The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

Calificación de los usuarios:

7.2/10   

Director:

Val Guest

Escritores:

Wolf Mankowitz (writer) &
Val Guest (writer)

Fecha de Lanzamiento:

mayo 1962 (USA)

Género:

Drama | Ciencia-Ficción | Romance

Frase comercial:

THE PICTURE THAT GIVES YOU A FRONT SEAT TO THE MOST JOLTING EVENTS OF TOMORROW...TODAY! (original U.S. print ad - all caps)

Plot:

British reporters suspect an international cover-up of a global disaster in progress... and they're right.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Alcoholic | Disaster | Newsroom | Newspaper Editor

Premios:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Comentarios de los usuarios:

An underrated sci-fi classic

Reparto

Janet Munro	...	Jeannie Craig
Leo McKern	...	Bill Maguire
Edward Judd	...	Peter Stenning
Michael Goodliffe	...	'Jacko', Night editor
Bernard Braden	...	News editor
Reginald Beckwith	...	Harry
Gene Anderson	...	May
Renée Asherson	...	Angela
Arthur Christiansen	...	Editor
Austin Trevor	...	Sir John Kelly
Edward Underdown	...	Sanderson
Ian Ellis	...	Michael Stenning

También conocida como:

The Day the Sky Caught Fire
El día en que la Tierra se incendió (Spain) [es]

Duración:

98 min

País:

UK

Idioma:

Inglés

Color:

Negro y Blanco (with tinted sequences)

Relación de Aspecto:

2.35 : 1

Sonido:

Mono

Clasificación:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Locaciones de Filmación:

Battersea Fun Fair, Battersea Park, Battersea, London, England, UK

Compañía:

Pax Films

Trivialidades:

The realistic newspaper footage was shot in the Fleet Street offices of Express Newspapers and gives a vivid picture of the "old" London Fleet Street industry (most British newspapers have now moved out of this area, which was famous as a press centre). "Express" editor Arthur Christiansen plays himself in the film.

Errores:

Boquete en la Historia: It's some forty days after the bomb blasts before the scoop is made concerning the eleven degree shift in the Earth's axis (the flashback begins ten days after the explosions with another four weeks going by before Pete and Jeanie meet again). Even if the officials and professionals were mum, it would still be impossible for all the amateur astronomers, naturalists, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, navigators, timekeepers, ritual sun worshipers, etcetera the world over, not to notice a gradual tilt of the globe's axis (the destruction of the planet notwithstanding). In short, the alteration would have been common knowledge long before it was officially confirmed in the film, and The Daily Express, if not from the "top down", would certainly have learned the big bad news from the "ground up".

Citas:

Bill Maguire: They've shifted the tilt of the earth. The stupid, crazy, irresponsible bastards! They've finally done it.

Conexiones de Película:

References Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

Banda de Sonido:

Light Cavalry Overture

An underrated sci-fi classic

This 1961 classic is truly underrated. Performances by Janet Munro and the great Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) are quite good, and Edward Judd, whose career is introduced in this movie come together to create a create a sense of building tension as the audience finds out the reason for the strange changes in weather.

Judd plays his character a little roughly, but that is to be understood, given his problems with his divorce and visitation with his young son.

Leo McKern's dialogue and facial expressions are superb and create the perfect persona of the seasoned veteran science writer who interprets and unravels the mystery for us.

Janet Munro, who died prematurely in her thirties gave a very acceptable performance for a young starlet, who keeps reporter Pete Stenning (Judd) at bay, then feeds him the critical information that blows open the story. I have two copies - One I taped from TV in the 80's, and another that I bought new. My sci-fi collection wouldn't be complete without it.