Things to Come
Produced by London Film Productions and distributed in 1936 by United Artists, black and white 35mm negative, 1.37:1 screen ratio, mono sound, 92 mins., DVD released 1999.
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 1936 poster
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Production:
- Directed by William Cameron Menzies
- Produced by Alexander Korda
- Written by H.G. Wells from his 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come
- Original Music by Arthur Bliss
- Cinematography by Georges Périnal
- Film Editing by Charles Crichton, Francis D. Lyon
- Sound Editing by A.W. Watkins
- Art Direction by Vincent Korda
- Special Effects by Ned Mann, Harry Zech
Cast:
- Raymond Massey as John Cabal/Oswald Cabal
- Edward Chapman as Pippa Passworthy/Raymond Passworthy
- Ralph Richardson as The Boss
- Margaretta Scott as Roxana/Rowena
- Cedric Hardwicke as Theotocopulos
- Maurice Braddell as Dr. Harding
- Sophie Stewart as Mrs. Cabal
- Derrick De Marney as Richard Gordon
- Ann Todd as Mary Gordon
- Pearl Argyle as Catherine Cabal
- Kenneth Villiers as Maurice Passworthy
- Ivan Brandt as Morden Mitani
- Anne McLaren as The Child
- Patricia Hilliard as Janet Gordon
- Charles Carson as Great Grandfather
Notes:
This film is the 1936 narrative of the novel The Shape of Things to Come published by H. G. Wells in 1933. It opens with an air attack on Everytown (London) in 1940 and describes a 30-year war that nearly destroys civilization, but mankind is saved from the cruel Boss by technocrats and the Airman John Cabal and his peace-seeking society Wings Over the World. According to Don Smith, "Things to Come is the greatest science film of the thirties and forties. It would rank today as one of the greatest films of all time but for its aloofness and tendencey to spout ideology" (Smith p. 179). It was England's first film with a million-dollar budget and featured innovative visual effects. "The earlier science fiction masterpiece Metropolis (1926) was flawed by its inability to successfully place actors in its outstanding minatures. Mann, Zech, and Korda solved the problem by constructing life-size lower storys of buildings and then inserting miniature upper storys with matte work. Buildings were often painted on glass. Clear glass remained in portions of the paintings so the camera could film actors and fragments of sets on the other side. The technicians then fastened the glass to a camera so as to film the pane and background action simultaneously. A continuous full-sized exposure resulted. Other special effects included biplane warfare, a huge space gun, ruined cities, parge airplane hangers, and a giant digging machine" (Smith p. 176). Ned Mann had created the aviation special effects for Madame Satan (1930) and Dirigible (1931), and he created the New York skyline that was swallowed by a huge tidal wave in Deluge (1933), the same miniature skyline would be used by RKO in the film King Kong (1933).
Sources:
- Credits from the IMDB for the title Things to Come
- Smith, Don G. H.G. Wells on Film: the Utopian Nightmare. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2002. 197 p.
- War of the Worlds