H.G. Wells on Film: The Utopian Nightmare

Don G. Smith. H.G. Wells on Film: The Utopian Nightmare. McFarland, 2002. 205 pages; $39.95. Widening Gulf Don G. Smith's H.G. Wells on Film is a reference work covering "every theatrically released film from 1909 to 1997 (both credited and unaccredited) based on the writings of H.G. Wells" (2). By casting his net so broadly, Smith reveals how frequently filmmakers have drawn on Wells' ideas over the last century (the book covers over forty films). At the same time, only a few of these motion picture adaptations actually addressed any of the stories' central concerns. This book is organized chronologically by the publication date of the original Wells stories. Smith offers a brief background and concise plot summary for each story, followed by full discussions of every cinematic incarnation. Each film's entry includes a synopsis, a comparison to the story that inspired it, an in-depth account of its production and marketing, an assessment of its strengths and weaknesses, and lastly a numerical rating. The organizational scheme of H. G. Wells on Film allows the reader to easily find information on a particular film or to see the different ways a specific story was adapted for the screen. Smith has a knack for clear and vivid plot summary, and has amassed an impressive amount of information (including some interesting trivia) about the making of each film, including those that no longer survive. The nature of the information provided varies by film, but his broad purview covers production, direction, screenwriting, cinematography, and acting. Numerous illustrations-from movie posters, stills, and lobby cards-supplement the text. Smith's prose is easy to read, if a bit chatty and prone to irrelevant asides (such as how he would improve certain films' plots). Though this book is not intended as a contribution to Wells scholarship or to intellectual history, it is nevertheless disappointing that Smith sometimes offers misleading interpretations of Wells' ideas. This is especially noticeable in his sections on The Time Machine and The Island of Dr. Moreau. He describes the former novel's central question as follows: "what will happen if the intellectuals and captains of industry fail to subdue labor, and how can the necessary subduing be achieved?" (11). In actuality, the text addresses a rather different concern, namely the widening gulf between the ruling class and the workers, which Wells feared would lead to humanity's eventual degeneration. He called not for labor's subduing but rather for the reintegration of society's two diverging classes. …