The Day the Earth Caught Fire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Day the Earth Caught Fire | |
|---|---|
 film poster |
|
| Directed by | Val Guest |
| Produced by | Val Guest Frank Sherwin Green |
| Written by | Wolf Mankowitz Val Guest |
| Starring | Janet Munro Leo McKern Edward Judd |
| Music by | Stanley Black |
| Cinematography | Harry Waxman |
| Distributed by | Universal International Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1961 |
| Running time | 98 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a 1961 British science fiction film. It is rated PG in the United Kingdom and is shot in black-and-white. In some of the original prints of the film, the opening and closing sequences of the film are tinted orange-yellow to suggest the heat of the sun. The formal structure of the film resembles the 'newspaper movie' genre, although the 'delayed disaster' elements of the movie's plot would be echoed in later landmark Doomsday films such as The China Syndrome and The Day After.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The Soviet Union and the USA have detonated nearly-simultaneous nuclear bomb tests, leading to the Earth moving out of its orbit and towards the sun. Increasing heat from the sun causes the water on Earth to evaporate, and consequently the governments have to ration water. Scientists conclude that the only one way to bring Earth back into its orbit is to detonate a series of nuclear bombs in the west of Siberia.
The original film ending featured two versions of the front page of the Daily Express prepared for the presses to print: one reads "World Saved", the other "World Doomed". The staff of the paper anxiously waits to see which headline will be correct.
The distributor pressed for a revised ending: Church bells heard to ring out at the very end - an oblique suggestion that the planet was rescued.
[edit] Cast
The cast includes Michael Caine in his early acting days playing a bit part of a police officer diverting traffic, with one line to say. Three years later he was to star in the film Zulu. The Editor of the Daily Express was played by real-life journalist Arthur Christiansen, himself a former editor of the Daily Express.
[edit] Influences
There are songs by Japanese punk band Balzac and by The Misfits entitled "The Day The Earth Caught On Fire". Although not confirmed as being related to the film of the same name, the sci-fi/horror theme of both bands and their other song names would strongly indicate a connection.
