The Man Who Could Work Miracles
Encyclopedia
The Man Who Could Work Miracles is a 1936 British fantasy
-comedy
film. It is a greatly expanded version of H.G. Wells’s story of the same name
. It was the final adaptation of one of Wells' works to be produced during his lifetime.
's assistant George Fotheringay (Roland Young
), almost unlimited powers. He enters the Long Dragon Pub and begins arguing with his friends about miracles and the impossibility of them, and during this argument he inadvertently causes a miracle; he causes an oil lamp to turn upside down, without anyone touching it and with the flame burning steadily downwards rather than righting itself. He soon runs out of willpower and is thrown out of the pub for spilling oil on the floor and causing a commotion.
When he arrives at his home, he performs the same trick with a small candle and finds that it works. He is so overjoyed, he spends the better part of the night working miracles such as lifting his table, lifting his bed, enlarging a candle-extinguisher to a brightly painted cone, making a kitten appear under it, and turning his bed into a cornucopia of fruits and fluffy bunnies.
Next day, he makes his miracles known to the public. A policeman discovers his powers, and when he begins to annoy Fotheringay, Fotheringay curses, telling him to "Go to blazes [hell]!" - where the poor Bobby finds himself surrounded by flames, swirling smoke, sulphur, and the howls of adulterers and liars. Fotheringay is shocked, and has the cop relocated to San Francisco where he finds himself in the midst of capitalists, automobiles, and Spearmint gum.
Nobody agrees on how he should use his powers, so he contacts Mr. Maydig, the local vicar. The vicar thinks up a plan to bring about a millennium
and have Fotheringay abolish famine, plague, and war. They celebrate this by playing a miraculous trick on a local war profiteer and having his whisky, beer, and cocktails turn to mineral water, and his swords and weapons turn to books and agricultural tools. When the war profiteer hears about this, he decides to kill Fotheringay but the assassination plot fails as Fotheringay has made himself invulnerable.
Fotheringay decides not to have a millennium but to do what he wants, believing that everyone else only wants to use him. In a fit of reckless pompousness, Fotheringay changes the Colonel's house into a spectacular palace of real gold and marble. He then summons up all the pretty girls of Essex, after which he summons the butlers in Essex, the leaders of the world, the teachers, musicians, priests, etc. He dresses up like a king and appoints the girl he loves as empress. He then commands the leaders of the world to create a utopia
, free of greed, war, plague, famine, jealousy, and toil. Maydig begs Fotheringay to wait until the following day, so Fotheringay buys some time by making the Earth stop rotating. Of course, everything on Earth has adapted to the rotation of the Earth and so, like a car coming to a sudden halt after travelling at 130 MPH, the world falls to pieces as people fly through the ice-cold air and buildings crumble.
In the end, the two angels put things back as they were before bestowing the powers on Fotheringay, erasing all memory of the events. Fotheringay appears again in the pub, tries the trick with the lamp, but fails.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
-comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
film. It is a greatly expanded version of H.G. Wells’s story of the same name
The Man Who Could Work Miracles (story)
"The Man Who Could Work Miracles" is a British fantasy–comedy short story by H. G. Wells first published in 1898 in The Illustrated London News.-Plot summary:...
. It was the final adaptation of one of Wells' works to be produced during his lifetime.
Plot outline
In The Man Who Could Work Miracles, two angels decide to experiment. They give haberdasherHaberdasher
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions. In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.-Origin and use:The word appears in...
's assistant George Fotheringay (Roland Young
Roland Young
Roland Young was an English actor.-Early life and career:Born in London, England, Young was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset and the University of London before being accepted into Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
), almost unlimited powers. He enters the Long Dragon Pub and begins arguing with his friends about miracles and the impossibility of them, and during this argument he inadvertently causes a miracle; he causes an oil lamp to turn upside down, without anyone touching it and with the flame burning steadily downwards rather than righting itself. He soon runs out of willpower and is thrown out of the pub for spilling oil on the floor and causing a commotion.
When he arrives at his home, he performs the same trick with a small candle and finds that it works. He is so overjoyed, he spends the better part of the night working miracles such as lifting his table, lifting his bed, enlarging a candle-extinguisher to a brightly painted cone, making a kitten appear under it, and turning his bed into a cornucopia of fruits and fluffy bunnies.
Next day, he makes his miracles known to the public. A policeman discovers his powers, and when he begins to annoy Fotheringay, Fotheringay curses, telling him to "Go to blazes [hell]!" - where the poor Bobby finds himself surrounded by flames, swirling smoke, sulphur, and the howls of adulterers and liars. Fotheringay is shocked, and has the cop relocated to San Francisco where he finds himself in the midst of capitalists, automobiles, and Spearmint gum.
Nobody agrees on how he should use his powers, so he contacts Mr. Maydig, the local vicar. The vicar thinks up a plan to bring about a millennium
Millenarianism
Millenarianism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society, after which all things will be changed, based on a one-thousand-year cycle. The term is more generically used to refer to any belief centered around 1000 year intervals...
and have Fotheringay abolish famine, plague, and war. They celebrate this by playing a miraculous trick on a local war profiteer and having his whisky, beer, and cocktails turn to mineral water, and his swords and weapons turn to books and agricultural tools. When the war profiteer hears about this, he decides to kill Fotheringay but the assassination plot fails as Fotheringay has made himself invulnerable.
Fotheringay decides not to have a millennium but to do what he wants, believing that everyone else only wants to use him. In a fit of reckless pompousness, Fotheringay changes the Colonel's house into a spectacular palace of real gold and marble. He then summons up all the pretty girls of Essex, after which he summons the butlers in Essex, the leaders of the world, the teachers, musicians, priests, etc. He dresses up like a king and appoints the girl he loves as empress. He then commands the leaders of the world to create a utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
, free of greed, war, plague, famine, jealousy, and toil. Maydig begs Fotheringay to wait until the following day, so Fotheringay buys some time by making the Earth stop rotating. Of course, everything on Earth has adapted to the rotation of the Earth and so, like a car coming to a sudden halt after travelling at 130 MPH, the world falls to pieces as people fly through the ice-cold air and buildings crumble.
In the end, the two angels put things back as they were before bestowing the powers on Fotheringay, erasing all memory of the events. Fotheringay appears again in the pub, tries the trick with the lamp, but fails.
Cast
- Roland YoungRoland YoungRoland Young was an English actor.-Early life and career:Born in London, England, Young was educated at Sherborne School, Dorset and the University of London before being accepted into Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...
as George McWhirter Fotheringay - Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as Colonel Winstanley - Edward ChapmanEdward Chapman (actor)Edward Chapman was an English actor who starred in many films and television programmes, but is chiefly remembered as "Mr. Wilfred Grimsdale", the officious superior and comic foil to Norman Wisdom's character of Pitkin in many of his films from the late 1950s and 1960s.Chapman was born in...
as Major Grigsby - Ernest ThesigerErnest ThesigerErnest Frederic Graham Thesiger CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is best known for his performance as Dr...
as Mr. Maydig - Joan GardnerJoan GardnerJoan Gardner was a British actress. She married Zoltán Korda and had a son, David.Joan was born in Chesham, Bucks, UK. She made her stage debut immediately on leaving school and by age 18 had achieved success there...
as Ada Price - Sophie StewartSophie StewartSophie Stewart was a British actress. She was born in Crieff, Perthshire on 5 March 1908. Died 1977. In 1937 she starred in Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel as Lady Blakeney.She was married to the actor Ellis Irving.-Selected filmography:...
as Maggie Hooper - Robert CochranRobert CochranRobert Cochran is the co-creator of the television series 24. Before that, he and Joel Surnow created and produced the television series La Femme Nikita and later also served as the series consultants. More recently he created the TV show Company Man with David Ehrman and also The Call with David...
as Bill Stoker - Lady Tree as Mr. Maydig's Housekeeper
- Laurence HanrayLaurence HanrayLaurence Hanray , sometimes credited as Lawrence Hanray, was a British film actor born in London, England.-Partial filmography:* Beyond the Cities * Her Reputation * The Faithful Heart...
as Mr. Bamfylde, London & Essex Bank - George ZuccoGeorge ZuccoGeorge Desylla Zucco was an English character actor who appeared, almost always in supporting roles, in 96 films during a career spanning two decades, from 1931 to 1951. He is fondly remembered for his roles in classic horror films.-Early life:Zucco was born in Manchester, England...
as Moody, Colonel Winstanley's Butler - Wallace LupinoWallace LupinoWallace Lupino was a British-born film actor who was part of the Lupino family. He appeared in 63 films between 1918 and 1940...
as Police Constable Winch (billed as Wally Lupino) - Joan HicksonJoan HicksonJoan Hickson OBE was an English actress of theatre, film and television, famed for playing Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in the television series Miss Marple.- Wivenhoe :...
as Effie Brickman - Wally PatchWally PatchWally Patch was a British character actor, who had supporting roles in many films. He was born Walter Sidney Vinnicombe in Willesden, London on 26 September 1888...
as Police Superintendent Smithelle - Mark DalyMark Daly (actor)Mark Daly was a British film actor.Mark Daly was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 23 August 1887 and died 27 September 1957 in England. He made his first stage appearance in Swansea, Wales in 1906 and his first London engagement at the Shaftesbury Theatre six years later...
as Toddy Beamish - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
as Indifference
See also
- Bruce AlmightyBruce AlmightyBruce Almighty is a 2003 American comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk. It stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God that He isn't doing His job correctly, and is then offered the chance to try...
, which has a similar plot, with an ordinary man being given God's powers.