Day the Earth Caught Fire, the

This movie is one of many great science fiction thrillers to come out of the British Isles in the late 1950's and early
1960's. Val Guest, as a producer and director of films, was a driving force behind some of the best science fiction
works to be released at this time, including this one.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a story about a 'down-on-his-luck' news reporter, with a drinking problem. His
well-to-do-wife has left him and taken away his young son, to boot. Our intrepid hero is just wallowing in self pity and
hitting the bottle pretty hard. About to loose his job, when along comes Janet Munro, a switch-board operator at some government ministry, who somehow puts our our reporter friend on the trail of a huge government conspiracy to withhold
the truth from the public, about the Earth being dislodged from its orbit and heading for the sun. Doomsday for all, on
the horizon.
And what do reporters do best? They tell everyone. Poor Janet looses her job for leaking vital information to the press
and must come to work for the newspaper to survive. At close quarters, the relationship between Janet and the
reporter blossoms. She saves him and he saves her as society unravels and civil law no longer prevails, with the
'End of Everything' looming over everyone.This is a popular theme in British cinema. The break down of society
at large, whatever its external cause, has the effect of releasing the darker side of human nature, especially when it comes to ultimate survival. The movie deals with this theme admirably, from both the human and scientific aspects of
man. We are left with the question - Do we actually deserve to survive as a species? This is Sci-Fi at its best.

The DVD quality is good. Remastered from the original print, the black and white picture is sharp and the tinted scenes
come through very well. All in all, this is an excellent movie and deserves a place in anyone's video library.

It's London, England in the early 1960's and both the United States and The Soviet Union have simultaneously set off nuclear explosions. At The London Daily Express news of weird and strange weather happenings around the world begin being reported to the public. However, as Science Reporter Bill McGuire and other reporters at the newspaper begin digging deeper into the story, they are shocked to discover that the explosions set off by the US and Soviet Union have knocked the earth off it's axis and sent it hurtling towards the sun. Now, the world's best scientists must find some way to prevent the Earth from being destroyed by the sun...but will they find it in time? and, more importantly, will it save the Earth from being destroyed by the sun??

This is another classic Sci-Fi film produced, directed and co-written by Val Guest (The Quartermass Xperiment). The situations surrounding the chaos are portrayed very realistically for it's time. What really surprised me about this film is it's use of Special Effects. Unlike today's ecological disaster films, like The Day After Tomorrow and The Core , The Day The Earth Caught Fire doesn't overwhelm you with Special Effects; they're used just enough to relate the gravity of the situation. The main focus of this movie is it's in-depth characterizations of the people involved and how they react to the idea that they may be living their last days on earth. Edward Judd (Carry On Sergeant, I Was Monty's Double) as newspaper reporter Peter Stenning, Janet Munro (Darby O'Gill and the Little People) as Jeanne Craig ,his source and love interest, Leo McKern ( The Prisoner, Rumpole Of The Bailey) as Science Report Bill McGuire and just-then-retired Chief Editor of The London Daily Express Arthur Christiansen as Chief Editor Jeff give performances that make you believe in the characters they're portraying. Look out for some steamy sex scenes with a teasingly naked Janet Munro and Edward Judd, pretty daring for it's time! If you look carefully near the end of the film, you'll see a young Michael Caine as a policeman directing traffic!

This film was released on DVD in 2001 and has been restored for the first time since it's release in 1961. The results of that restoration are marvellous, as not a bit of grain nor age spots can be found in the picture,. The sharpness and contrast are excellent, especially in the tinted scenes at the beginning and end, deliberately done that way to show the effect the sun is having on the Earth as it gets nearer! The Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack that accompanies the movie also sounds great! As for the extras, you'll get TV and Radio Spots for the film, A bio of Val Guest, the original theatrical trailer, and audio commentary by Val Guest and journalist Ted Newsom.

So, if you're looking to see a truly original Sci-Fi film that pre-dates today's Sci-Fi disaster flicks you'll certainly want to give this a try. You may even want to add it to your collection!

The story starts out with an orange filter. Then we plunge into a long flashback.

Strange things have been happening to the world, weather-wise that is. However, newspaper reporter Peter Stenning (Edward Judd) is too wrapped up in his own problems to notice this and wishes he were wrapped up in Jeannie Craig (Janet Munro) a Ministry switchboard operator who overhears a menacing secret.

Bill Maguire (Bill Maguire) in the process of hiring Jenny for the newspaper's own archives has a warning for her:
Bill," by the way I better warn you about some of these newsroom characters."
Jeannie," I'm a big girl now."
Bill." That's what I mean."

Things start to heat up as the cat is left out of the bag. Looks like there is going to be a hot time on the town tonight.

If you took out the stock footage this movie can easily be a stage play.
If you see the British version, Munro is missing her towel.

==========
DVD Extras
Trailer (what something missing from the U.S. version)
TV Spots
Radio Spots
Commentary with Director Val Guest and Journalist Ted Newsom
Still Gallery
Val Guest Bio

On the Beach