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.
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.