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.

This picture had a story by H.G. Wells, good cast members and outstanding special effects for the 1930's. What happened? something got lost between the book and the screen. I didn't read the book but it's hard to believe H.G. Wells could write a book so uneven in it's treatment of a man suddenly endowed with a gift for miracles. At first he is timid and reluctant to do anything noteworthy, then by the end he goes completely overboard in the opposite direction - and that is an understatement.

But then there are the special effects, which are eye-popping for this time period. Did you think the effects were remarkable in "King Kong"? This picture makes those look simple by comparison, and that's the real reason for my rating. The cast was fine and it's hard to quarrel with Roland Young in any movie he's in, but overall the story was a disappointment. You can 'suspend your disbelief' to a point - to approximately a half-hour from the end.

H.G. Wells' lighthearted fantasy about an unassuming draperies assistant granted the ability to make his every dream come true might be the best film never made by Frank Capra. Normally a very sober thinker, Wells found the perfect balance between philosophy and whimsy for this original screenplay, in which a trio of cosmic gods conduct an experiment to see how the selfish inhabitants of this trifling world might cope with the possibility of total wish fulfillment. Astounded by his unexpected gift (which he believes to be a simple matter of will power), the meek and mild Mr. George McWirter Fotheringay soon finds himself besieged by friends and strangers offering opinions, advice, and partnership offers in lucrative business ventures. Should he use his miracle making for strictly personal gain, or for the benefit of all mankind? There are, of course, unexpected pitfalls to even the best intentions, but the consequences, while hardly optimistic, are never less than entertaining.

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.)

The Man Who Could Work Miracles has its start in the heavens where some Greek God like creatures are roaming among the stars, one of them played by an as yet unknown George Sanders. Apparently H.G. Wells's idea of a Deity was closer to the Greeks and Romans than Christianity. In any event these three creatures discuss the happenings on planet earth where a group of puny creatures dominate, but who might start getting into their realm in the heavens in a few generations.

Let's see what they can do if one of them is granted our powers, creation with a mere thought. And with a random selection of a celestial finger it lands on meek little Roland Young as he's entering his local pub.

It takes time for Young to grasp the significance of his gift and this is Wells's most telling comment on the film, the sheer pettiness of the average man. From parlor tricks to trying to improve his love life, Young just can't seem to get it into his head what he can do.

Of course they're others who do think about these things more deeply than young. But I believe what H.G. Wells was trying to say is that even those who see a bigger picture than Young and attempt to use him only see it from a narrow perspective. The former colonel Ralph Richardson thinks of conquest, Edward Chapman thinks in terms of business and commerce, Ernest Thesiger is a dreamy Utopian with a theological background. Even Young sees the flaws in each of their versions of Utopia.

H.G. Wells in his other film that came out around the same time provided the answer by his lights. It was the scientists who should establish the benevolent despotism of the age, they alone have the wisdom to rule all of us. Wells said as much in Things To Come, though I never saw any evidence in the film and in real life that scientists are any better qualified than anyone else. Still that was his view.

The subject of humans being given the Godlike power of creation has been done many times. In a more serious version it was the subject of a classic Star Trek episode with Gary Lockwood being given just that power and in a half hour Twilight Zone episode, a hapless Burgess Meredith was a subject of a similar experiment. Meredith made Young's character look hip and appealing.

Though some might argue that Cosmo Topper was his career screen role, I would hold out that Everyman George William Fotheringay, selected by the Gods to be The Man Who Could Work Miracles is Roland Young's best part. He's such a hapless slob that each and every one of us can identify with. You might think you would know what to do given his power, but when you examine yourself a bit further......................