The Man Who Could Work Miracles

An unassuming Englishman named Fotheringay (Roland Young) is given miraculous powers by celestial beings (perhaps gods, the film never says). He doesn't know where he got the powers from or why and, at first, he doesn't use them for anything more than simple tricks. Gradually he starts to realize the gift he's been given and decides to use his power for the greater good. But he isn't sure how to do this so he consults several respected men in the community and gets wildly different suggestions.

A delightful fantasy comedy with a script co-written by H.G. Wells, adapted from one of his short stories. It's leisurely-paced and well-directed. Amazing special effects for the time, particularly when you consider this wasn't a Hollywood production. Roland Young (wearing a toupee) is perfectly cast. I can't imagine another actor from this time playing this part so well. The rest of the cast is terrific with a few recognizable faces in the mix, including Ernest Thesiger and, in a small role, George Zucco. Ralph Richardson steals the show as a blowhard colonel quite put out by Fotheringay's miracles. A shirtless George Sanders plays one of the 'gods.' One of my favorite scenes is when Fotheringay tells a policeman to "go to blazes" and winds up sending the man to Hell! The policeman's reaction while there and Fotheringay's subsequent attempt to fix the situation are hilarious.

Reportedly Wells intended the film to be more preachy, like his script for Things to Come the year before. But thankfully director Lothar Mendes and co-screenwriter Lajos Biró chose to focus more on the comedy and getting the points across that way. The result is a funny movie but with some big ideas that gives you a lot to think about.

The film, almost seventy five years after its release as this review is written, still provides a dilemma that could be endlessly discussed on the human condition.

A man is given unlimited power by three deities as they look down on the earth. The mind of Wells is highly visible as the plot develops.

It is approached in a tongue in cheek manner and the special effects of the time must have been very labor intensive in relation to the genius of todays computer graphics.

The moral questions could employ any philosopher in endless discussion. A relatively young Ralph Richardson portraying an old character gives us a glimpse into the early career of a classic British actor.

In a strange way it is a kind of feel good movie and very thought provoking. It may also intrigue the present day viewer as they consider the possibility of the cinema goer in the 1930s wondering how the camera tricks were performed.

This is undoubtedly the best film adaptation by H.G. Wells of his own work, a wry fable free of the leaden polemics that so marred "Things To Come".

Roland Young -- who played the title character to mischievous ghosts Cary Grant and Constance Bennett in the 1937 comedy "Topper" -- is outstanding as George Fotheringay, a mousy store clerk who must come to grips with the sudden gift of almost unlimited power. He can literally do anything -- except change the human heart, as he finds when he commands his beautiful coworker Ada to fall madly in love with him, and she merely laughs in his face. (Incidentally, "George" is Wells' middle name, and Roland Young bears more than a little resemblance to a younger H.G.)

Mischa Spoliansky's score is by turns droll and light-hearted, complementing the story perfectly, as George struggles to make sense of his new-found abilities.

He learns the danger of an unguarded word, when he tells an officious constable who wants to run him in for disturbing the peace to "go to blazes", leading to a hilarious bit in which the constable, finding himself instantaneously transported to the nether regions of brimstone and hellfire, tries to keep calm and take notes about the incident while his notepad smolders. Fortunately, George isn't the vindictive type. As soon as he realizes what he's done, he rescues Constable Plod from the Inferno. (Although, just to be on the safe side and give him some time to cool off, George also teleports him to San Francisco.)

Since he makes no secret of his miracle-working, George is bombarded with advice from his coworkers and various worthies on how he should use his powers. His boss wants to sign him to an exclusive contract, establishing a chain of "miracle" stores featuring instantaneous delivery, with free healing clinics offered on Tuesdays and Fridays to allay George's discomfort with exploiting his talent solely for monetary gain.

Mr. Maydig -- a Baptist minister and amateur philosopher played to prim perfection by gaunt character actor Ernest Thesiger -- advises George to bring the Millennium, to end war and disease and poverty. George cooperates with Maydig to the extent of fulfilling a Biblical prophecy, converting the prized antique cutlery collection belonging to a local representative of the gentry (Sir Ralph Richardson) into what his butler describes with a visible shudder as "agricultural implements".

Even worse, at Maydig's insistence George adds injury to insult by turning all of Colonel Winstanley's fine whiskey into non-alcoholic "temperance water". The butler (George Zucco) gets another of the best lines in the movie. Accused of having done something to the Colonel's tipple, he's the picture of wounded innocence as he responds: "Sir! I'd as soon poison a baby as tamper with good whiskey!"

Next morning, after meeting George and seeing further proof of his unlimited power, the Colonel naturally concludes this mild-seeming clerk is a dire threat to the established order. Taking matters into his own hands, Winstanley almost succeeds in assassinating George, triggering the climactic sequence in which George declares himself invulnerable and immortal and decides he will remake the world to his own plan, starting now.

What happens next is too weird and wonderful for me to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the film, except to observe that it's not the typical "absolute power corrupts absolutely" denouement that modern viewers have come to expect. "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is a wise, funny and humane comment on the human psyche, a film which can be enjoyed many times and still seem fresh with each viewing.

What would a world without want be like? The answer has been the subject of countless stories, not a few movies, & every sensitive soul's nighttime sighing for ages. H. G. Wells poses the question by having godlike beings give a department store clerk, George McWhirter Fotheringay, that ability, & watching it evolve, as he bounces from adviser to adviser, from the sexy girl he desires to a retired British Army man.

The film is a treat, especially for those of us accustomed to (& maybe a little bored by) the Star Trek treatment of absolute power conferred on lowly mortals. I don't know much about the history of science fiction in the movies, but Wells goes about everything (he wrote the script, based on his novel) with the fabulous in mind, while adding purely sci-fi touches, which I won't give away.

Fotheringay is no bleeding-heart aching to turn the world into a painless utopia, nor is he a selfish, power-hungry perve, but a nondescript man who takes his time to figure out just what has happened to him before bringing everything to a head. In the meantime, we're given what amounts to a funny English comedy of manners, as well as a peek into a time (& place) where science fiction took a different direction. (For example: if you found out you had miraculous powers, would you tell anyone? I don't think I would. & if you told anyone, wouldn't you imagine the authorities pouncing on you at the first opportunity? Not so in 1930's Essex!)

The ending seems Gene Roddenberry-esque, & perhaps the Star Trek creator admired & shared Wells' humanism; but the film shines with neat-o special effects (some cool stuff, for the time) & a wonderful performance by Roland Young. A must-see for those who like their sci-fi earthbound & thought-provoking.

(My subject line, by the way, refers to anarchy as a form of government in which there are no governments, just self-government; I don't mean it in the common usage of disorder or chaos. The movie touches on the idea that, without their lives being controlled by those in power, who have a vested interest in people needing money & goods, people might find other ways to spend their time - like, for example, in creation.)

This is a nice little film that I'd never heard about but should have, as it's a nice little film. In many ways it's a lot like the "Twilight Zone" episode with Burgess Meredith where aliens give him extraordinary strength as an experiment. Here, however, angelic beings are talking in the heavens and one of them decides to pick a random person on Earth and give them practically limitless power--to see what effect this would have on the person and planet.

Ordinary Roland Young (sporting a toupee) is the guy chosen for this gift. However, unlike what you'd expect, he is slow to exploit this power and only does mostly simple tricks with it at the beginning. However, when it comes to making bigger changes in his life and to the planet, he's hesitant and seeks out advice from respected members of the community on what to do with his powers. One, a vicar, wants Young to do good with the power--but what, exactly, should this be and what are the repercussion? Another, played wonderfully by Ralph Richardson, is a pompous caricature of an English "gentleman" and wants Young to use his powers to kick butt! Others have various ideas and ultimately Young gets in well over his head.

Overall, the film is quite funny (particular in Richardson's scenes) as well as thought-provoking--an interesting combination. It makes you wonder what you might do if given god-like powers. An interesting portrait of human nature and our obvious foibles.