Wells: "it would have been almost as easy, no more costly, and far more interesting to have taken some pains to gather the opinions of a few bright young resear

Wells: "it would have been almost as easy, no more costly, and far more interesting to have taken some pains to gather the opinions of a few bright young research students and ambitious, modernizing architects and engineers about the trend of modern invention, and develop these artistically. Any technical school would have been delighted to supply sketches and suggestions for the aviation and transport of A.D. 2027." True, to a slight extent. OTOH, Lang starting filming only 23 years after Méliès. 'Trip to the Moon'. It's quite a leap from a 12-minute short to spending 17 months and 5+M Reichsmarks to make a 151-minute monsterpiece. Is it over the top? Compare to US silents of the time (UFA partnered with Paramount and MGM for financing to finish it). Imagine how Wells, a major geek, have moaned about the all the needless sentiment and emotion in George Pal's wonderful realizations of his greatest works? Compare them to his 1936 baby, 'Things to Come' with its cold, mechanical dialog, 'awkward pace and uninvolving characters'. I've seen Pal's dozens of times, 'Things' one-half time.