History of the World: Part 1 is a 1981 comedic spoof of five famous periods in world history written and directed by Mel Brooks and narrated by Orson Welles. "The Dawn of Man" shows the comedic evolution of Homo sapiens as cavemen make funny discoveries, like how to make music from screams. "The Old Testament" is a parody of the famous Biblical story of Moses (Mel Brooks) and the Ten Commandments. "The Roman Empire" mocks the decadence of ancient Rome. It features Comicus (Mel Brooks), a stand-up comedian who befriends Josephus (Gregory Hines), a slave, and Miriam (Mary-Margaret Humes), a Vestal Virgin. After Comicus tells a series of jokes at Caesars's (Dom DeLuise) expense, the friends must go through funny exploits to escape his clutches. Empress Nympho (Madeline Kahn), who is as sexually promiscuous as her name suggests, helps them. "The Spanish Inquisition" features a silly song-and-dance number with the head inquisitor, Torquemada (Mel Brooks). Finally, "The French Revolution" segment has a funny case of mistaken identity with King Louis (Mel Brooks). Despite the "Part 1" included in the title, there has never been a second installment to this riotous film.moreless
