User Reviews

There is no denying that Jules Verne is one of the great surviving authors of the 19th Century. This despite poor translations, and a tradition of equating his work with "children's fiction". He was a serious novelist for adults, but his love of the industrial revolution in technology makes it useful to introduce him to teenagers as an imaginative novelist not a severe social critic.

Verne's novels are full of political (usually left-of-center) messages, attacking imperialism of sorts. He detested the British Empire and the hypocrisy of the Anglo-Saxons. Being French this was understandable, as was his dislike for Prussian militarism after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. He mistrusted the commercial thrust of American business. But he never saw the hypocrisy of French Imperialism (France was on a civilizing mission unlike Britain). He also could reveal traces of racism himself - witness his "Jew" in the novel HECTOR SERVADAC (known as LOST ON A COMET) who is a malignant money lender. But even here Verne equates the Jew with the "modern, greedy German Empire". Richard Wagner would have been truly shocked.

Still with all his flaws, he is a worthy writer to still read and reread as an adult. However many of his books do not get reprinted or reread. Actually there are about seventy novels, short stories, plays or his that are mostly unread except by his fans. Still, a careful student of movies will notice that besides the top titles there have been some obscure novels that did see the screen. For instance Yul Brynner and Kirk Douglas starred in THE LIGHT AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD. George Segal and Orson Welles were in THE SOUTHERN STAR.

Because he predicted the submarine and space travel Verne was capable of noting the development of air travel. It used to be frequently mentioned that he wrote a novel called THE CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS (1886). In fact the title is ROBUR THE CONQUEROR. It expounds the inevitable success of heavier than air flight over lighter than air flight. Like several of his novels it required a sequel, and in 1904 MASTER OF THE WORLD appeared. Robur returns in the sequel with a plane which is also a very fast power boat and automobile, but he is insane. Robur destroys himself because he believes he is unstoppable, only to be stopped by a lightning bolt.

The problem is that THE CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS is a miserably bad novel. Verne had a contract with Hetzel, his publisher, in turning out novels, and while his best work is really good when he did a bad job he really blew it. Basically he takes the character of Nemo in TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES and transposes him to Robur in a different traveling device for a different element of our planet. But Captain Nemo (alias Prince Dakar of the Sepoy Rebellion) has a personal grudge against imperialism and the British Empire - something that Verne's novel only brings out when properly translated. This is why Nemo sinks British liners and warships, and why he supports freedom fighters around the globe. Robur is a self-centered engineering genius, who arranges the kidnapping of Uncle Prudent and two others to demonstrate that his "Albatross" aircraft can beat the balloons and dirigibles. In the novel THE CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS there had been a debate that Robur came to, and his inflammatory comments set off similar comments by Prudent and the others. So he shows them his flying machine. But his intention is to keep them prisoner. Keep in mind, the prisoners in TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES were accidentally snared by the Nautilus when it was attacked. Nemo never intended to kidnap them - in fact, as he is carrying out a military campaign against the British his holding the men hostage has some rationale as a security matter. With Robur it's pure ego.

Also there is a lack of colorful scenes. Robur will announce they are in another part of the globe, but so what? Nemo was able to show his three prisoners Atlantis, the wreck of the "Avenger" (and in one passage other wrecked or missing ships) and out of the way islands, not to mention the South Pole. The reason that Prudent and the others escape Robur is that they set off an explosive that cripples the Albatross and allows them to flee. But at the end of the first novel Robur catches up to them when they are about to test the world's largest dirigible. He forces them to rise higher and higher than his heavier than air craft. When the dirigible explodes he saves them and sets them down. Then he leaves saying that due to the inability of man to control his science he won't give his secret of flight yet, but may one day.

He forgets his propensity for self-righteous crime: kidnapping, imprisonment,attempted murder. Verne ended CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS with a statement that Robur was the science of tomorrow. Hardly likely - there are more pragmatic reasons behind the science of tomorrow: will it sell well with the public not will it be handed over at the right time by monomaniacs.

CLIPPER OF THE CLOUDS was rushed through before Verne had any chance to think it out. Therefore the addition of the anti-militarist theme to Price's characterization is actually welcomed, as is the clowning of Vito Scotti (by the way, Scotti and the other crewmen agree not to desert Price in the end, a rather moving moment). It is one of the first films that Charles Bronson made as a cross-over from supporting roles to leads. And Price's career did not nose-dive either. Henry Hull's Uncle Prudent allows him some hamming, but it's a nothing part to begin with and he is boosting dirigibles - hardly likely after the HINDENBERG).

It is as good a film as possible, given that Verne did not do a top job in the first place.

James Nicholson and Samuel Arkoff were obviously hoping for another JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH when they were making this film. Come to that, even another MYSTERIOUS ISLAND may have been something. Sadly, whereas both of those films were consistently entertaining, MASTER OF THE WORLD turns out to be one of the dullest Jules Verne adaptations that I've ever witnessed. There are approximately two potentially exciting situations in the entire film, both of which are mishandled. The rest is packed with dialogue and lame characters arguing with each other.

Indeed, there are two good things about this film. Their names are Vincent Price and Charles Bronson. Everything else is just below par, especially the supporting cast with whom we have to spend much time. First up we have the token female, a bland presence. It's impossible to understand why two men would fight over her, when she's such a forgettable and personality-free woman. Secondly, there's a crusty old inventor who must be one of the most irritating and plain unlikeable characters in the history of film - he spends the whole time complaining or shouting, and even when he escapes at the end, he isn't happy. Thirdly, we have the young male romantic lead who spends the entire time fighting with Bronson and even attempts to kill him - only for him to fail and Bronson to instantly forgive him (?). Things sink lower with the introduction of a "comedy" French cook whose comic relief is simply excruciating. Things briefly look as if they might become interesting when muscular peplum actor Richard Harrison pops up, but it's in a non-speaking bit as the ship's helmsman.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to cast Charles Bronson as this film's hero. He's not the first person you'd think of for a children's adventure such as this, but his presence oddly works. Bronson gives a good performance as the non-violent prisoner who agrees with Price's ambition but is determined to stop him nonetheless. His ruthless character is one of the more interesting things this film has to offer. Obviously, though, the best thing on offer is Vincent Price, who gives a typically great performance as the misguided villain of the piece, playing him as a tormented and mournful soul who just wants peace but ends up murdering lots of people. Sadly, he's wasted in this insipid movie.

MASTER OF THE WORLD is a bright, impossibly colourful film with a consistently chirpy movie score. It also contains some of the most disappointing special effects in a film of this type, from the dodgy back projection to the dodgy stock footage which pops up nown again. When we see a superimposed ship flying over a native battle then we know we're in trouble. One scene has Bronson and Frankham dangling from ropes over a forest, dodging trees and rocks alike. Sadly the special effects are so unconvincing as to render this worthless. It's a shame that MASTER OF THE WORLD is such a flop, as the story is quite a good one with an interesting theme. If the special effects had been better, if the film had had more incident and if something had actually happened, then this might have been watchable. As it is, it's not. I say turn it off after the interesting footage of primitive flying machines at the beginning.

There are two types of people in this world, my friend; those who've read Jules Verne and those who... er... haven't.

If you have (and if you're a fan, try the U.S. Navel Institute translation of 20k Leagues), you will know how incredibly lousy Verne's "Robur the Conqueror" and its mildly better sequel, "Master of the World" are. Essentially, Robur kidnaps two comical balloonists and their comical manservant, does some extremely racist things and does an "I shall return" speech at the end. When he does return, in his souped-up, high speed flying submarine jet-car all Verne can think to do with him is allow him a few days pleasant boating on Lake Eerie.

So, given the fact that the original stories behind the film are nothing to write home about, what chance has the film got? Well, considering it was made for about 5p, quite a good one. Richard Matheson makes the wise choice of ditching most of the novels in favour of doing a campy adventure instead. By amalgamating the heroes of the two novels (Prudent and Evens form "Robur", secret agent John Strock from "Master") and replacing the embarrassingly racist stereotype that is Frycollin (Prudent's butler) with Mary Webster as Prudent's daughter, we get an early example of plucky heroism as well. The fact that she dresses like a fellow male crew-member once aboard the magnificent paper battleship/helicopter The Albatross, and is far more use than her all-talk boyfriend Evens (David Frankham) ads more intelligence to the film than it deserves. No wonder she ends up with Bronson's morally ambiguous Strock by the end. In fact, no one in the film seems to be all that clear cut. Henry Hull's Prudent is an arms manufacturer who constantly jokes about how he has sold arms to the "wrong" people (eg, when the prisoners try to escape over Ireland, he objects, because he once sold arms to the British), Evens constantly tries to kill Strock, ostensibly because "he is a coward" but really to off a better suitor to Webster's Dorothy Prudent. And she herself seems instantly flirtatious with the more virile Strock from the word go. But most of all, and it goes almost without saying, it's Price's Robur who steels the show. Setting out to put an end to war by demonstrating his superior power against warships, he is at first the reluctant moralist who must make a stand but as he succumbs to megalomania, he pulls himself back from the edge only too late to realise his dream was never more than that.

Price consider this one of his best roles and its easy to see why. Despite the low-budget (but excellent, Vernesque production design) there is some brains behind the Saturdy afternoon antics on display here. It's a much better film than it's given credit for but it could have been real tasty given double the budget.

This film starts out very dramatically, with a Voice quoting Scriptures outside a Pennsylvania town, followed with a later appearance of a heavier-than-air "airship," 19th-Cantury high-tech.

Vincent Price makes a grand Robur. He is a larger than life hero with a fatal flaw, a monomaniacal crusader who wants to establish world peace.

Possible spoilers follow: The Roburian philosophy is to enforce peace by superior weaponry, which he demonstrates by intruding his Albatross into a battle by two armies he happens to spot. After bombing the whey out of both sides, Robur believes he's done something constructive, though he probably did more damage to both sides than they might have done to each other.

The film begins as an epic, but slowly goes downhill to where it ends as another action film. Robur, though, keeps up his ideals to the end. Despite some juvenile touches, it's not at all bad.

This was a decent story, though in so many ways it just seemed like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA all over again--but this time the action is set in the skies. This Captain Nemo-wannabe is played by Vincent Price. He has built an enormous air ship from which he can dominate the globe. You see, his ship is filled with bombs and gas and he tells his guests (just like in 20,000 LEAGUES, there are stranded strangers who get picked up as passengers) that all this will be used for good. He claims he has no desire to be a despot, but use the power to force the world to live in peace. However, when he starts demanding the world do what he says, he very quickly starts using all these weapons--establishing that he indeed is an evil nut! Unfortunately, while the film is quite derivative, this isn't the major problem I have with it but the less than satisfying conclusion. Not a bad film, but still pretty skipable.

By the late 1950s, the works of Jules Verne had proved a rich ground for filmmakers. The decade had seen two highly successful films based on Verne's best known works including the Disney adaptation of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and the Oscar winning Around The World In Eighty Days. So it was no surprise that the years that followed saw a number of films based, to a greater or lesser extent, on Verne's many works. One of the more notable is this 1961 film starring Vincent Price and Charles Bronson from a script by another master of science fiction, Richard Matheson. The results are intriguing and watchable if at times frustratingly lacking.

Vincent Price was at the height of his career when Master Of The World was made and he is without doubt the star of the film. Despite not coming on screen until about fifteen minutes or so into the film, Price owns the film from that moment onwards. Looking at the film, it's hard not to see echoes of Nemo in Robur and more especially the version played by James Mason. Both are mysterious inventors and captains of vessels very much out of their time who seem bent on a mission that is in some admirable if not misguided in their methods. Price has considerable screen presence which he uses to great effect throughout from moments of crazed anger to quieter moments where he tries to convince his captive passengers of his mission. It's a solid performance and one of the film's highlights.

Besides Price, the real star of the film is the script. Richard Matheson, author of the oft-filmed I Am Legend and writer of some of the most memorable episodes of The Twilight Zone, was a natural choice to adapt not one but two of Verne's works for the screen (1886's Robur the Conqueror as well as the 1904 work that shares the film's title). Matheson's script draws on elements and characters from both works to create a composite of them that works surprisingly well so that the seems never show. The result is an early example of steampunk that, as the Disney 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea did a few years earlier, creates a fairly believable but fantastic adventure story set in the Victorian era. Despite being well thought and developing its characters rather nicely as the film progresses, Matheson is guilty of delving into the occasional cliché at times, especially in regards to how it handles the film's sole female character and her relationships with the younger male characters. On the whole though, Matheson does an excellent job and it's a shame that other aspects of the film don't quite match its standard.

Move beyond Price and Matheson's script and the rest of the film is a combination of mixed results. The supporting cast is with Henry Hull as arms manufacture Prudent and Charles Bronson as square jawed US government agent John Strock being particular highlights (Matheson considered Bronson mis-cast in the role though he's perfectly acceptable and excels in the film's action sequences). Another highlight of the supporting cast is Vitto Scotti as the the chef Topage in a role that is entirely comic relief and calls to mind Cantinflas as Passepartout in the earlier Around The World In Eighty Days. Other roles go from satisfactory (Wally Campo as Robur's First Mate Turner and Mary Webster as Prudent's daughter Dorothy) to cringe-worthy (David Frankham as Philip Evans, Dorothy's fiancé). The cast though is just part of the mixed bag that makes up the larger part of the film.

Nothing helps nor hinders the film more than its production values. The influence of the Disney 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is clear watching the film as it centers around its vehicle of choice (the giant airship The Albatross) in much the same way that the earlier film centered on the Nautilus submarine. The Albatross, both as an exterior model and as interior sets, is a triumph and can lay as much claim as the Nautlius to inspiring steampunk fashions and designs. Yet, for those triumphs, the magnificent model is let down by poorly realized model shots that are almost entirely made up of the Albatross being superimposed over stock footage (or in several cases, scenes from other films including the 1944 Laurence Olivier Henry V) that is entirely unconvincing. Another place where effects let the film down is in the aerial keelhauling sequence which, while intriguing, is let down by the simple fact that Bronson and Frankham are suspended on ropes in front of stock footage while also at one point trying to dodge a couple of fake tree limbs. Combined with pedestrian direction from William Witney, the results let down both Matheson's script and Price's performance. Given how much previous Verne based films are on it (including a prologue showing the evolution of flight ala the prologue of Around The World In Eighty Days) it's sad at times to see how much a lack of budget hampers the film.

The result then is that Master Of The World is a perfectly watchable piece of work. Price's performance , Matheson's solid script and the design work all see to that. Yet looking at how much the film is let down by poor special effects and uninterested direction, it's hard not to wonder what might have been if the film had been given both a larger budget and a different director. As it stands, it's a decent and memorable movie but it leaves you wondering what might have been...