The World, the Flesh and the Devil Reviews

An interesting but ultimately unfulfilling and unconvincing post-holocaust allegory which is really more concerned with the problem of racism than with surviving a nuclear attack. Belafonte is a coal miner who represents the moral stance of the "world," while Stevens is meant to be the "flesh." After wandering around alone for the first half of the picture, Belafonte encounters his first survivor in an otherwise deserted New York City--Stevens. At first she is hostile toward him because he is black, but she soon grows attached to him. Belafonte resists, conscious that in the days before the holocaust she would have not come near him. Enter a third survivor, Ferrer, a bigoted seaman who eventually takes up arms against Belafonte. A chase through deserted New York streets ensues, ending with the hope that all three can live in peace. The performances all express the urgency of the situation, but the film soon gets bogged down in its own traps and plot holes.