Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

An admirable sci-fi adventure about friendship, trust, self sacrifice, and co-operation in order to survive in an inhospitable world. A message sorely needed in today’s modern world.

Directed by Byron Haskin
Produced by Aubrey Schenck
Screenplay by Ib Melchior, John C. Higgins
Based on “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe
Music by Nathan Van Cleave
Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch
Edited by Terry O. Morse
Production company: Schenck-Zabel
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Running time: 110 minutes

Cast


Paul Mantee : Commander Christopher Draper
Victor Lundin: Friday
Adam West: Colonel Dan McReady
The Woolly Monkey: Mona

Original theatrical trailer

Long before there was a 

“Mission to Mars” (2000)

OR

a landing on the “Red Planet” (2000)

OR

Any thought of trying to 

“Escape from Mars” (1999)

OR

any desire to get “Away” (2020)

(What the...??)

THERE WAS…….

Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

A science fiction retelling of the classic 1719 novel “Robinson Crusoe” by Daniel Defoe.

*******************************

• Aboard Mars Gravity Probe 1, Commander Christopher 'Kit' Draper and Colonel Dan McReady are forced to avoid collision with a meteor.

• Using an escape pod, Draper lands on the surface of Mars.

• With his fellow astronaut dead and with a monkey being his only companion, Draper will need to find a way to survive until he can be rescued and hopefully return to earth.

The need for;

Oxygen

Food

Water

And the effects of;

Loneliness & Isolation

are but a few of the threats posed to the survival of this modern-day..... 

Robinson Crusoe on Mars!

************************

Read on for more........

A Time Will Come

We live in very uncertain, frightening and confusing times, as has also been the case for many people throughout human history for various reasons. Many of the underlying problems in our society have been brought out in sharp relief during the course of the current pandemic.

The poem below in some small measure tries to capture some of the disquieting and destructive forces that seem to be at work in the world today. Its title, “A time will come” at first sight suggests that a kind of prophesy for the future is being presented. Or, perhaps it suggests a warning to us from the future about what to expect?

Then again, the poem might just be highlighting what kind of problems humanity has been confronted with throughout its entire history. It is not so much a case of a time will come for certain things to happen as it is being a case of the time having always been here with us in some form or other. The time has come to pass; the time is now and……...

A time will come

when sirens sound signaling
Satan’s welcome into the White House,
his entry gained through a back door,
his presence one of shock and awe.

When people and events are but the mirrors
through which he sees himself reflected;
the perception both corrupted and infected
by disunity and division, turmoil and confusion,
by lies and deception, ignorance and deflection:
mere tools to achieve a lasting legacy:
an image carved on Rushmore for all eternity.

when his machismo pals in other lands loose attack hounds
upon those they rule who they deem as enemies of the state,
who only wish to be rid of the tyrant’s abuse of power;
Yet while their photo-ops to posterity are taking place,
You can smell their fear from here as they sense the hate.

A time will come

when nations are torn apart along seams
and fault lines layed deep and low
                                              below
the surface, up through which a boiling layer
of molten anger will rise to engulf each soul.

when cities shatter from civil war and civil strife,
and points of view are paid for in human life;
small change in the pockets of the power elites,
coins tossed amongst wreckage strewn on streets.

when nations and their people's snipe and shout
at one another over walls and fences built of fear
while the ground under foot crumbles and rents
as more and more pieces of the whole secede.

when Czars once again rule for life
on thrones propped up by force, terror,
fear, division and false promises:
poisons administered to kill off dissent.

when red Dragons flex new-found strength,
and breathe scorching fires of intimidation,
their inmates stare cowered by the spectacle,
while vassals stand awed under a shadow, sullenly
beholden to an immense, immature and insecure bully.

when the eagle no longer soars aloft but falls
like a spent leaf
        to slowly settle and float               

 before sinking 

under a sea
           of irrelevance
    while still
clutching bolts
          of fire and fury
                    and dreams
of what might’ve
      been….
once…..
            again…..

A time will come

when virtual worlds are sought by refugees
fleeing an unfeeling fierce reality,
filled with false truths and alternative facts:
a world view born of a demented psyche.

When freedom and privacy is traded for promises of safety,
and security now sought in the warm embrace of the Devil
who knows your face, what you’ll do and who you’ve seen,
how you feel, what you think and where you’ve been.

When people shelter from swirling currents of truth and knowledge
within tents covered by the fabrics of myths and falsehoods,
and words are chopped short leading to chopped logic
as we ‘pivot’ oh so ‘agile’ and ‘nimble’ while ‘going forward’
and the young are being robbed of their hope and memory.
See how that girl jumps and jiggles with glee
as a mindless mob topples another statue of Robert E Lee,
and a young fool leaps off a burnt-out car in ecstasy,
with eyes shut tight through a tribal dance and a mindless ditty.

when one can no longer bear to offer a hand of friendship
nor give warmth and comfort with a hug and embrace,
and where we measure the cosmic distances between us
and count our numbers before being ordered to move on:
Transgressions noted and reported and compliance ensured.

when staying apart is said to help keep us together,
when the right to protest is thought of as inalienable,
while those sworn to serve and protect are unleashed
to beat some sense into those who sense such contradictions.

when a constant state of anxiety is the order of the day:
fear of lost jobs, infection, unrest and recession,
and the elderly are offered up as sacrifices to normalcy,
to ensure the smooth turning of the wheels of an economy.

When we peer up into infinity through the haze of false light,
to be spied on by eyes from on high festooned through the sky
by Musk-o-vite madness that seeks ingress into our brains,
with implant tendrils hungry for what the mind contains.

when waters rush in and wash away monuments to stupidity,
and the surface bakes while wild winds topple false certainty,
fanning the flaming judgment of a divine inquisition,
and the whole earth is finally wrapped in a Christo-like creation:
plastic cling wrap covering every feature and living thing
that struggles with its last breath to softly sing….

A time will come…..
A time will come…..
A time will come….


(Note: Click on blue lines “A time will come” for links to sound FX if you wish)







©Chris Christopoulos 2020

Fantastic Voyage (1966)

Despite some stolid acting performances and a rather dull script, “Fantastic Voyage” is a lavish production with brilliant special effects for the time. Overall, the film presents the viewer with an entertaining and imaginative journey into the human body.

Directed by Richard Fleischer
Produced by Saul David
Screenplay by Harry Kleiner
Story by Jerome Bixby, Otto Klement
Adaptation: David Duncan
Music by Leonard Rosenman
Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo
Edited by William B. Murphy
Distributed by 20th Century Fox
Running time: 100 minutes
Budget: $5.1 million
Box office: $12 million

Cast


Stephen Boyd: Grant
Raquel Welch: Cora
Edmond O'Brien: General Carter
Donald Pleasence: Dr. Michaels
Arthur O'Connell: Col. Donald Reid
William Redfield: Capt. Bill Owens
Arthur Kennedy: Dr. Duval
Jean Del Val : Jan Benes
Barry Coe: Communications Aide
Ken Scott: Secret Service
Shelby Grant: Nurse
James Brolin: Technician
Brendan Fitzgerald: Wireless Operator

(1966 Trailer)

An assassination attempt on a scientist!

A desperate bid to save his life!

A miniaturized sub and its crew injected into his body?

See what happens as they embark on a……

Fantastic Voyage! 

“This film will take you where no one has ever been before; no eye witness has actually seen what you are about to see. But in this world of ours where going to the moon will soon be upon us and where the most incredible things are happening all around us, somebody, perhaps tomorrow, the fantastic events you are about to see can and will take place.”

Read on for more......

"EXPROPRIATION BOOK 1 THE ENCOUNTER" by DEREK GONEKE

What happens when….

• A group of campers reluctantly go on a work retreat in Colorado’s national park?

• The group has a strange encounter with something seemingly out of this world?

• The secret service becomes involved?

• A full investigation is put together consisting of a team of military and civilian personnel?

• The future of the planet could be at stake?

Jonah is a science fiction fan and aspiring writer who together with his work colleagues is on a team-building work camp in the Colorado national park miles away from the mod cons of life. Life for Jonah and his work mates will never be the same again when they have a strange intergalactic encounter in the wilderness. It will prove to be the start of a journey to expose an alien mystery while dealing with issues and matters of a more personal nature. 

Among those accompanying Jonah on this perilous journey are; 

• Trina, an assistant to a meteoriticist and who Jonah gets on well with.
• Meteoriticist, Dr. Lena Bhatt who investigates unusual creatures from around the world.
• Sergeant Derek Rivers, sceptic with a marriage that’s falling apart.
• A disgraced ex-soldier Ezra who seeks the assistance of Sergeant Derek Rivers.

Derek Goneke's lively and briskly-paced story centres on a dangerous and deadly search for a UFO requiring the characters to fit together the pieces of a puzzle in which they try to uncover the strange mystery unfolding before them, while discovering that not everything or everyone is as they appear to be.

“Expropriation: The Encounter” would definitely appeal to young adult readers with its contemporary style, interesting, flawed and memorable characters along with a good mix of imaginative sci-fi, mystery and suspense. The story could readily be adapted into an engaging TV or streaming service series.

“Expropriation: The Encounter” is definitely worth a read.

Link to Expropriation: The Encounter

Sci-Fi Stories That Inspired Classic Sci-Fi Films: “When Worlds Collide” (1933) by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3574871

Hello readers! Good to be back after a bit of a break from all matters blogging. I thought I might start off with a novel I have just finished reading which I hope you will enjoy if you haven't read it yet.......

Spoilers follow below......

“When Worlds Collide” is a 1933 science fiction novel co-written by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer. It was first published as a six-part monthly serial (September 1932 to February 1933) in Blue Book magazine, illustrated by Joseph Franké.

The story was adapted into a film in 1951 with George Pal’s sci-fi classic version of “When Worlds Collide” which is featured in this blog. The film was produced by George Pal and directed by Rudolph Maté.

In both the book and film versions, a select group of humans with superior intelligence are to board a spaceship constructed to escape the earth which is destined to be obliterated by an oncoming planet. If they survive the initial escape into space, the remnants of the human race will settle on another planet where they will found a human colony.

In Wylie and Palmer’s book, Sven Bronson, a Swedish astronomer working at an observatory in South Africa, discovers a pair of rogue planets, Bronson Alpha and Bronson Beta,both of which will soon enter the Solar System.

It is calculated that in eight months’ time, the two intruding planets will pass close enough to cause catastrophic damage to the Earth. After they swing around the sun sixteen months later, the larger of the planets, a gas giant called Bronson Alpha will return to destroy the Earth before it leaves. On the other hand, Bronson Beta which appears to be more Earth-like and potentially habitable will remain and achieve a stable orbit. It is on Bronson Beta that hopes for the continued survival of the human race will depend.

Cole Hendron leads a group of scientists who work desperately to build an atomic rocket that will contain a select number of people, together with animals and equipment and transport them to Bronson Beta before the earth is destroyed. It turns out that only 100 out of about thousand people Hendron had recruited will be able to take up places on the rocket. It seems also that other nations have similar projects underway.

Hendron is assisted by his daughter Eve who forms a relationship with young business man, Tony Drake and a kind of complicated love triangle develops between Tony, Eve and Ransdell during the course of the story. Not to mention the complicated moral and ethical questions that arise with having to start civilisation from scratch on a new planet with a limited number of people. Monogamous love relationships and pairings may not suit the new circumstances!

In preparation for the first encounter, vulnerable coastal regions in the US are evacuated along with the “planting vast areas of land in crops.” When the expected planetary encounter occurs, massive tidal waves sweep inland and the earth is wracked by tremendous volcanic eruptions and earthquakes accompanied by raging wild weather. The images conjured up by the descrption of the upheavals and destruction are more vivid than what appeared on screen in the film version.To add cosmic insult to injury, Bronson Alpha approaches close to and destroys the Moon.

Meanwhile, the US President has taken up residence in Hutchinson, Kansas, which has become the temporary capital of the United States. Massive geological transformations have occurred with flooding of the entire Southeast region along with the Great Lakes emptying into the Saint Lawrence region, and Connecticut turning into an island archipelago.

South African pilot David Ransdell and two comrades use a plane to survey the scenes of destruction. During a battle with a desperate mob, the three intrepid souls are wounded but are able to bring back to the encampment a sample of a rare and essential heat-resistant metal which can be used to make rocket tubes capable of withstanding the heat of the atomic exhaust.

With just five months to go before the final encounter, a desperate battle erupts between attacking mobs and those defending the camp. Over half of Hendron's people perish in the assault before they use the rocket in a novel way to defeat their assailants. Look for the wonderfully ‘surreal’ description of the man on horseback at the end of the battle! The sheer desperation involved in the fight for survival is very effectively conveyed in the story.

With the newly acquired metal helping to solve the rocket tube heating problem, a second, larger ship is constructed that can carry all of the remaining survivors in Hendron’s camp.

With the end of the earth imminent, both rockets manage to take off but lose contact with each other. Other ships also manage to launch from Europe but the French rocket is seen to explode in the upper atmosphere.

The first rocket rocket carrying Hendron makes a successful landing on Bronson Beta, which appears to be habitable. It is not known however if anyone else had made it.

************

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11348604

The 1951 Technicolour Paramount Pictures film version “When Worlds Collide” starring Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, and John Hoyt is as has already been noted based on the 1933 science fiction novel of the same name.

The film version tells the story of the Earth being destined to be destroyed by a rogue star called Bellus and of a space ark being constructed to transport a select group of men and women to Bellus' single planet, “Zyra.”

South African Pilot David Randall is given the task of flying top-secret photographs from South African astronomer Dr. Emery Bronson to Dr. Cole Hendron in the United States. Hendron, with the assistance of his daughter Joyce, confirms the undeniable fact that a rogue star named Bellus is on a collision course with Earth.

Hendron warns the United Nations that the world will end in eight months’ time and makes an appeal for the immediate construction of "arks" to transport a select few to Zyra, the planet orbiting Bellus. Despite it being the only hope for the human race to be be saved from extinction, Hendron’s claims and appeal are rejected by the UN delegates.

Wealthy benefactors step in to arrange for a lease on a former proving ground to build an ark while wheelchair-bound business magnate Sidney Stanton offers to finance the construction of the ark on condition that he select the passengers. Hendron insists he only has the right to buy a seat aboard the ark. The ugly and selfish nature of the Stanton character is focussed on to a greater extent in the film version as opposed to the rather brief treatment of a similar somewhat mentally warped and deranged character in the book.

Joyce convinces her father into hanging on to the intrepid Randall (whom she seems to take a liking to), much to the displeasure of her boyfriend, Dr. Tony Drake.

As Bellus inexorably approaches, it becomes evident that Hendron was right all along. Everyone gets into gear with spaceships being constructed in other nations, martial law being declared and populations in coastal regions being evacuated to inland cities.

When Zyra approaches first, massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal waves occur around the world. Later, Drake and Randall drop off supplies to people in the surrounding area by helicopter. A moment of truth arrives when Randall gets off the copter to rescue a little boy stranded on a rooftop in a flooded area. Drake thinks about resolving the eternal love tirangle situation by flying away, but being the good fella he is decides to return. What a guy!

With a constant, urgent and insistent countdown to destiny, the rocketship is loaded with food, equipment, necessary provisions and animals. The passengers are to be then selected by lottery, with places already reserved for Hendron, Stanton, Joyce, Drake, pilot Dr. George Frey, Randall and the young boy who was rescued. This brings the number of passengers to 45.

Randall, believing he lacks any useful skills for starting civilisation anew, pretends to draw a lottery number, but our “what a guy” Drake informs Randall that Frey has a heart condition and that if he doesn’t manage to survive the blackout during lift-off, Randall will be needed as the co-pilot. What a guy!

Meanwhile, the stone-hearted cynical Stanton has been busily stock-piling guns knowing what measures the desperate lottery losers would be likely to take to save themselves. A student of human nature he fancies himself to be no doubt!

Perhaps….but we see then witness a young man who decides to turn in his winning number because the one he loves was not selected. Suddenly, Stanton's brow-beaten constantly demeaned assistant, Ferris claims the number at gunpoint, but he is then shot dead by Stanton.

Danger for the whole enterprise lies closer to hand when just prior to take-off a desperate mob of lottery losers riot. Using Stanton's weapons, they try to force their way aboard the ark.

In another of those “what a guy” moments, Hendron remains with Stanton outside the ship when it launches so that it will consume less fuel on the journey to Zyra. Besides, he feels that starting a new civilisation should be a task for the young. Impelled by sheer desperation, Stanton manages to stand up and futilely attempts to walk toward and board the departing spaceship.

Unlike the survivors in the book’s story, the survivors in the film verson are rendered unconscious by the g-force of acceleration and fail to witness Earth's destruction. In the book version, the ark’s occupants watch on “as the nebulous atmosphere of Bronson Alpha touched the air of earth and then the very earth bulged.”

Randall comes to and sees Dr. Frey relatively chipper, awake and piloting the ship. He then realizes “what a guy” Drake truly is. But his piloting skills are soon required since the fuel is running low as the ship enters Zyra's atmosphere. Randall manages to glide the ship to a safe landing on the surface of Zyra.

Zyra does indeed turn out to be habitable. We close with David, Randall and Joyce walking hand-in-hand down the ramp as a new day dawns on a very ordinarily painted representation. At least in the novel there was an actual road upon which they walked and indications of a previous civilisation.

Please feel free to read my review of the film, “When Worlds Collide.”

As to the novel? Well, I highly recommend that you read it. It’s a very lively well-paced writtten story but the style of language along with certain references are definitely from a by-gone era. I know that the collective heads of the PC Brigade will explode upon reading about Kyto the “little Jap” manservant of Drake. Then there’s the matter of eugenics with the selection of suitable candidates for the journey to Bonson Beta. Let’s not even get started on the portrayal and role of women despite the inclusion of a quite for the time strong female character in Eve. I can just see idiots trying to slap disclaimers all over the novel or airbrush or burn it out of existence!

What you do get in the novel is strong sense of what the characters are like and the relationships they have with each other. Also, the descriptions of the destruction caused to the Earth by the approach of Bonson Alpha, along with the desperate struggle with the invading mobs upon the encampment were very detailed and vivid. All this and more in a rollicking good almost ‘first of its kind’ story.

It’s worth considering the recent theory that a planet given the name of Theia collided with the early Earth around 4.5 billion years ago, with the resulting debris gathering to form our Moon.

It is believed that Theia was about the size of Mars and that it might have formed in the outer Solar System and that much of Earth's water originated on Theia.

It’s also worth mentioning that a book called “Worlds in Collision” by Immanuel Velikovsky was published in 1950. Velikovsky suggests that around the 15th century BC, the planet Venus was ejected from Jupiter as a comet or comet-like object and passed near Earth!

Finally, many readers will recall the events of July 1994 when fragments of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter over a period of several days, providing the first direct observation of an extraterrestrial collision of Solar System objects.

I would definitely put “When Worlds Collide” (1933) by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balme on your sci-fi reading bucket list and then follow it up with a viewing of the film version.

The sequel,” After Worlds Collide,” deals with the fate of the survivors on Bronson Beta.

PDF LINK

Full Film Link

©Chris Christopoulos 2020

“Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures,” by Joe Jordan

Title: Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures
Author: Joe Jordan
Contributors: Gavin MacLeod, Douglas E. Wise
Edition: illustrated 
Publisher: BearManor Media, 2020
ISBN: 1629335363, 978-1629335360
Length: 506 pages

“Robert Wise: The Motion Pictures,” by Joe Jordan is a product of meticulous research by the author, covering a period of over fifty years. It contains detailed plot synopses and commentary of many of Robert Wise’s memorable and important films. 

By photo by Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2227156

Robert Wise began his film career at RKO as a sound and music editor. He later became more involved in editing film content and went to work for RKO film editor William "Billy" Hamilton. At RKO, Wise worked with Orson Welles on “Citizen Kane” (1941) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Film Editing.

In his role as producer and director, Wise aimed for establishing a connection to the viewer and had a reputation for a strong work ethic, attention to detail, budgetary thrift and well-researched preparation for a film. 

Of relevance to this blog is Robert Wise’s film “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, a classic science fiction masterpiece that warned about the dangers of atomic warfare.

Other films of Robert Wise that have stayed in my mind over the years are;

• “I Want To Live” (1958)
• “Run Silent, Run Deep” (1958)
• “The Haunting” (1963)
• “The Andromeda Strain” (1971) 

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19705323 

• "Startrek The Motion Picture" (1979)

Joe Jordan's book includes over twenty interviews, as well as presenting a comprehensive analysis of Robert Wise’s work. 

I am sure that after reading this fascinating tribute, you’ll come away with an even greater appreciation of this two-time winner of the Academy Award for Best Director – the legendary Robert Wise. 

*************

A Tribute

Rosetta and Joe Jordan

Joe's Robert Wise book is dedicated to his father and it is very sad to note the recent sudden passing of his father.

Joe's mother, Rosetta preceded her husband in death by 37 years. He missed her so much and never remarried.

Joe has managed to find comfort in knowing that both of his parents are finally together again. It is also of comfort to Joe that his father was able to enjoy the revised edition of his son's book prior to his passing.

According to Joe, "My father was so excited to receive his copy of the Robert Wise book. You should have seen the look on his face when he found out the book is dedicated to him. My father was always a big fan of The Sand Pebbles," (a 1962 novel by American author Richard McKenna about a Yangtze River gunboat and its crew in 1926. In 1966 it was used as the storyline for a movie of the same name starring Steve McQueen and directed by none other than Robert Wise.)

Our condolences go out to Joe for his loss along with our best wishes and kind thoughts. I'm certain his father would have been very proud of Joe.

Sci-Fi Stories That Inspired Classic Sci-Fi Films: "The Day Of The Triffids" (1951)

Steve Sekely’s 1962 film version of Wyndham’s novel is perhaps the best known with other superior adaptations that followed with the 1981 and 2009 BBC TV mini-series. Each seems to approach the story from the standpoint of the prevalent concerns and preoccupations of the era in which they were made.

The 1962 film version seems to opt for a more sci-fi / horror angle at the expense of Wyndham’s story with its backdrop Cold War considerations and fears along with philosophical discussions of the nature of human civilisation.

John Wyndham’s classic science fiction story opens with a man called Bill waking up in a hospital room to find the world he once knew utterly transformed - a world gone blind overnight!

The opening chapter contains an atmosphere of dread as Bill senses without the aid of his sight that the outside world sounds more like a quiet Sunday rather than a typical Wednesday. There is an overwhelming feeling of something not at all being quite right.

With only his sense of hearing to guide him, the striking of the clock indicates that it is now nine o’clock. However, the time his bandages were supposed to be removed was at eight – what on earth has been happening in the meantime?

Unknown to Bill, while he had been asleep after his eye operation, a cosmic event caused the majority of the population who witnessed it to go blind.

Added to the horror of mass blindness is the danger posed to humanity in the form of a plant known as a triffid.

Humanity in its complacency, however did not count on a cosmic event causing global mass blindness and providing the triffids with an opportunity to escape their confinement and become THE apex predator with human beings becoming their prey. For the triffids you see, cannot see but are drawn to noise and therefore their prey cannot avoid them for long! 

What of are some of the changes and differences between the book and the movie?

Wyndham’s Novel	Sekely’s 1962 Film Version
The triffids had been contained and were farmed to produce a vegetable oil substitute and help to ease the global food supply problem.	The light show of the meteor shower has caused the triffids and the plants have somehow been mutated by the event.
Bill is a biologist and triffid expert who had been hit by a triffid.	Bill is a merchant navy officer, who missed the meteor shower because he was in hospital with his eyes bandaged after an operation
Central female character is part of the important love story.	Central female character reduced to screaming damsel in distress.
Josella is saved by Bill from being beaten in the middle of the street. -Modern woman for the times. -Unmarried by choice. -Author of ‘Sex Is My Adventure.' -Gained a notorious ‘reputation.’ -Self-reliant Appearance of Susan later in the story.	No Josella! Just a screaming biologist, Karen!
Crowd panic, chaos in the streets with loss of sight and reason. Few traffic accidents due to suddeness of blindness overnight.	Car and bus crashes and wreckage along with train and pane crashes.
Greater sense of isolation and no communication with the rest of the world.	Bill hops across to France and Spain and radios seem to still function
Coker kidnaps Bill and Josella to help with his plan to look after and feed the blind. His plan falls apart when a sickness starts killing off people in London.	Coker is a British tourist in France.

What individuals and a society will do and the choices that are made in the face of a calamity is a central feature of Wyndham’s story. So too is the question of the value of our cherished moral and social belief systems when put to the test by the sheer necessity of survival. Placed along side Windham’s novel, the film version is little more than a disappointing monster movie with ordinary special effects and little substance. Of greater interest are the subsequent TV mini-series versions and their respective treatments of Wyndham’s story.

*************** 

I wonder how long it will be before Wyndham’s story along with the various screen adaptations are consigned to the bonfire by the PC lunatic brigade on the grounds of insufficient minority representation, gender discrimination or cruelty against vegetation! I’m off now to enjoy my copy of the film classic, “Gone With The Wind” while I can before the final Fahrenheit 451 solution is applied.

I'll try not to knock over any statues or monuments on my way by being dragged along by swirling currents in a sea of slogans spewing out of mindless moronic mob mouths whose sense and knowledge of history extends as far back as this morning's breakfast. I may need, however to dodge any microbial passengers that have hitched a ride on them!

Full Movie

Audio drama link

Epub / PDF Link

Audiobook Link

©Chris Christopoulos 2020