Old guy befriends young guy to steal his body

[Brightonian]

Trying to remember a story where a terminally ill old guy befriends a younger guy, leaves him all his money in his will, then manages to transfer his mind into the young guy's body and vice versa just before he dies. Curious because there's a similar scenario in Alan Moore's Century: 1969.

[admin]

I've read it, and recently. My memory says it is either by H. G. Wells, or by somebody writing in the style of H. G. Wells. It's set in a maybe Victorian setting? The young man in question acts intelligently, and his girl is not fooled, because the old man in his body doesn't behave or talk anything like the way the young man talks. I wish I could remember more.

[admin]

I think I found it, or at least a story like it. It is a film script by H. G. Wells, never filmed, titled "The New Faust", and collected in The Man With the Nose and the Other Uncollected Short Stories of H. G. Wells.

[Brightonian]

Thanks, I'll look that up. BTW a search on New Faust throws up a news item in a 1936 issue of "Novae Terrae" magazine saying the film is currently in production with Alexander Korda ... Novae Terrae is of course Latin for New Worlds, could this be an elaborate spoof? http://www.fiawol.org.uk/FanStuff/THEN%20Archive/NewWorlds/NT8.htm

[admin]

Nova Terra is probably a real film that was planned but produced. Alexander Korda produced a number of great fantasy films, especially The Thief of Bagdad and Jungle Book, and the two H. G. Wells film scripts that were produced, Things to Come and The Man Who Could Work Miracles. All wonderful films.