The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

I've watched this a number of times and always enjoy it. I must admit that I had a crush on Janet Munro that started with the "Horsemasters" Disney series but it's more than just her.The science is by far the weakest aspect of the film. In summary it's annoyingly implausible. Nuclear weapons are indeed powerful, but that a couple of bombs could tilt the Earth and change its orbital path should elicit a "Hmmm" even for those with little science background. But that weakness is more than compensated by just about everything else. The acting is top-notch. The crusty journalist role is played by Leo McKern flawlessly. Edward Judd is believable as the talented columnist whose career and life have been derailed by marital failure and alcohol. I don't care whether Janet Munro is good or not, I'll watch her all day long - her premature death was a loss to the industry. The re-created atmosphere of the frantic newspaper business is excellent. I don't know how it really works but it sure convinced me. It was intensely demanding and competitive, portraying the kind of place where only the most talented and motivated professionals can thrive.The grimness of the deteriorating environmental conditions may be the most compelling component in this film. The matte work is sub-par, but the misery of the common people shambling listlessly through the heat and dealing with rapidly dwindling resources is captured very nicely. You can imagine yourself there trying to survive while knowing there's not much future for you. I have no complaints about this film and though it's not cinematic genius it is very well put together. Definitely worth a watch.

I was in my mid teens when I first saw this film on its UK theatrical release and have always held it in high regard. Not many seemed to agree with me and it slipped away, rarely appearing on sci-fi, catastrophe or sixties favourites lists. For my part I have avoided watching it again lest it disappoint. It doesn't, watched again last night on a crisp new Blu-ray print, the film shines once more and holds the viewer transfixed from first to last frame. Stunning dialogue and central performances to match. Presumably Edward Judd and Janet Munro both so good in this went nowhere because the film went nowhere. I can only imagine now that perhaps the very real cold war events unfolding in the early sixties left the film looking a little at odds with the world. Whatever, it demands to be seen, if only to remind film makers the magic of telling a story bit by bit. There is nothing to be said for having the big reveal at the start and then spending two hours of special effects trying to match the initial promise. Here in the offices of the Daily Express, the story is gradually uncovered and we much as the reporters struggle to make sense as things go from bad to worse. Fantastic views of London and its various parks, including Battersea in full fairground mode ensure that this is very impressive and involving cinema experience.

Hammer man Val Guest directed this predictable disaster movie, which has the same basic premise as NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT, except on a much grander scale (as portrayed via some choice stock footage). In a way it's a throwback to the '50s atomic monster movies, as the disaster turns out to be the direct result of nuclear testing.On the plus side there is an intelligent script, which gives realistic impressions of the public's reaction to the news that they may only have days left to live (rioting breaks out in one area of London) and solid performances from Edward Judd as the dashing reporter hero and a youthful-looking Leo McKern (THE OMEN) as a stuffy but friendly newspaper editor. The realism and tension in this film is the best thing about it - but unfortunately, it sometimes becomes too realistic. I would have preferred a little bit more science fiction thrown in.Unfortunately the excitement is greatly diminished by a dull romance between Judd and Munro, which I could quite happily have done without. Romance has been done a million times before and this time was no different. Also, action fans should look elsewhere, as the only exciting sequence is one where Judd has to rescue his girlfriend from a group of water-crazy teenage delinquents, and one gets knocked down a lift shaft in a comic moment.There is some interesting (if cheap-looking) effects work from Les Bowie (also from the Hammer stable) to add considerably to things, but in the end the central premise is enough to carry the film through and it's an intelligent speculation of what could happen if we're not careful when dealing with Mother Nature.

THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE is a remarkable little film, and one I have to thank my big brother Mark for. He bought me the BFI Blu-ray version one Christmas, and suggested I'd like it. He was right.I was surprised by it. The first thing you notice is the terrific, sparky, rapid-fire script written by Wolf Mankowitz and the film's director, Val Guest. It's relentlessly quippy. All three main actors - Leo McKern, Janet Munro and particularly Edward Judd - are memorable. It's all delivered in that clipped Queen's English fashion so evocative of films from that era (pre-Beatles early Sixties), but the dialogue is sarcastic and laddish, not surprising since most of it takes place in a national newspaper newsroom.But oh that misogyny ... TDTECF is a proper throwback to when men were men and women were grateful. Or at least subservient. Nobody's particularly macho, but the tone switches minute-by-minute from incredible early 60s sexism to 40s romance to 50s melodrama at bewildering speed.Memories include a LOT of stock footage .. people carrying dead chickens being a common indication that the world is going to pot, weather-wise. Plus flash floods and lots of ruined buildings. There's some bizarre scenes .. an absurdly white, middle class 'riot' down Chelsea way (it's all set in London), where 100 sweating Beatniks groove around to jazz music throwing water over each other, stands out. One lad makes the worst attempt ever at saving his own life, before falling down a lift shaft. It's the most laughable scene of civil unrest imaginable.Edward Judd's character, the film's anti-hero, is a complete jerk, to be honest. Rude, lazy, self-centered, pretty much a lech and almost a rapist at one point. He's one of the most unlikeable protagonists I've ever seen, but Janet Munro falls for him because, hey, she likes it rough. Leo McKern gets the best lines and nails every one.But finally, the plot. Two hydrogen bomb tests go off simultaneously, one USA, one Russian, accidentally. The earth's axis shifts, and the planet's weather changes ... and we're speeding towards the Sun and certain death. Only one thing to do: detonate more bombs, to re-set the earth's tilt, and correct our course before everything fries. Will it work?The moment the nightmare becomes clear, towards the end of the film, has genuine shock value. From that moment till the terrific ending, TDTECF ratchets up the tension. Time for one last tender moment between, weirdly, two minor characters (bar staff at the alcoholic journalists' favourite pub), and then .... you'll have to see for yourself.Oh, and there are only about 500 people in London throughout the whole film.If it were made today, this film would be fantastically spectacular, with CGI opportunities to die for. I wonder if they'll remake it. If they do, I predict many strong female characters and a distinct lack of attempted date rape.