Amateur movie with Big budget

A Disappointing Continuation

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This is a neat little adventure film but not the best film to star Vincent Price or Henry Hull also Charles Bronson - but it is fun to watch. Henry Hull actually came out of retirement to co-star and that's a treat all in itself! It's sometimes funny - mainly the comedy comes from Topage the chef (played by Vito Scotti). Price and Hull are always good to watch which makes this film worth a looksy. Charles Bronson fans should get a kick out of seeing him in an earlier and different type of role from what we are used to seeing him cast in - but he's still a bit of a "tough guy" in it.I think this movie could make a fun adventure film afternoon with another Vincent Price film: 'War Gods of the Deep' aka 'City in the Sea' (1965).7/10

For a movie made by a studio that specialized in drive-in cheapies for teenagers, directed by a guy who specialized in Saturday afternoon serials those teenagers probably watched when they were younger, this must have been a real treat. For somebody who just missed both those time periods - it's still a surprisingly-good if modestly-budgeted Victorian SF (pre-Steampunk) adventure, with two great performances by Vincent Price and Charles Bronson (yes, really!). Price is well- meaning mad scientist Robur "The Conqueror", who builds a heavier-than-air flying warship (kind of the grandfather to SHIELD's Helicarriers), which he and his loyal crew uses to convince the Nations of the Victorian World to Disarm - by blowing their weapons up REAL good! (I'd mock - but given my own country's government has tried this numerous times, it's apparently a popular notion.) Robur shanghais four "guests" - a Government mission out to discover the meaning of strange voices emanating from Pennsylvania's "The Great Eyrie" mountain. Leading the mission is Department of the Interior officer John Strock (Bronson), who at first appears sufficiently impressed with Robur's vision to go along, over the objections of the others - Balloonist Philip Evans, his fiancée Dorothy Prudent and her father. But Robur's plan to Make War to End War ends up getting the attention of the world's governments - and not in the way he'd hoped...!Reportedly screenwriter Richard Matheson believed Bronson badly miscast as Strock - but he was wrong. Bronson gives Strock a kind of primal strength and presence that makes him a believably capable foil for Price, combining his usual late-career ham with some genuine notes of depth and poignancy. Mary Webster makes Dorothy Prudent a strong, smart, capable heroine who clearly deserves better than the petty jealous borderline cowardly drip she's engaged to (David Frankham) - and in Strock she finds it. Serials veteran Whitney directs with a flair for thrills and adventure, but also shows with both Ms. Webster's performance and in Price's quieter moments that he was a good actor's director as well. The F/x work wasn't quite State-of-the-Art for 1961, but it's more than good enough for the story this movie's telling (another benefit of Whitney's serials experience is knowing how to get the most bang for his special effects buck). Definitely worth streaming, buying the DVD or catching on some classic movie channel.

Master of the World (1961) *** (out of 4) Fun adventure mixed with sci-fi was adapted from the Jules Verne story and features Vincent Price is one of his best roles. In the film, set in the 1860s, Price plays Robur, a madman who has created a giant flying craft, which he plans to use against the nations so that they won't fight anymore. He ends up kidnapping four people (Charles Bronson, Henry Hull, Mary Webster, David Frankham) and taking them on a journey across the world. MASTER OF THE WORLD is one of the better science fiction movies to come from AIP but I think it's been overlooked the past few decades simply because it really isn't campy like so many of the studios more popular, drive-in flicks. I think there's a lot of very good stuff going on here including the story itself. The film kicks off with a prologue showing the various failed attempts that people had attempting to fly and then we get to the main story of this madman who created a flying craft decades before anyone else. Verne's story has a certain political stance to it and this carries over in the film as there's no question it features a message. I really loved the actual look of the ship too. I'm sure some might see the special effects as lacking but I see them as fun. The look of the ship, the scenes of it flying through the air and especially the stuff dealing with people hanging off the ship are just so much fun it's hard to be critical of them. Another great thing the film has going for it are the performances. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't enjoy getting to see Price and Bronson act together? The two of them get some terrific scenes together as both of them fit their roles so perfectly with Price playing the bad villain you love and Bronson doing the hero bit. Hull is also a lot of fun as the old man and Webster is fun as his daughter. The entire cast complement the film and story so well that you really can't help but enjoy the entire adventure.

I remember seeing this escapist gem, "Master of the World" (1961)after Sunday School one morning when I was 10 or 11. I loved it! AIP's Big Gun, Vincent Price is a thoughtful & gentlemanly, I'll call him, anti-hero rather than bad guy or madman. This is because while he does indeed blow up ships, killing countless men, he's on a quest to end war and thus, the only people he kills are those who make war.Thinking back, this film's presentation of its writer, Jules Verne's, anti-war philosophy may have made a rather large impression upon me as I started reading about our war in a far-off place called Vietnam, circa 1965 or 1965. Who knows? Anyway, this is a rare motion picture: a serious American International Picture (AIP) film with a serious message.The film provides Charles Bronson with one of his earliest leading man/hero roles. He handles the role perfectly.Director William Whitney, who began his career directing Republic cliffhanger serials; and legendary horror/sci-fi/fantasy writer/screenwriter Richard Matheson and their cast play it seriously - as it should be played, the exception coming via Vito Scotti's fun, harried cook. AIP's in-house music director Les Baxter's score is also appropriate for the action.The special effects team (Tim Baar, Wah Chang, Pat Dinga,Gene Warren) do very nicely working within AIP's usual '60s budget constraints.The movie flows, it entertains, it even makes you think. This is a good movie!