Figure 1.-- Mrs. Cabal sees searchlights breaking the blackness searching the skies. Then they hear artillery in the distance. The phobe rings and Cabal learns that Britain is mobilizing. The Germans are not named, but Hitler has already made an impressuon in Britain. The radio tells of an enemy bombing raids. Although Germany did not have a long-range bombing force, the British were convimced that the War would begin with bomving raids. Finally a war comes which leads to a World War lasting 40 or 50 years. No where does the idea emerge that Britain will almost lose the coming war in 9 months. The film is beautifully shot, creating haunting images. When the war comes a small boy wearing a British Army Tommie metal helmet appears--Passworthy's son. He says goodbye to his father. As the boy plays the drums and marches up and down the street the back ground show soldiers gong to war. In the next scene the boy lies dead in the rubble of the bombing raid.

"Things to Come" is essentially a view of the world's next hundred years or so. The plot is rather complicated over this long period. We begin with a jouous Christmas celebration. Than war breaks out. After many years of war in which a new dark age is upon the world. A group of engineers, scientists technologist get together and develop a new society. It is a technocrocy. There are no nation states in this new order. They get society back on track and civilization rises again. They are The Wings of the Air. These men in black with sleeping gas bombs seek out warlike nations and bomb them before they take over. A jolly good thing too. Of course the deranged Boss of the old order is after conquest and wants to bash a hill society. That never happens because The Wings of the Air arrive. The Boss is sensitive to the sleeping gas and it kills him. Peace returns and everyone goes to the Wings of the Air city which is in Basra Iraq. ( I kid you not!) The city is above and below ground. All space-age with modcons. Fashions. There is a return to Greek style clothes for men and boys. Girls wear similar Greek style dresses and woman long frocks. It is 2036 and there is discontent with the engineers and scientific society. They have developed rockets to explore the outer space. It is a big gun set up. A big gun fires the rocket into space. Here the film ends.

Christmas 1940

Everyone is making merry despite a looming political crisis. We see a boy in a schoo cap looking at a toys. Then we see a Christmas party and children are plaving with a variety of army toys. The Christmas party scenes play out in in the home of John Cabal (Raymond Massey). Even this joyous celebration is muted by Cabal's concerns. A family friend, Passworthy (Edward Chapman), is convinced that there will be no new war. Passworthy adds thatt even if there is another war it will not be nearly as bas the Great War. He talks of great progress which occurs during wartime. He insists that in the Great War "something great had hold of us!" The camera catches him saying this on the floor by the Christmas tree with the children playing all about him with their army toys.

War

As the party ends and Passworthy leaves, Mrs. Cabal sees searchlights breaking the blackness searching the skies. Then they hear artillery in the distance. The phobe rings and Cabal learns that Britain is mobilizing. The Germans are not named, but Hitler has already made an impressuon in Britain. The radio tells of an enemy bombing raids. Although Germany did not have a long-range bombing force, the British were convimced that the War would begin with bombing raids. Finally a war comes. No where does the idea emerge that Britain will almost lose the coming war in 9 months. The film is beautifully shot, creating haunting images. When the war comes a small boy wearing a British Army Tommie metal helmet appears--Passworthy's son. He says goodbye to his father. As the boy plays the drums and marches up and down the street the back ground show soldiers gong to war. In the next scene the boy lies dead in the rubble of the bombing raid. This scene is supposed to reprecent the death of progress and the future.

Poison Gas

The great fear of the 1930s was that poison gas would be used in attacks in cities. And as the War goes om the specter of poison gas is introduced. Ironicall, a year after the film was made, a German scientist discoveres Tauban--a nerve gas. Miraculously the NAZIs while they made nerve gasses, did not use them in World War II. That was on horror that was not visited on soldiers and civilians. Historians still speculate why. In the Wells story, poison gas is used.

Prolonged War

The war proves to be a terribly destructive world war and lasts 40 or 50 years. War destroys and leads to poverty, desease and totalitarian government. Then there is no progress. The War continues util most of the people still alive are those born after the war started and no longer understand who started it or why. People forgot what it was like to live in peace. After many years of war in which a new dark age is upon the world. Economies have ground to a halt. Manufacturing plants are destroyed or empty. Civilized society has broken down. People live in small, primitive local communities. he children are reduced to wearing rags. Then a great plague wipes out most of the survivors (1966).

Wings of the Air

A group of engineers, scientists technologist get together and develop a new society. It is a technocrocy. There are no nation states in this new order. They get society back on track and civilization rises again. They are The Wings of the Air. These men in black with sleeping gas bombs seek out warlike nations and bomb them before they take over. A jolly good thing too. Of course the deranged Boss of the old order is after conquest and wants to bash a hill society. That never happens because The Wings of the Air arrive. The Boss is sensitive to the sleeping gas and it kills him. Peace returns and everyone goes to the Wings of the Air city which is in Basra Iraq. ( I kid you not!) The city is above and below ground.

Refounding Civilization

Finally an unknown aircraft lands at one of these isolated outposts. The pilot tells of an group which has begun to rebuild civilization and contacting the scattered groups of survivors. The movie then follows the rebuilding of civilization. At this time a popular uprising against progress breaks out. These people charge that technological progress is what caused the earlier wars. It is 2036 and there is discontent with the engineers and scientific society. Scientists prepare the first hunan rocket trip to the moon (2035). All space-age with modcons. They have developed rockets to explore the outer space. It is a big gun set up. A big gun fires the rocket into space. Here the film ends. Wells rather misses the mark here as the Americans would reach the moon in the 1960s, decades before this is depicted in the film.

Created: 7:12 AM 1/11/2010
Last updated: 9:07 PM 1/13/2010