The World, the Flesh and the Devil story
The World, the Flesh and the Devil is a 1959 American science fiction doomsday film written and directed by Ranald MacDougall. The film stars Harry Belafonte, who was then at the peak of his film career. The film is set in a post-apocalyptic world with very few human survivors. It is based on two sources: the novel The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel and the story "End of the World" by Ferdinand Reyher.
8 total · 6 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| choosing between lovers | major | Should Sarah Crandall choose Ralph Burton or Mel Ferrer as her lover? |
| human vs. inexplicable adversity | major | Ralph Burton emerged from a caved-in mine to find the nearby town completely deserted and he was left to piece together what had occurred. |
| love triangle | major | Ralph Burton and Mel Ferrer were both in love with Sarah Crandall. |
| nuclear holocaust | major | An unknown nation had used radioactive isotopes as a weapon, yielding a dust cloud that spread globally and was completely lethal for a five-day period. |
| racism in society | major | Despite living in a post-apocalyptic world and despite the fact that Sarah seemed unconcerned with their racial difference, Ralph could not overcome the inhibitions instilled in him in a racist American society. |
| what if everyone vanished and I was all alone | major | Ralph Burton emerged from a caved-in mine to find the nearby town completely deserted. He then traveled to New York city to and found it to be a virtual ghost town. |
| loneliness | minor | Ralph Burton became lonely and started interacting with manikins until he met Sarah Crandall. |
| transnational institution for peace | minor | The United Nations was somehow involved in bringing about the end of civilized life on Earth. |