Things to Come

film by Menzies [1936]

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July 16, 2026

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The film Things to Come (1936) was directed by William Cameron Menzies. It is a science-fiction epic inspired by H.G. Wells' novel The Shape of Things to Come. Wells himself wrote the script for the film. The movie stars Raymond Massey in a dual role as Cabal, a visionary who witnesses the fall of one future society and helps rebuild the next. While it may seem talky to modern viewers, the film is noted for its unique visual beauty, a result of the collaboration between Menzies and designer Vincent Korda. The phrase "the shape of things to come" refers to what the future is expected to be like.12

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William Cameron Menzies
Films of the 1930s and ’40s
…on the British production of Things to Come (1936), which was inspired by the novel The Shape of Things to Come by H.G. Wells, who wrote the script. The science-fiction epic starred Raymond Massey in a dual role as the visionary Cabal, who survives the fall of one futuristic society…
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…on the British production of Things to Come (1936), which was inspired by the novel The Shape of Things to Come by H.G. Wells, who wrote the script. The science-fiction epic starred Raymond Massey in a dual role as the visionary Cabal, who survives the fall of one futuristic society…
Read More