When Worlds Collide (1951)

I've just had a quick look through the reviews for this classic 50's sci-fi flick just in case someone had already covered the point I wanted to make. Having found no references to it I will press on. It seems obvious to me that Gerry Anderson drew inspiration from this film when he created his puppet TV shows. The launch system for the rocketship was used in Fireball XL5 and the landing sequence on Zyra is classic Thunderbirds. A great little film even if the science makes no sense whatsoever. Must have been quite gripping in a darkened cinema in 1952. Good special effects and a colourful new world. As for it being a white world in the film, well, it was a white world back then. I don't suppose they had room for a couple of maids and a shoe-shine boy never mind any pesky redskins.

There were some great science fiction movies coming out of the Fifties, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) and "Forbidden Planet" (1956) are ones that immediately come to mind. Contrary to what a host of reviewers on this board have to say, I don't think this was one of them. With a title like "When Worlds Collide", I expected a bit more colliding in the movie than actually occurred. Most of the story had to do with preparatory work to get ready for the eventual destruction of Earth by a runaway star and it's orbiting planet, or vice versa as the case may be. Inserted into the picture was a romantic triangle of sorts that managed to work itself out over the course of the story, but it's not something I'm interested in watching a sci-fi flick. Don't get me wrong, the movie isn't terrible by any means, for example it doesn't approach "First Spaceship on Venus" territory. But when you have a film that conjures up an image of destruction on a massive scale it ought to deliver something along those lines. If only the script had used the word 'azimuth' in any of the scientific calculations coming out of the differential analyzer, I could have thrown in a bonus point in my rating of the picture. Instead, Dr. Tony Drake (Peter Hansen) had this weird patch of brown in the back of his otherwise full head of black hair. Never mind, those two items cross each other out.

South African astronomer Dr. Emery Bronson (Hayden Rorke) discovers that a far-flung star, Bellus, and Zyra, the planet that orbits it, are on a direct course for our solar system, arriving in less than a year. Zyra will pass close enough to the Earth to cause massive tidal waves and catastrophic earthquakes, but Bellus will destroy our planet completely. With funding from several wealthy businessmen, a team of scientists led by Dr. Cole Hendron (Larry Keating) set about constructing a Space Ark, a rocket-ship capable of ferrying a small group of lucky survivors to Zyra before the Bellus crashes into the Earth. As the deadline approaches, plucky airplane pilot David Randall (Richard Derr) falls for Hendon's beautiful daughter Joyce (Barbara Rush), much to the consternation of her current beau Dr. Tony Drake (Peter Hansen).With its blend of cheesy emotional drama, silly scientific conjecture, and spectacular cataclysmic disaster, When World's Collide is the epitome of '50s pulp sci-fi cinema and also the template for many an apocalyptic disaster flick. The formulaic relationship between Dave Randall and Joyce impedes the action a little too much, but when the time comes for the proverbial to hit the fan, the film definitely delivers, with special effects laden set-pieces that still hold up well today (and which deservedly won the film an Oscar) and a particularly great-looking spacecraft, The Space Ark: typically '50s in fashion, with sleek, windowless, silver fuselage and stubby wings. The film also benefits from a memorable villain—malicious, wheelchair-bound multi-millionaire Sydney Stanton (played with relish by John Hoyt).A lame shot of Zyra's landscape (a flat painted backdrop) ends matters on a slightly bum note, but it's the journey, not the destination, that makes this film so much fun.

Astronomers predict that a world (or rather a sun) will collide with Earth, destroying everything – effectively wiping out the human race. This world/sun is Bellus, but before that happens, another planet, Zyra, will pass close by earth. This near-collision will result in earthquakes and tsunamis.Dave Randall (Richard Derr), a rogue and pilot, is paid to take the secret information of earth's doom to London, to scientists that are going to verify the terrible information. The information turns out to be correct and the scientists start to plan their escape from earth. They hope that it is possible to fly into space and land on Zyra, which will (hopefully) be suitable for humans.Randall suddenly finds himself in the middle of this whole affair, in love with the daughter of one of the scientists. This may also be his ticket aboard the ship to Zyra. However, Randall may be a rogue, but he also has a conscience. When it is time to choose which 40 people will make the journey, Randall gives up his seat. He does not feel that he has earned the right, that there are other more worthy people to take the seat.This might be so, but when the time comes to leave earth, Randall finds an unlikely ally that may help him out in the hour of need…When Worlds Collide is an old movie. It certainly has a story that it wish to explore, but with today's knowledge, the thought of a planet (or maybe even two) crashing into earth seems… ludicrous. Sure, a comet, asteroid or even a meteor would have been fine, but two planets passing through earth's orbit within a month… I don't think so. Of course, I am not a scientist nor an astronomer.I know this movie was made in a different time, but I can't help but wonder about the reactions of the people when they hear that earth is doomed. I would have thought that people would panic, but they don't, only in the very last second when Bellus is within a stone's throw. Sure, they might not believe in the information, but they must when the big red thing gets closer. To destroy earth is a pretty reckless thing, I don't think a little emotion is too much to ask.Another thing that really annoyed me. The ending. I don't mind the people reaching Zyra, nor that the planet is suitable for humans. What really annoys me was the use of a painted landscape. This might not have looked fake back in 1951 (although I think it did, unless the movie was in black and white originally), but it does today and when the landscape looks distinctly like earth, I can't help but wonder if they couldn't have found a real location somewhere, like in Asia? I won't even comment on the strange climate zones on Zyra (heavy snow and then 50 ft. away… a beautiful green meadow).Was there nothing that I liked in this movie? There certainly was. The character of Dave Randall, for one. He feels real and seems disturbed by the thought of dying in so young age. He acts cool, but also human when disaster strikes. I also liked the pace of the movie. Strangely enough, the movie does keep you entertained, maybe for the wrong reasons (the movie is quite funny), but still.As far as references go, there is a scene where New York is flooded, which reminded me of The Day After Tomorrow (Roland Emmerich, 2004), but also of 2012 (Roland Emmerich, 2009), where the humans built an ark of their own, only this one isn't supposed to leave earth. Of course the last is a biblical reference.Lastly, I just saw that they are working on a new When Worlds Collide movie which is supposed to hit the cinemas in 2012. I can only hope that it is better than the original.