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 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a British movie from 1961. The genre is Sci-Fi, Drama and Romance. It is rated PG in UK and is in Black and White and mono. 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.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
The film is constructed as a classic 'newspaper' film. The movie's plot also has echoes in later conspiracy-doomsday thrillers such as The China Syndrome or The Day After.
The Soviet Union and the USA have detonated near 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 movie 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] Trivia
- In his early acting days Michael Caine played many bit parts - in this he played a police officer diverting traffic and had one line to say. Three years later he was to star in the film Zulu.
- The Editor of the Daily Express in the film was played by real-life journalist Arthur Christiansen - one-time editor of the Daily Express.
- There are also songs by a Japanese punk band Balzac and 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.
[edit] See Also
[edit] External links/references
 |
This article about a science fiction film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
