Master of the World

Being a huge Vincent Price fan, I must said that "Master of the World" is not on my top 5 movies of his American International period. The film lacks real excitement, the low budget is clear, and the combination of two different stories by Jules Verne didn't work properly (the comedy touches are completely out of place, and are NOT part of the original novels) But once again, the man is in complete control of his character and delivers a solid performance. Is also good to see Henry Hull (the first werewolf of Hollywood) and a young but convincing Charles Bronson. No matter what, the film deserves a DVD rendition, as many other Vincent Price films like "Shock", "Diary of a Madman" and "The Mad Magician", to name a few.

Compared to other screen adaptions of Jules Verne novels like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth, Master of the World definitely comes off as second rate. Maybe that's because it was produced by the independent American International Pictures and didn't have the good studio facilities for really good special effects. Or maybe it was because it combined two of Verne's novels involving the same character, the megalomaniacal Robur who has built himself one big dirigible and is looking to become the title character. The editorial stitching between the two novels is none too good. What the film does boast is the grand casting of Vincent Price as Robur who has developed a dirigible warship half a century before the Germans were bombing London with them in the First World War. Price alone is worth watching the film for, he plays the role absolutely seriously and keeps his audience that way. Four people have been taken aboard Price's ship to keep them from spilling the beans about it, munitions manufacturer Henry Hull, his daughter Mary Webster, her fiancé David Frankham, and Charles Bronson who works for Uncle Sam. This was one of Bronson's first starring roles as a hero. Frankham's character is one real horse's patoot. His character is very poorly defined with some exaggerated ideas about honor, that don't really stand up when the chips are down. Bronson saves his life at one point and then has good cause to regret it later on. I have to say that at 14 I was far more impressed with this Captain Nemo of the Skies than I am today.

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.

A must for all Jules Verne fans, "Master of the World" is a close cousin to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." Like "20,000," "Master of the World" features a mad genius piloting a futuristic vessel out to rid the world of war machines. Whereas "20,000" featured a submarine, "Master" features a Zepplin-like flying machine. Like "20,000," a shipwrecked crew (in this case survivors of a hot air balloon shot down by the Zepplin-like flying machine) comes aboard to wax philosophical with the captain, attempt escape, attempt stopping mad genius, etc... Not as good as Disney's "20,000," and certainly the story line is quite familiar with anyone that saw the former (who hasn't?), but enough thrills and surprises to keep one interested.

I thought this was an extremely good film and I'm not sure why the rating is so low. The sets and models are fantastic and the acting, particularly Webster and Price, is very good. Everything works well, perhaps because the film's feel, although not the script, is so close to the novel, and I think this is one of the better adaptations of Verne's work.

All right, so Rodger Corman is not associated with the movie (Even the AMC introduction announces it as one of his many films). Perhaps because it's an AIP movie everyone confuses it with his (Corman's) work. CineBooks gives the best review of this film: `Despite some good special effects, the film is surprisingly bland. Though Bronson is better in this than most of his other films, he still has a hard time expressing more than three or four emotions. Price is a complete disappointment, giving a restrained performance where a more outrageous parody would have been in order' This was supposed to have been one of the Big Budget movies for AIP. If so, someone pocketed the proceeds. It sure wasn't spent in production. Like I said before, poor Mr. Witney must want to crawl of the theater when this movie is shown.

A sleepy Pennsylvania town is awakened in 1868 when Captain Robur (Vincent Price) comes sailing in on his airship. A few of the city locals join him, curious about this new way to fly, and eager to stop him when they think he has had a bit too much power for his own good. Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the prologue, which was perfect for this film. The montage of various flying devices that did not work. Some of this footage has become classic, but it fit the theme perfectly here: a world where the only way to fly is with balloons suddenly seeing a new method in disbelief. Vincent Price is great as Captain Robur, but when is he not? He would go on to declare this one of his favorite roles. Charles Bronson plays the other lead, John Strock, and may surprise fans of Bronson. (Some have said he was miscast, but I do not see any problem with it.) We also have Henry Hull as Prudent, more or less representing the "old ways" (which are quite old by now, given the story takes place just after the Civil War). David Frankham is also great, and interestingly came on board thanks to Vincent Price. His role was already filled by AIP regular Mark Damon, but Damon skipped out to film another project. Price suggested Frankham because they had worked on "Return of the Fly" together. Frankham is not as well known as Damon, but he is a valuable resource because he has provided multiple commentaries in recent years. Richard Matheson wrote the script, based on two Jules Verne stories. Matheson has consistently been a great writer, particularly in conjunction with Vincent Price and AIP. Jules Verne is not a source used often enough -- beyond "Around the World in 80 Days" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", his work remains largely untouched. This film proves that more can be done -- and also that you can get around the world in ten days. Interestingly, the plot revolves around a man who thinks he can end war by using the threat of invincibility. While the idea of having a war on war is admirable, one has to wonder if Matheson had in mind the nuclear bomb when writing the script -- surely the bomb's creation was thought to end war as we knew it, but only encouraged others to acquire nuclear bombs. Likewise, one assumes that governments would push to build Robur-style airships. Vincent Price (or Charles Bronson) fans should check this one out. It is not a horror film, not by any means. It is typically classified as science fiction, though I would put it more in fantasy. Price still has a bit of the villain inside him here, but it is not the murderous, insane type... it is a misunderstood, misguided antihero. As always, the definitive edition is on Scream Factory's Vincent Price Collection (Volume 3). We have an incredible audio commentary with David Frankham and a moderator named Jonathan -- Frankham is very knowledgeable about Les Baxter, and even offers a slight diversion to discuss "Werewolf of London". Few people alive today know the AIP of the 1960s like Frankham. The disc also includes the full-length documentary "Richard Matheson: Storyteller", which is priceless and will be covered in its own review.

I saw Master of the World mainly because of Vincent Price who is one of my favourite actors. It is far from perfect, but is fun and deserves better credit. The effects are not great where you can tell that they are low-budget, while the stock footage of other costume epics looks rather clumsy, the Globe theatre suddenly appearing in Victorian London also happens to be anachronistic. And Vito Scotti overacts to the verge of embarrassment. However, the costume and set designs are nice to look at and Master of the World is at least well photographed. The music score manages to be both rousing and bombastic, the script while talky is intelligent and humorous and the story is fun. Charles Bronson has been better but he is at least appealing, while Henry Hull is amusing. Stealing the film though is none other than Vincent Price, who commands every frame with his ever effortless suavity and panache, and he is also deliciously sinister when needed. All in all, an enjoyable film with a great Price but at the same time it could have been more. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Matheson's script took two Verne novels ("Robur the Conqueror" and "Master of the World"), and added touches of irony in the characters. (The "gentleman" Mr. Evans, when he sees his girl turning towards government agent Strock, tries to kill Strock at every chance.) William Witney, a famed second unit director, used every trick he ever learned in Republic serials to make the movie look slick on a low budget. (I've never seen such continuous use of a rear projection screen in any other movie.) But the real delight is Vincent Price's Robur, a man of good will but with some severe personality problems. I think he'd be a suitable children's introduction to the antihero and the character with a tragic flaw. For me, the romantic theme music by Les Baxter, especially over the end credits, makes the movie. (Fortunately, they didn't use the maudlin lyrics version in the film!) The recent video release of the film restores the theatrical prologue of "wacky" flying machines from silent movies.

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.