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I caught this one on cable recently, seeing it for the first time as an adult. I must admit to a slight bias toward this film: when I was growing up in the dreaded BC (before cable) days, it was standard Saturday afternoon TV fare on our local indie channels. I was surprised at how well it's held up after all this time.

Master of the World is actually based on two little-remembered Jules Verne novels. Price is his usual hammy self as the standard Verne not-quite-villain, Robur (read: Nemo in the air) who, like Nemo, seeks to end war through technology. The young Bronson, as a sympathizer who then rebels against Robur's violent methods, is far less wooden than in his later years. But the real star of this movie is its production design. The rendering of what an aircraft might have looked like in Victorian days (had such a thing been possible) is dead-on, and the special effects are pretty impressive for 1961. The script, by Richard Matheson, is a little overwrought, but true to Verne's spirit while eliminating the blatant racism of the original stories. This time around though, I found the sweeping, melodramatic score to be a bit overpowering.

In short, not a perfect film or even a great film, but Master of the World remains a well made, entertaining action fantasy. I'm surprised it isn't better remembered by fans of the genre.

I saw Master of the World mainly because of Vincent Price who is one of my favourite actors. It is far from perfect, but is fun and deserves better credit. The effects are not great where you can tell that they are low-budget, while the stock footage of other costume epics looks rather clumsy, the Globe theatre suddenly appearing in Victorian London also happens to be anachronistic. And Vito Scotti overacts to the verge of embarrassment. However, the costume and set designs are nice to look at and Master of the World is at least well photographed. The music score manages to be both rousing and bombastic, the script while talky is intelligent and humorous and the story is fun. Charles Bronson has been better but he is at least appealing, while Henry Hull is amusing. Stealing the film though is none other than Vincent Price, who commands every frame with his ever effortless suavity and panache, and he is also deliciously sinister when needed. All in all, an enjoyable film with a great Price but at the same time it could have been more. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Being a huge Vincent Price fan, I must said that "Master of the World" is not on my top 5 movies of his American International period. The film lacks real excitement, the low budget is clear, and the combination of two different stories by Jules Verne didn't work properly (the comedy touches are completely out of place, and are NOT part of the original novels) But once again, the man is in complete control of his character and delivers a solid performance. Is also good to see Henry Hull (the first werewolf of Hollywood) and a young but convincing Charles Bronson. No matter what, the film deserves a DVD rendition, as many other Vincent Price films like "Shock", "Diary of a Madman" and "The Mad Magician", to name a few.

Matheson's script took two Verne novels ("Robur the Conqueror" and "Master of the World"), and added touches of irony in the characters. (The "gentleman" Mr. Evans, when he sees his girl turning towards government agent Strock, tries to kill Strock at every chance.) William Witney, a famed second unit director, used every trick he ever learned in Republic serials to make the movie look slick on a low budget. (I've never seen such continuous use of a rear projection screen in any other movie.) But the real delight is Vincent Price's Robur, a man of good will but with some severe personality problems. I think he'd be a suitable children's introduction to the antihero and the character with a tragic flaw. For me, the romantic theme music by Les Baxter, especially over the end credits, makes the movie. (Fortunately, they didn't use the maudlin lyrics version in the film!) The recent video release of the film restores the theatrical prologue of "wacky" flying machines from silent movies.

Exciting and thrilling sci-fi adventure movie dealing with a flying machine captained by Robur masterfully played by Vincent Price . Magnificent rendition based on Jules Verne's fantasy-adventure novel with interesting screenplay by Richard Matheson , including good cast and extraordinary scenarios . This first take on for cinema based on the two famous stories by Jules Verne , filmed in Cinemascope widescreen with agreeable casting and an awesome Vincent Price as self-proclaimed god to save the world . The film talks about the known story from Verne novel and previously never rendered in cinema and it's brought excitingly to screen . In the late 19th century , World is no longer safe . A scientist , arms manufacturer ( Henry Hull) and his team ( his daughter Mary Webster, David Frankham and Charles Bronson who is miscasting) are held as guests of Robur on his airship, a cross between a ship , helicopter and Zeppelin as he wants to use to ensure peace on earth. Robur tries to stop war from his ingenious machine even if he has to bomb military targets all over the world . When the group aboard a gas Balloom are suddenly gunned down and thrown into a volcano .They are captured and get thoroughly involved with power-hungry captain Robur and take extraordinary adventures on ceiling in an advanced aircraft. Prisoners at first, they are now treated as guests to view the world and to hunt under the skies. Meanwhile Robur who deplores the modern methods and technical weapons attempts to end wars by means of the giant airship armed to the teeth.

This fantastic movie displays sensational adventures, drama, intrigue, marvelous scenarios by Daniel Haller , lots of fun and is pretty enjoyable. Fascinating aerial movie blends action, , disaster spectacle, hokey fun ,suspense and emotional happenings . Our heroes incarnated by a throughly believable casting of the first-rate character players get stuck in the flying machine before it explodes , undergoing numerous adventures and suffering innumerable perils . Surprise-filled entertainment and plenty of action on grand scale with passable special effects and some ships and machine by maquette or scale model or matte-painting . The aerial scenes , explosions , pyrotechnics , flamboyant FX , all of them are spectacular and the film is another exceptional Hollywood product but of B-series. Memorable and great cast as Vincent Price plays a serious revenger Robur ; Henry Hull plays perfectly as intelligent scientific and Charles Bronson as John Strock , a Ned Land role-alike, as an obstinate , stubborn adventurer who spends most of their time devising intelligent ways for escape . Atmospheric and vivid score by Lex Baxter . Colorful cinematography by Warrenton in Cinemascope and Technicolor reflecting wonderfully aerial scenes . This acceptable picture was produced in average budget by American International Pictures with its usual producers , James H Nicholson and Samuel Z Arkoff.

This classic as well as traditional movie was marvelously directed by William Witney , containing some vigorous scenes . Witney was a good craftsman who directed 140 titles from the 30s . Oklahoma-born William began his long screen career as a studio messenger in silent days joining Republic Pictures shortly after . By 1936 , he was already script supervisor on serials and his own directorial career started the following year . Witney graduated to director at 21, he was Hollywood's youngest , and he teamed with director John English on many of the period's best serials . He realized many of the era's best serials , most of them highlighted by kinetic fight and chase scenes that helped change the face of action movie-making and from 1956 , he transferred these stirring energies to TV Westerns with prolific and enjoyable results . The favorite shooting was the 1939 serial ¨Zorro's fighting legion¨ . As his pictures were mainly serials , after WWII service with US Marines , he moved on to Roy Rogers Westerns , inserting into them a new tough backbone that offended some Rogers purists . In 1954 he made one of the best films ¨The outcast¨ with John Derek , besides his television work which includes some quite exciting episodes of such series as ¨High Chaparral¨, ¨Bonanza¨, ¨Laramie¨, ¨Zorro¨, ¨The Virginian¨ and ¨Wagon train¨ and he followed to work for cinema and was capable of making large-scale movies as ¨Santa Fe Passage¨ involving a wagon train against Indians , ¨The Bonnie Parker story¨about the famous gun-moll , and specially ¨Master of the world¨ . The motion picture will appeal to fantasy-adventure buffs ; it's an agreeable popcorn story plenty of spectacular scenes , thrills , colorful exteriors and many other things . It's a wonderful popcorn story for kids , teens and old people . Rating : Better than average , the mightiest motion picture of them all , it's a real winner.

A sleepy Pennsylvania town is awakened in 1868 when Captain Robur (Vincent Price) comes sailing in on his airship. A few of the city locals join him, curious about this new way to fly, and eager to stop him when they think he has had a bit too much power for his own good.

Let me start by saying that I absolutely loved the prologue, which was perfect for this film. The montage of various flying devices that did not work. Some of this footage has become classic, but it fit the theme perfectly here: a world where the only way to fly is with balloons suddenly seeing a new method in disbelief.

Vincent Price is great as Captain Robur, but when is he not? He would go on to declare this one of his favorite roles. Charles Bronson plays the other lead, John Strock, and may surprise fans of Bronson. (Some have said he was miscast, but I do not see any problem with it.) We also have Henry Hull as Prudent, more or less representing the "old ways" (which are quite old by now, given the story takes place just after the Civil War).

David Frankham is also great, and interestingly came on board thanks to Vincent Price. His role was already filled by AIP regular Mark Damon, but Damon skipped out to film another project. Price suggested Frankham because they had worked on "Return of the Fly" together. Frankham is not as well known as Damon, but he is a valuable resource because he has provided multiple commentaries in recent years.

Richard Matheson wrote the script, based on two Jules Verne stories. Matheson has consistently been a great writer, particularly in conjunction with Vincent Price and AIP. Jules Verne is not a source used often enough -- beyond "Around the World in 80 Days" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", his work remains largely untouched. This film proves that more can be done -- and also that you can get around the world in ten days.

Interestingly, the plot revolves around a man who thinks he can end war by using the threat of invincibility. While the idea of having a war on war is admirable, one has to wonder if Matheson had in mind the nuclear bomb when writing the script -- surely the bomb's creation was thought to end war as we knew it, but only encouraged others to acquire nuclear bombs. Likewise, one assumes that governments would push to build Robur-style airships.

Vincent Price (or Charles Bronson) fans should check this one out. It is not a horror film, not by any means. It is typically classified as science fiction, though I would put it more in fantasy. Price still has a bit of the villain inside him here, but it is not the murderous, insane type... it is a misunderstood, misguided antihero.

As always, the definitive edition is on Scream Factory's Vincent Price Collection (Volume 3). We have an incredible audio commentary with David Frankham and a moderator named Jonathan -- Frankham is very knowledgeable about Les Baxter, and even offers a slight diversion to discuss "Werewolf of London". Few people alive today know the AIP of the 1960s like Frankham. The disc also includes the full-length documentary "Richard Matheson: Storyteller", which is priceless and will be covered in its own review.

This film is a mish-mash of two Jules Verne novels (none of which, I have read), and I think it is a fairly good adventure.

It's interesting to see Charles Bronson in an early role (before he hooked up with Mr. Winner and went-all bitter vigilante'), he turns in a good performance. And the late-great Vincent Price is just right as Robur, Captain of the flying ship "The Albatross", in one of his trademark not-strictly evil genius roles - more like, men who usually have good or honourable intentions, but are driven to madness and the use of terrible means to acheive them. The rest of the cast are all of a fairly good standard, except the character of Mr. Prudent, I find him extremely annoying and the acting is also quite poor.

The effects are alright (you have to take into account it's the early 60's) and the set of the ship itself looks good and is well crafted. But the parts where the ship is supposed to be over land (some country- or-other), are almost funny because you can clearly see that the ship is super-imposed on to a completely different piece of film.

Overall Good, with an important message (discussed and challenged in the movie), that is more relevant, today, than ever.

Compared to other screen adaptions of Jules Verne novels like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Journey to the Center of the Earth, Master of the World definitely comes off as second rate.

Maybe that's because it was produced by the independent American International Pictures and didn't have the good studio facilities for really good special effects. Or maybe it was because it combined two of Verne's novels involving the same character, the megalomaniacal Robur who has built himself one big dirigible and is looking to become the title character. The editorial stitching between the two novels is none too good.

What the film does boast is the grand casting of Vincent Price as Robur who has developed a dirigible warship half a century before the Germans were bombing London with them in the First World War. Price alone is worth watching the film for, he plays the role absolutely seriously and keeps his audience that way.

Four people have been taken aboard Price's ship to keep them from spilling the beans about it, munitions manufacturer Henry Hull, his daughter Mary Webster, her fiancé David Frankham, and Charles Bronson who works for Uncle Sam. This was one of Bronson's first starring roles as a hero.

Frankham's character is one real horse's patoot. His character is very poorly defined with some exaggerated ideas about honor, that don't really stand up when the chips are down. Bronson saves his life at one point and then has good cause to regret it later on.

I have to say that at 14 I was far more impressed with this Captain Nemo of the Skies than I am today.

Based on two Jules Verne novels. This is an exciting action adventure with an emphasis on world domination and flying machines. The evil Robur (Vincent Price) is the navigator of an airplane ship hell-bent on destructing all of the worlds war machines and armies for the purpose of peace on earth (what a mad case). He must be stopped by Strock (Charles Bronson) a government man whose tough but level headed.

The effects are brilliant for an early 60's film and the screenplay and music is spot on. This is a lot of fun.

Set in the Victorian era, a mad genius named Robur (Vincent Price) has devised a futuristic flying ship for a devious, slightly contradictory, though possibly admirable purpose. He travels halfway around the world with an imprisoned quartet and a crew of "air sailors".

Although there are some problems with this film primarily due to its budget, and some viewers might be put off by the obvious similarities to Disney's version of 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954), I enjoyed this somewhat wacky sci-fi/fantasy/adventure film quite a bit, and gave it a 9 out of 10.

The film actually opens with a brief but clever, tongue-in-cheek black & white documentary about the history of flying machines. Abruptly, at the narrative line "Master of the World", the documentary ends. Then we change to color as we're taken to a sumptuously fantastic Pennsylvania town, complete with towering mountains and a seeming volcano.

I have to admit that director William Whitney already had me in the palm of his hand at that moment. I'm all for weird transitions, surrealism and beautifully saturated color cinematography. To make things even better, just as a character tells us how boring the town is, a booming voice (obviously Price's), quoting a doom-laden passage from scripture, emanates from the vicinity of the mountain.

I was also easily sold on the film because I'm a big Vincent Price fan. Price is great, even though the context of the role is a bit unusual for him. There is a lot of comic relief throughout most of the film, and the genre wasn't his norm. However, he comes across as menacingly demented yet suave as always. The rest of the principle cast was marvelous, too, with Charles Bronson playing an early version of Harrison Ford (maybe he always did that), Mary Webster as an appealing love triangle target, and some very fun and appropriate overacting from Henry Hull doing an early obnoxious "I'm an American" shtick and David Frankham as the perpetually irascible Victorian sap.

It's a blast noting all of the future tech elements from past eras' perspectives, and the set design and special effects are actually admirable given that this was a low-budget film for its ambitions. Even the stock footage and footage from the 1944 Henry V (the shots of London that look like a medieval town), although at times obvious, are incorporated well. On the other hand, there is some similarity between the set design and that of a particular era and class of television show--say the Adam West Batman, the original Star Trek, or even the Tom Baker Doctor Who--which all have a fairly low-budget look, but I have to admit that I love those shows, too.

There isn't much of an easily discernible subtext in the film, but of course that's because Master of the World wears its messages proudly on its sleeve. I won't state them explicitly here, as in my view that would be a spoiler, but it's notable, like many other aspects of the film, for its similarity to 20,000 Leagues, including its moral ambiguity. This would actually be a good film, as would 20,000 Leagues, to show a freshman-level ethics class as an exemplification of and discussion launching pad for both utilitarianism and deontology.

Although it's not exactly the most original film to come down the pike (but primarily just because of 20,000 Leagues), and it's not a faithful adaptation of author Jules Verne's work, I don't subtract points for either of those characteristics. Master Of The World has an engaging, solid story that is both thought provoking and a lot of fun.

This is an OK film. Vincent Price does his usual hammy bit, and if you like Price you will like the film, if you don't, you won't. This however, is far from his best film ("Theatre Of Death", "The Raven" and "The House On Haunted Hill" are a few that come to mind). What is interesting is Charles Bronson's presence in this film, he was badly miscast I can tell you, John Strock is probably one of the lightest roles that Bronson ever played in his career (Although most of his characters had some humor to them (Jack Murphy "Murphy's Law" comes to mind)). Perhaps only Josh Corey in You Can't Win 'Em All (Without question Bronson's WORST film), Graham in "From Noon Til Three" and Jay Killion in "Assassination" were lighter characters. There are other films that were lighter in scope ("Four For Texas" where he played Matson, comes to mind, but his character was nothing to laugh at or about). Basically watch it for Price, not Bronson.

Despite what some IMDB user/commentators have written about this film, Roger Corman had nothing to do with it in any way.

"Master of the World" probably would have been a much better film if he had been involved, however. You would think that combining the great Vincent Price with the great Charles Bronson in a film based on a novel by the great Jules Verne would have been...you know, great. But everything the filmmakers do keeps this from being true. The special effects are pathetic, even by the Hollywood standards of the day. The airship model is intricate to be sure--but it is so poorly lit, and the footage of the actors is so poorly edited, that it resembles nothing so much as a Tonka toy on a string. In fact, the whole look of the film is laughable, with a set design right out of the "Batman" TV series--bright primary colors and cheap Irwin Allen style simplicity. It's like being inside a Fischel Price toy set.

The musical score doesn't help any, either--it is comic when it should be dramatic and dull when it should be suspenseful. I think the composer was trying to ape the score from "Around the World in 80 Days." In any case, the music is always present (blaring annoyingly) and never enhances.

The editing is also oddly inappropriate. A good example is a particularly dramatic and potentially hair-raising scene in which Bronson and another man are suspended beneath the dirigible, dangling thousands of feet above the ocean by ropes. The editor keeps cutting from this action to a slapstick scene in the airship's kitchen to show how the ship's motion is causing comic havok for the chef. Any drama or suspense in the sequence is killed mercilessly.

The only saving graces are the ones I have previously mentioned: Charles Bronson is good as the hero (!), Vincent Price is great as the villain/antihero, and Jules Verne's story, though mangled a bit, is brilliant in concept. How and why the filmmakers managed to mess it up so terribly is beyond understanding. This would have made even Corman vomit.

From AIP schlockmeister Samuel Z. Arkoff comes a tale of Victorian madman, Vincent Price, with a huge airship taking captives, including a miscast Charles Bronson, on his mission of death and destruction. It's not exactly a high minded Jules Verne adaptation, but it is scripted by the great Richard Matheson. I'll blame the film's mediocrity on journeyman TV and film director William Witney.

By 1961 it was American International's turn to jump upon the Jules Verne bandwagon after the success of 'Twenty Thousand League Under the Sea' and Verne's entry into the public domain in 1955. Sporting a saturnine beard and in a snazzy white suit AIP perennial Vincent Price has the time of his life in the title role. He seems to be taking the part more seriously than usual; shame about Vito Scotti's unfunny comedy relief as the cook and the gallumphing music by Les Baxter.

All right, so Rodger Corman is not associated with the movie (Even the AMC introduction announces it as one of his many films). Perhaps because it's an AIP movie everyone confuses it with his (Corman's) work.

CineBooks gives the best review of this film: `Despite some good special effects, the film is surprisingly bland. Though Bronson is better in this than most of his other films, he still has a hard time expressing more than three or four emotions. Price is a complete disappointment, giving a restrained performance where a more outrageous parody would have been in order'

This was supposed to have been one of the Big Budget movies for AIP. If so, someone pocketed the proceeds. It sure wasn't spent in production. Like I said before, poor Mr. Witney must want to crawl of the theater when this movie is shown.

From the fertile imagination of famed author Jules Verne came the two novels that inspired this fantasy-adventure with definite similarities to "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea". Only this time, the majestic futuristic vehicle flies the skies rather than motoring through the depths of the ocean. It's commandeered by Captain Robur (Vincent Price), a fanatical pacifist who's willing to go to extreme lengths to engineer some sort of peace on Earth. He takes a few people captive, including government man John Strock (Charles Bronson), arms manufacturer Mr. Prudent (Henry Hull), Prudents' daughter Dorothy (Mary Webster), and Dorothy's fiancée Phillip Evans (David Frankham). Strock admires Roburs' ambitions, but doesn't believe that his ends are exactly justifying his means.

While not as iconic as that 1954 Disney film version of "Leagues", "Master of the World" is good, colorful entertainment. Veteran director William Witney capably works from a solid script by Richard Matheson, a writer who was always good at coming up with his own works as well as adapting the works of others. A.I.P. in house production designer Daniel Haller and cinematographer Gilbert Warrenton create a visually appealing look for the film and Roburs' impressive aircraft The Albatross. Composer Les Baxter, too, is in fine form, coming up with a soaring score. The special effects vary in quality a bit, but there is no shortage of genuine thrills to be had.

Price obviously enjoys himself getting to do his own version of a Captain Nemo kind of character, and he's just a joy. Bronson may seem oddly cast, but he emerges as an interesting hero, one who prefers to make his moves carefully rather than be a macho good guy "with honor". Frankham is okay, but his character can be infuriating. Hull hams it up sufficiently, as does Vito Scotti as the chef. (Scotti even breaks the fourth wall at one point.) Richard Harrison and Wally Campo are good as two of the primary crew on the Albatross. And Webster is a lovely and endearing leading lady.

Well worth a look, especially for fans of Price, Bronson, and Witney. Two songs utilized after the closing credits extend the running time by a few minutes.

Seven out of 10.

I'm not sure how this film pulled a 5.9 rating, since it's right up there -- down there, actually -- with 'Plan 9 from Outer Space' on the list of all-time stinkers. Special effects, plot, production design, dialogue, direction and acting are as bad as it gets, but the music/soundtrack deserves special mention for being even worse than bad. This is early Bronson, and although he is cast appropriately, the script, which is filled with clunkers, didn't give him much to work with. Nor does Vincent Price rise above the material, not that he ever did. 'Masters' is worth watching for the unintended yucks, but that's about as much as one could say for it.

This is a fun movie to watch, full of charm and thinking characters in entertaining action, debate and introspection. With Vincent Price in the lead as Robur(who has declared war on warfare with his flying machine the Albatross) and Charles Bronson as his unlikely heroic nemesis Strock(almost an early era anti-hero), how can one not be intrigued? But also there's grand adventure, costumes and an 18th Century setting to boot. Also the main theme of the need to end warfare remains a very strong one and the film never loses sight of this. Just great stuff to watch.

This film has a pretty promising beginning (although that promise is camp), it's slack pace makes for a very dull experience in the long run. The only good part (although it is also lame) is when Charles Bronson (who seems miscast) and David Frankham are left to hang below the airship tied to ropes. It is a bizarre scene, but it is amusing. I give the film a 6/10. See the much better The Time Machine, a similar film made in 1960 from the H.G. Welles novel. It is much more profound and is, thank God, not lame. 6/10