Things to Come ( 1936 ) - 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars

Consider that WW11 was on the horizon when this film was released its not the propaganda film you think it would be.Perhaps that is because it is based on a HG Wells novel and he also adapted it for this film so science is at the forefront.That is also its weakness. HG had some good ideas but also bad ones as well.So I took 1/2 off for B&W,1/2 off for being a very dated film and finally 1/2 star off because the science was lacking.Really,being shot into space by a "Gun"?? The science that people still buzz about is the single wing aircraft HG foresaw. Anyway,the film never mentions who starts this final world war,only hints at"you know who HE is."So you think Hitler,but as the film progress and we get to war lords,one played well by Ralph Richardson,I thought of Mussolini instead.But as far as acting goes its all Raymond Massey as the man who"saves"civilization although the great actor Cedric Hardwicke ,in a future after the war that has a  strangely Roman feeling,doesn't agree.So,despite being B&W and dated and lacking in some of its science,its still sci-fi of the first order and a bucket film for serious cinema fans.Trailer URL follows the picture and a IMDB summary is below.

A story of 100 years: a decades-long second world war leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and tries space travel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wemRBFFbhKI