The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959)

The movie, which was once routinely shown on TV, has all but vanished from sight in recent years. One of the first serious attempts to examine the implications of Armageddon in the nuclear age, the film was largely over-shadowed by Stanley Kramer's similarly-themed, all-star production of On the Beach. Harry Belafonte stars as Ralph Burton, a construction worker who is investigating a long-dormant underground tunnel when catastrophe strikes. He is trapped by a cave-in and when he manages to emerge from the death trap situation, he discovers the entire population of his town has fled in mass hysteria due to the outbreak of a world war. His research shows that biological weapons were used to kill seemingly everyone on earth. For the sake of dramatic license, the lethal aspects of the weapons are neutralized within a few days, thus making Burton immune from any lingering effects.

Burton makes his way to New York City where he finds the entire population has vanished and is presumably dead. Driving to New Jersey, he witnesses an eerie sight: thousands of deserted automobiles stranded at the Lincoln Tunnel and atop the George Washington Bridge. The impact is somewhat diluted because Burton never encounters a single dead body. Like Kramer's On the Beach, this production seems a bit timid when it comes to showing the actual carnage of a world war. In horror and suspense films, what you don't see is often scarier than what you do see, but in this scenario, it becomes rather implausible that there isn't a trace of a single soul in evidence. Nevertheless, the sequences remain powerful and haunting. Burton, who conveniently is a handy man who can tackle even the most daunting tasks, manages to generate electricity in the luxury apartment he stakes out in Manhattan. While he enjoys a reasonably lavish lifestyle, he is desperately lonely- until he encounters Sarah (Inger Stevens), a gorgeous blonde who has also miraculously survived the devastating event that seemingly has ended all other human life on earth. The film crosses into the realm of sexual tension and racial bigotry- bold topics during this era of moviemaking. The two would logically become lovers in any other scenario, but Burton balks because of the (then) American taboo on inter-racial relationships. Sarah is willing but becomes frustrated by Burton's avoidance of her sexual advances.

The situation becomes even more complicated when a third survivor emerges: Ben Thacker (Mel Ferrer). Burton saves his life, but the inevitable comes to pass. When Ben turns his attentions to Sarah, Burton becomes jealous and the two men engage in a duel to the death, stalking each other through the deserted canyons of Wall Street. The World, the Flesh and the Devil is a poignant film about the human pysche. As absurd as it might seem, one can well imagine that sexual dominance would result in the last two men on earth trying to reduce the male population by 50% through murder. The film is extremely well acted by the three leads, and Belafonte, who was then riding at the top of the pop charts, even gets to sing a couple of Caribbean songs. The most memorable aspect of the production, however, is the impressive camera shots in an around New York City. While many of the scenes of deserted landmark areas are achieved through special effects and matte paintings, there are nonetheless some fairly incredible shots of main thoroughfares completely devoid of any traffic or pedestrians. (A similar feat would be achieved in Los Angeles for The Omega Man.)

The World, the Flesh and the Devil is very capably directed by Randall MacDougall, who was primarily known as the screenwriter for such diverse films as Cleopatra and Dark of the Sun. It's a thinking man's vision of the apocalypse. Some of it is a bit corny and dated, but time has not diminished the power of the storyline.

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