Also Known As:

The Death of Grass (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:AA (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1971) | UK:15 (video rating) | France:-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Lake District, Cumbria, England, UK

Company:

Theodora Productions

Trivia:

First film of Christopher Neame.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Soylent Green (1973)

Soundtrack:

No Blade Of Grass

travesty or lost gonzo classic?

Obscure end of the world film directed by Cornel Wilde. The first six minutes are entirely negligible; We get the message that Man has polluted the planet with the stilted voice-over narration TELLING us; we don't need endless footage of smokestacks belching black smoke into the sooty sky and pipes gushing industrial waste into rivers to hammer the message home, over and over again. This is most likely enough to alienate most modern viewers but if you stick with it you will at least be rewarded by a few surprises; I was astonished by the number of people shot down in cold blood by the characters who are, ostensibly, the heroes of the film. I was continually surprised by the harshness of the "heroes" as well as just about every other character; Soldiers shoot their officers, civilians shoot soldiers and the main characters shoot an appalling number of people without blinking an eyelash! They shrug their shoulders after the first massacre and justify themselves by saying, "Well, its Us or Them now!" and afterwards they are a transformed group: Dangerously self-righteous and extremely trigger-happy. There were several points when i wondered, " Geez, couldn't they have tried to talk to them before gunning them down?" You've got to hand it to Cornel Wilde for not trying to pretty it up; this is a movie with a bleak premise and a grim message. I guess things would be even uglier if it were done any truer to life. If the whole thing weren't so badly dated it would be a very interesting look at the savagery that erupts when civilization breaks down, but as it is, the musical score alone makes it kitsch. And about the time that our rag-tag group of trigger happy survivalists engage in a pitched battle with viking helmeted motorcycle marauders(in slow motion, no less!) you may be wondering just what in the hell it is that you are watching. And what is it with the Motorbike riders all the time, huh? Just once I'd like to see a group of middle-class businessmen on a rampage. Its obvious that this was a personal project for Cornel Wilde and even with all of the weaknesses i've descibed, i must admit to a certain morbid fascination with this movie; Even when its showing those aforementioned montages of pollution and crooning the title song it's never boring because of its late 60's artsy fartsy editing and time capsule clothes and attitudes. But its just when you start settling into the rhythms of a standard 60's war/adventure film al la The Guns Of Navarone or something when the director will have Nigel Hawthorne( in an eyepatch, no less) admister the coup de grace to a GOVERNMENT SOLDIER--and when was the last time you saw THAT in a movie like this? I'd like to see Mel Gibson blast his way thru soldiers, and rioting beatniks, and blow away elderly farmers and their wives in order to get HIS family to safety! yikes! This movie is hard to find but i know they have it at MOVIE MADNESS in Portland, Oregon. So Enjoy...