The World, The Flesh And The Devil - A Stark, Dystopian Film

I recently watched The World, The Flesh and the Devil. I hadn't seen the film in years. When I was a teen it showed up once in awhile on the old CBS Late Movie. 

It's a science fiction/dystopian tale of three people who are seemingly the last humans on Earth after a radioactive isotope was purposely (?) unleashed on the planet. 

Harry Belafonte is Ralph, who is skilled enough to make a decent life for himself alone in New York City. Then he finds Sarah (Inger Stevens) and the two them form a relationship (well, as much of one as 1950s racism would allow on screen back then). Finally, Mel Ferrer shows up to spoil everything for the couple and tensions rise. The end of the film may or may not be to your satisfaction. I personally wanted Ralph and Sarah to boot the other guy out. But it's a cool, interesting take on the end of the world.

The empty city streets are haunting. And the ingenuity of Ralph in making a life there is fascinating. I'm not quite sure this could ever be a favorite of mine, but I will watch it again if it shows up on the TV schedule.