Themes: Fighting the System, Wishes Come True, Wizards and Magicians
Main Cast: Roland Young, Joan Gardner, Ralph Richardson, Ernst Thesiger, Robert Cochran
Release Year: 1936
Country: UK
Run Time: 82 minutes
Plot
As a result of a discussion between a trio of gods over the true worthiness of Earth, a retiring British shop assistant is granted miraculous powers in this fantasy based on an H.G. Wells story. Roland Young stars as George McWhirter Fotheringay, whose new powers are virtually limitless; choosing to use them for good, he sets out to create a utopian society. Still, despite a succession of miraculous deeds, George's plans to cure all of the world's ills is met with disbelief. As proof of his power, George wills the earth to stop spinning on its axis, which results in its citizens flying off the planet into space. Because George is indestructible, he is able to shout out his last wish, which restores the world--and George himself--back to normal. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Review
The Man Who Could Work Miracles is a cheerful excursion into somewhat whimsical science fiction -- "somewhat" because it is more the treatment than the subject matter itself that is whimsical. Indeed, the basic messages behind Miracles are familiar ones of H.G. Wells: that mankind must find some way to end its obsession with wars and pointless aggression, that the differences between people make it impossible for one point of view to always prevail, and that absolute power by itself cannot bring about a utopia. But director Lothar Mendes treats most of this with a very light touch, helping to keep some of the preachiness at bay and therefore rendering it all the more effective. The plot itself is rather delightful and the screenplay has a number of inventive elements, starting with the trio of gods that open the film. Miracles also benefits from the performance of Roland Young in the title role, who is perfect as the non-descript, average "little" man suddenly elevated to heights of unimaginable power. What may be a surprise to modern audiences is how well the special effects have held up. While not on par with today's computer-generated work, they are still quite impressive and add considerably to The Man Who Could Work Miracles' impact. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Lady Tree - Housekeeper; Wallace Lupino - Police Constable Winch; Gertrude Musgrove - Effie Brickman; Edward Chapman - Maj. Grigsby; Sophie Stewart - Maggie Hooper; George Zucco - Moody; Bruce Winston - Cox, Landlord; Lawrence Hanray - Mr. Bamfylde; Bernard Nedell - Reporter; Wally Patch - Superintendent; Jane Baxter; Ivan Brandt - Player, a God; Mark Daly - Toddy Beamish; Joan Hickson - Effie; George Sanders - Indifference, a God; Torin Thatcher - Observer, a God
In The Man Who Could Work Miracles, several angels decide to experiment. They give haberdasher's assistant George Fotheringay, played by Roland Young, almost unlimited powers. He enters the Long Dragon Pub and begins arguing with his friends about miracles and the impossibility of them, and during this argument, he inadvertently causes a miracle; he causes an oil lamp to turn upside down, without anyone touching it, and with the flame to burn steadily downwards, rather than righting itself. He soon runs out of willpower and is thrown out of the pub for spilling oil on the floor and causing commotion.
When he arrives at his house, he performs the same trick with a small candle, and finds that it works. He is so overjoyed, he spends the better part of the night working miracles, such as lifting his table, lifting his bed, enlarging a candle-extinguisher to a brightly painted cone, making a kitten appear under it, and turning his bed into a cornucopia.
Next day, he makes his miracles known to the public. A policeman discovers his powers, and when he begins to annoy Fotheringay, Fotheringay curses, telling him to "Go to [hell]!"---and the poor cop finds himself surrounded by flames, swirling smoke, sulphur, and the howls of adulterers and liars. Fotheringay is shocked, and has the cop relocated to San Francisco, where he finds himself in the midst of capitalists, automobiles, and Spearmint gum.
Nobody agrees on how he should use his powers, so he contacts Mr. Maydig, a local vicar. The vicar thinks up a plan to cause a Millenium, and have Fotheringay abolish famine, plague, and war. They celebrate this by playing a miracle on a local war profiteer, and have his whiskey, beer, and cocktails turn to mineral water, and his swords and weapons turn to books and agricultural tools. When the war profiteer hears about this, he decides to kill Fotheringay, but the assassination plot fails, as Fotheringay has made himself invulnerable.
Fotheringay decides not to have a millennium, and do what he wants, believing that everyone else only wants to use him. In a fit of reckless pompousness, Fotheringay changes the colonel's house into a spectacular palace of real gold and marble. He then summons up all the pretty girls of Essex, after which he summons the butlers in Essex, the leaders of the world, the teachers, musicians, priests, etc. He dresses up like a king and appoints the girl he loves as Empress. He then commands the leaders of the world to create a utopia, free of greed, war, plague, famine, jealousy, and toil. Maydig begs Fotheringay to wait until tomorrow, so Fotheringay buys some time by making the Earth stop rotating. Of course, everything on Earth has adapted to the rotation of the Earth, and so like a car coming to a complete halt after traveling at 130 MPH, the world falls to pieces as people fly through the ice-cold air and buildings crumble.
In the end, Fotheringay, who had not died in the apocalypse, sent himself back to the Long Dragon Pub and relinquishses his powers.
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