The 1969 American dark science fiction drama film The Illustrated Man is based on the 1951 book of the same title by Ray Bradbury. The structure is a frame story of a young man meeting a mysterious stranger covered with tattoos he insists with a good deal of hostility on calling “skin illustrations.” If looked at too long, the illustrations tell the future. The man shows signs of cruelty, such as keeping his pet dog Peke, which is not in the book, in a cloth sack, and killing a harmless garter snake for no reason, which looked real, and seriously unnerves while also fascinating the young man.

Robert Drivas plays the young man, who in the movie is named Willie. Rod Steiger plays the Illustrated Man, who in the movie is named Carl. Claire Bloom plays the witch who made the illustrations, who in the movie is named Felicia.

Willie proceeds to stare at the illustrations despite Carl’s warning that people never like the futures they see, particularly the blank spot on his shoulder which can show how they die. In the book, the illustrations present eighteen stories but of course the movie only has time for three.

As presented in the movie, the stories move progressively further from the book versions, from pretty close to not even close. The sets are fairly good. It’s obvious at least some effort went into this. The futuristic costumes are nothing special but quite acceptable. As for special effects, there is an attempt in “The Long Rain” to show fungus growing so suddenly it practically explodes. Some kind of horrible expanding foam is used which looks awful; it is the worst effect in the movie.

The first story is “The Veldt,” which concerns a too realistic playroom and AI gone wrong. Everyone should read this story; it is a perfect prediction of the situation of today’s children. The same three actors appear, which is a little annoying but understandable. What’s more, they are given the same names, Carl, Felicia, and Will, where in the story they were George, Lydia, and Dr. David McClean, which is even more annoying. Again, maybe the filmmakers had some artistic reason for doing this, like they were supposed to be reincarnations or something. The children are named John and Anna, and this is really unforgivable. There was no need to change the children’s names from Peter and Wendy, which harks back to the seeming innocence and ultimate darkness of Peter Pan. Bradbury is said not to have liked this adaptation although except for the name changes it is actually pretty close to the original story.

The second story is “The Long Rain.” It is at least recognizable from the Bradbury story, which is set on Venus. This version does not give a location except that it concerns American astronauts on another planet. The lieutenant is changed to a colonel for no good reason. One by one the astronauts are killed off or driven insane by the constant rain. There is one murder and two suicides by different means. The biggest change occurs at the end, is not in the story, and in the movie it is unclear whether it is real or imaginary.

As for the third story, “The Last Night of the World,” yes, Bradbury wrote a story by this title. Yes, it appears in the book The Illustrated Man. Yes, it concerns a married couple contemplating the end of the world. There the resemblance ends. Although Bradbury was known for memorable and often shocking endings, he never wrote any story with this situation or any ending anything like this. I speak as someone who has read almost every published word of fiction by him, some of it multiple times. This story contains the most disturbing ending in the movie.

The end of the frame story is pretty close to the book except for one act of violence thrown in to be dramatic. As for the acting, Rod Steiger is pretty good. His voice and mannerisms change with the persona of each character, from the almost homicidally menacing Illustrated Man to the commanding colonel to the mild-mannered father in the last story. Robert Drivas is good as Willie. Tim Weldon and Christine Matchett are terrific as the kids. They perfectly play the defiant brats in “The Veldt” and the sweet children in “The Last Night of the World.” Claire Bloom is not good, not bad, just sort of there.

As for objectionable content, maybe the entire movie, as Ray Bradbury actually said he detested this movie. There is nudity by skinny dipping, showing the Illustrated Man after work on him was completed, and in a love scene which is blurred behind a sheer curtain. Nothing graphic or frontal. There is a good deal of violence. Every story contains murder, in the first by AI becoming too real, in the second by laser gun, as well as the two suicides, one by drowning and one by laser gun, and in the third by poison. In two cases the murder is by a family member directed at other family members. The film is rated PG, which may be a bit mild considering the content. I would say any child old enough to read the book is old enough to view the film. The book is for 12 or 13 and up. A younger child may be interested in the first story about the bratty children but may lose interest, and some of the material is disturbing for younger or sensitive viewers.