Search

The Day The Earth Caught Fire

1961, Movie, NR, 99 mins

starstarstarstar
Fascinating Armageddon film in which a reporter, McKern, discovers that the Earth has been knocked off its axis by simultaneous nuclear bomb tests conducted on the same day by the Americans and Russians on opposite poles of the planet. Because of the different orbit, the Earth is now moving toward the sun and will eventually burn up. Most of the action takes place in the newspaper offices of the London Daily Express, which lends a documentarylike quality to the proceedings as the world gets warmer and scientists sweat it out until they decide to try exploding four strategically placed nuclear bombs at the same time to restore the Earth's proper orbit. Silly premise is pulled off beautifully by Guest and Mankowitz's literate script and Guest's fast-paced and exciting direction. leave a comment
Advertisement

Advertisement