The Story of Mankind (1957)

THE STORY OF MANKIND  (1957)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Irwin Allen
    Ronald Colman, Vincent Price, Hedy Lamarr,
    Peter Lorre, Virginia Mayo, Dennis Hopper,
    Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx,
    Agnes Moorehead, Edward Everett Horton,
    John Carradine, Reginald Gardiner, Marie Wilson,
    Franklin Pangborn, Francis X. Bushman, Henry Daniell
The Devil (Vincent Price) and the Spirit of Man (Ronald Colman) debate the role of good and evil through history, while the High Tribunal of Outer Space considers the evidence and decides the fate of the human race. Harpo Marx plays Isaac Newton. Peter Lorre plays Nero. Dennis Hopper plays Napoleon. Hedy (not Hedley) Lamarr plays Joan of Arc. You don't see history like that every day. Definitely one of the oddest things ever to come out of mainstream Hollywood: moviemaking so sincerely (and comically) misguided, it's almost surreal. For curiosity value alone, it shouldn't be missed.