This article is about the American science fiction film. For the Polish historical film, see The Deluge (film)

The Deluge (film)

The Deluge is the English title of the Polish film Potop, a historical drama directed by Jerzy Hoffman, released in 1974. The film is based on the novel by the Nobel Prize-winning Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz...

Deluge (1933) is an apocalyptic science fiction film

Science fiction film

Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...

, released by RKO Radio Pictures, about a group of worldwide natural disasters which lead to the destruction of the earth.

The film is very loosely based on the novel of the same name

Deluge (novel)

Deluge is a 1928 novel by S. Fowler Wright.In the novel, a global flood destroys all civilization other than areas of the English Midlands that remain above water. It follows Martin Webster, a lawyer who loses his wife and children. His companion, Claire Arlington, is an athlete and one of the few...

 by S. Fowler Wright

S. Fowler Wright

Sydney Fowler Wright was a prolific British editor, poet, science fiction author, writer of screenplays, mystery fiction and works in other genres...

, with the setting changed from England to the United States. A series of earthquakes destroy the Pacific coast of the United States, causing a massive tsunami

Tsunami

A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...

, which heads toward New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The wave leaves New York submerged in water and nearly
all inhabitants of the city drown. This special effect sequence later inspired a scene in The Day After Tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow

The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...

(2004).

The impressive effects were done by a team who later worked on the H. G. Wells

H. G. Wells

Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...

-scripted film Things to Come

Things to Come

Things to Come is a British science fiction film produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells and is a loose adaptation of his own 1933 novel The Shape of Things to Come and his 1931 non-fiction work, The Work, Wealth and Happiness...

(1936).

For many years, Deluge was thought to be a lost film

Lost film

A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...

, but a print dubbed in Italian was found in a film archive in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in the late 1980s. Before the discovery, the only part of the film known to survive was the impressive footage of the tidal wave destroying New York City, which was used in the Republic Pictures

Republic Pictures

Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....

 serials Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc

Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc

Dick Tracy vs. Crime, Inc. is a Republic Movie serial based on the Dick Tracy comic strip. It was directed by the legendary serial team of William Witney and John English with Ralph Byrd reprising his role from the earlier serials...

and King of the Rocket Men

King of the Rocket Men

King of the Rocket Men is a 1949 Republic movie serial, in twelve chapters, notable for introducing the "Rocketman Character" who reappeared under a variety of names in later serials Radar Men from the Moon, Zombies of the Stratosphere and the semi-serial Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the...

.

See also

• End of the World
  End of the World (1931 film)
  End of the World is a 1931 science fiction film directed by Abel Gance based on the novel Omega: The Last Days of the World by Camille Flammarion. The film stars Victor Francen as Martial Novalic, Colette Darfeuil as Genevieve de Murcie, Abel Gance as Jean Novalic, and Jeanne Brindau as Madame...
  
  (1931)
• Waterworld
  Waterworld
  Waterworld is a 1995 post-apocalyptic science fiction film. The film was directed by Kevin Reynolds and co-written by Peter Rader and David Twohy. It is based on Rader's original 1986 screenplay and stars Kevin Costner, who also produced it. It was distributed by Universal Pictures...
  
  (1995)