The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)

The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936) – An ordinary man is given the power to make almost anything he says happen!

Directed by Lothar Mendes, Alexander Korda          Starring – Roland Young, Ralph Richardson

If you think that the concept of giving the power of God to regular people is a recent movie plot idea (think “Bruce Almighty” and “Click”), think again.  This U.K. film adaptation of an H.G. Welles short story takes on the idea a half century earlier.  The story itself was first published in 1898.

The beginning and ending include conversations with three “celestial beings” (you are left to you own devices to figure out who or what they are) who decide to give this power to the otherwise unremarkable George McWhirter Fotheringay, a man arguing about whether miracles are real in his local pub.  These scenes feel tacked on and, in fact, are not part of the original story.


While very short, just 82 minutes, I found the movie very easy to walk away from during my viewing.  The effects are primitive, the script is predictable.  So it falls into that category of “Not Quite/Almost Worth A Look”.  If you’re really into the movies it’s probably worth a look, if only because it’s so short.  For a more casual/fun movie viewer, feel free to skip this one.


Why I Liked It – Young’s performance as The Man is amusing.
Why You Will Like It – When it works, it’s a fun little movie


Rating – ** 1/2  Almost Worth A Look