Crack in the World (1965)

There were plenty of alien disaster movies in cinema before this - "War of the Worlds," "Invaders from Mars" and "Day of the Triffids," and there were plenty of monster disaster movies, such "Gozilla" and "the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms," but hardly ever any disaster movies without aliens and monsters. The only ones that I can think of are "Things to Come," "Time Machine" and "On the Beach," and "Journey to the Center of the Earth"The movie does add a nice love triangle subplot to the world disaster major plot with top scientists Dana Andrews and Kieron Moore both being in love with Janette Scott.A lot of the special effects are just old documentary footage of lava flowing and atomic bombs, but after a while you become absorbed in the situation and the badly mismatched reaction shots just relieve some tension and make the movie more fun. Scott and Kieron also played in "Day of the Triffids" (1959) together.The message of the movie is that when scientists warn of disaster, we should pay attention. It is still a good message. Although I'm sure that the artificial intelligence machines that will be reading this in 2037, after the human race has been wiped out, will get a big laugh from it.

Somebody decided to spend a little money on this British sci-fi disaster quickie from the 1960s. The special effects are impressive for the time, and the movie's in color! An aged Dana Andrews plays a dying scientist determined to unleash magma from the Earth's core to create an endless source of energy. To do so, he decides to drop an atomic bomb down the shaft he's dug. Guess what happens next. This mad scientist, nicely underplayed by Andrews, has a wife half his age who is hoping to have his baby, not knowing he is dying. She is played by an obscure actress of the time who is probably the sexiest female I have ever seen in one of these kiddie afternoon matinée jobs. She wants to make love and he can't. Their scenes make for a nice subplot. The scientist also has an old partner, played by rugged-looking, thickly accented Irish actor Kieron Moore, who opposes Andrews' plan. Moore is an old beau of the scientist's wife and still very fond of her, which makes for some interesting moments. This is one case where I welcomed a romantic subplot in a sci-fi movie clearly made for young boys. The wife is that much of a looker, even with her '60s bouffant hairdo and stage makeup. Anyhow, the end gives us something of an Adam and Eve conclusion, a frequent theme in Twilight Zone and Star Trek episodes. Guess which two survive for the fadeout. Here's a hint: he can definitely make babies.

Dana Andrews plays an ailing scientist trying to find a way to use magma from the center of the earth to create a new natural energy. Kieron Moore is his assistant, a scientist out to prove that what Andrews is doing could unleash a disaster if the earth's crust begins to crack. Of course, there is the obligatory romantic subplot, and it involves Moore and Andrews' much younger wife, Janette Scott. Things don't really begin to gel until the end, but in the meantime, there is the scene of the bomb descending into the earth to break through the crust to get to the magma, a series of conversations about sudden earthquakes that break out, and finally, a visit into an actual volcano to counteract the force of the magma by scientifically blowing it out like a candle. (Didn't I see this plot on "Gilligan's Island"?) But in disaster movies where scientists are trying to play God, things always go wrong, and a crack begins to develop in the ocean's floor that begins to head totally around the world. The film is actually pretty good, and the exposition scenes are not really boring. But it doesn't really become "hot" until the last 20 minutes, which makes the overall impact of the film less than it could have been. Still, it is a lot better than two other films that actually involved volcanoes-"Krakatowa, East of Java" (filmed obviously in a mirror-Krakatowa is WEST of Java!), and the disaster master Irwin Allen's hideous "When Time Ran Out". We would have to wait until years later for "Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" to entertain us more than those disasters did.It should be noted that Andrews looks incredibly handsome here, distinguished and gray, yet not lacking the appeal he had 20 years ago in "Laura". Alexander Knox has a bit part as an English Lord whose financing oversees the whole project.

"Crack in the World" is a terrific disaster movie. The plot is simple: a scientist disregards another scientist's evidence and sets off a nuclear reaction at the boundary between Earth's mantle and core. In so doing, he practically has doomed mankind. The conflict between Dr. Sorensen (Dana Andrews) and Dr. Rampion (Kieron Moore) isn't just over geological theory; it's also over Sorensen's wife and Rampion's former lover, Maggie (Janette Scott). The two men truly have a rivalry between theory and Maggie, and when it turns out that Rampion is proved right, Sorenson rids himself of Maggie while literally declining in health to the cancer that he's been treating in a matter of days. It's only in the end, when it looks as though there's a chance of survival for Earth, that Sorenson finds a new purpose: he's going to record the ending for posterity's sake.Overall, the acting and the special effects are quite good, and the supporting cast is excellent. Highly recommended.