Harry Belafonte Faced the End of the World in This Unflinching '50s Post-Apocalyptic Classic

During the 1950s, Harry Belafonte was one of the few Black actors in Hollywood (along with Sidney Poitier) given the opportunity to be a leading man. Like Poitier, the roles were limited, and often based on his racial identity. Yet he made the most of the parts he was given, as evidenced by his performance in the 1959 doomsday drama The World, the Flesh and the Devil. Released at a time when America was becoming both increasingly concerned about the threat of nuclear war and aware of the Civil Rights Movement, it envisions a world in which the races must learn to work together after a bomb has wiped out humanity.