MovieChat Forums > The World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959) Discussion > 'Mr. Burton is not allowed to sit ... '

'Mr. Burton is not allowed to sit ... '

posted 10 years ago by kevin-bergin
11 replies | jump to latest

He's going to dress up, cook her dinner and then point out the inequities of race relations when they are, at that point, the only two people alive?

[–] hobnob53 10 years ago

The sort of thing he does throughout the movie, and one of its most maddening, unrealistic flaws.

[–] andrewwjohnson 10 years ago

I know it is important to the story but if man kind was reduced to two people, one of them black, do you think either is going to worry about Jim Crow and country club prejudices? Who is going to enforce that crap.

TAG LINE: True genius is a beautiful thing, but ignorance is ugly to the bone.

[–] gortx 10 years ago

Talk about folks only seeing this from a current day perspective.

Believe me, in 1959 this was a pretty daring film. You still had folks banned, beaten and even killed for much less than what Belafonte's character does in this story for well into the next decade in THIS country.

Sure, they thought they were the only 2 (or 3) folks left, but, what if there were other survivors?

Plus, this is a morality play, not strictly bound by 'reality'.

[–] kevin-bergin 10 years ago

Would they have to concentrate on the romantic three-some in a remake or would the racial stuff apply as well?

[–] iroquoisjoe 9 years ago

Would they have to concentrate on the romantic three-some in a remake or would the racial stuff apply as well?

What do YOU think? 

On November 6, 2012...God blessed America

[–] iroquoisjoe 9 years ago

'Mr. Burton is not allowed to sit ... '

I wonder how many times when singing at dinner clubs was Harry Belafonte told he was not allowed to sit with the 'customers'.

On November 6, 2012...God blessed America

[–] knuckles03 9 years ago

The scene occurred after he had heard the radio transmission from Europe. He realized that they weren't the only two people on Earth and that more people meant civilization still existed and that their post-racial Utopia was likely just a dream.

[–] RobbieCalifornia 7 years ago

It's heartening that some people can't believe the attitudes in the film aren't realistic, when the film shows exactly how things really were.

[–] RobbieCalifornia 7 years ago

Btw, Inger Stevens was secretly married to a black man, a movie producer named Ike Jones. The marriage was kept secret "for the sake of her film career."

[–] toycoon-too 7 years ago

I had read about Inger being married to a black man. There were several actresses who dated interracially and were forced to keep it a secret.

[–] jondoe888 7 years ago

I think any two men would fight for the one remaining woman. The racial aspect helped sell tickets. But it would be natural for any differences to flair up.