“Weapons?”
“Bars! Metal! They can break delicate objects. They can do endless mischief!”

This starts brilliantly, the juxtaposition of an almost Seussian idyllic Christmas in “Everytown” with increasingly rapid cuts to headline after headline of war, the music re-enforcing it all moving from Christmas Carols to doom-laden strings. Then, the start of the war itself, fantastic effects of buildings (notably a cinema) crumbling, etc; a chilling moment with two pilots, one injured, and a little girl with only two gas masks between them; then a steady passing through the decades of endless conflict. It’s absolutely mesmerising.

Then, however, we’re in the future: and though this movie eerily predicts, basically, World War II with astonishing accuracy, its vision of the future – strangely Roman in the crumbling Everytown, and simply too “futuristic” outside – really reveals that its clairvoyancy is pretty short-sighted. By the end (wherefrom that quote above is taken), it’s almost Plan 9 From Outer Space ridiculous.

The visuals are consistently brilliant, even jawdropping, for its time, however; the ending (“This? Or that? All the universe? Or nothingness? Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?”) really picks it up wonderfully, and this is certainly one of the better pre-1960s movies I’ve seen.

Side note: I can’t believe that during their much-touted “Summer of British Film” season, BBC2 showed the 90 minute cut of the movie rather than the restored (by the BFI no less rolls eyes) version. Not that I’m too quick to complain: if the extra 25 minutes are from the “future” then I’m glad to be without them.

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