Things to Come (1936)

Raymond Passworthy: Oh, God, is there ever to be any age of happiness? Is there never to be any rest?

I have mixed feelings about this lavish but heavy-handed anti-war science fiction yarn.

The story begins in Everytown (evidently London) at Christmas, 1940.  The population is blithely celebrating while the headlines scream warnings of war and John Cabal (Raymond Massey) worries that another war will destroy civilization.  Suddenly the air raid sirens go off and an unprovoked aerial bombardment and gas attack of the city begins.  The enemy is unnamed.

A montage follows the war through its conclusion in 1966.  By 1970, the people of Everytown are living in medieval conditions.  A plague spread by enemy bombs causes a fatal contagious “Wandering Sickness” to break out.  A man becomes The Boss (Ralph Richardson) by insisting that sufferers be shot.  He consolidates power by continuing war against his neighbors.

John Cabal has gone on to become the leader of a technocracy in the Mediterranean called Wings of the World.  Cabal visits Everytown in his modern airplane, vowing to “cleanup” the city if it does not forsake war.  The Boss imprisons him.  The Boss cannot conceive of the might of Cabal’s organization or its “peace gas.”

Fast forward to 2036, when people live in sleek underground cities and prepare for space travel.  Scientists must still face the forces of reaction and jingoism in the form of Theotocopulos (Cedric Hardwicke) who incites the masses to revolt against any further progress.

Director Menzies was much better known as an art director and the design of this film (by Vincent Korda) is certainly striking.  His work with actors was not as successful.  Much of H.G. Wells’s dialogue sounds like it is being read from a book of sermons and the usually reliable Massey and Hardwicke are not able to do much with it.  Only Richardson manages to bring life to his character.  His Boss is a foolish bombastic bully and a lot of fun.

As usual with H.G. Wells’s material, I had a hard time following the logic.  This is supposed to be an anti-war story and yet the beginning of the war in the film would seem to be an argument for a strong army of defense.  “Peace gas” also seems somewhat oxymoronic.

This is a unique film and prescient of the catastrophe that was to overtake Europe a year earlier than predicted by the story.  I’m glad I saw it but I don’t see any reason to revisit it.

Trailer