The Night the World Exploded (1957)
With his assistant, Laura Hutchinson, Dr. David Conway develops a device to advance the fledgling science of earthquake prediction. After forecasting a large trembleor that will rock California within twenty-four hours, Conway cannot persuade the Governor to act. When the prediction proves true and further tests indicate that there are more quakes to come, Conway and Laura seek to perfect their device. Subsequent tests deep within Carlsbad Caverns discover an unknown element—E-112—that is responsible for the earthquakes and threatens to destroy the globe if it ever reaches the surface. The team determines that with only four weeks until Armageddon, the race is on to neutralize the killer element before it takes a devastating toll.
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Dr. David Conway (William Leslie), with the assistance of Laura "Hutch" Hutchinson (Kathryn Grant), is in a race to stop a series of earthquakes that threaten the entire world. It seems that a newly discovered element, Element 112, expands and explodes when dry and mixed with nitrogen. And, because of mining and oil exploration, Element 112 is making its way to the Earth's surface.By no means is The Night the World Exploded a great film, but I found it reasonably entertaining. It's slow, lacks big-budget special effects, and the lead is a bit dry, but it's got something about it that worked for me. The sci-fi elements are presented believably enough to be effective. And there's some nice slow-burn suspense that's built throughout that worked on me. Other aspects that helped the film include a perky female lead in Kathryn Grant, real life disaster footage nicely blended into the film, and a short runtime.I called William Leslie "dry", but it's not just him, it's his character also. I know his Dr Conway is a driven professional, but come on - how could not not see Hutch has feelings for him? It's not until the world is about to end that he pays any notice to her. What a dolt!
As an SF nut from earliest childhood, the Fifties was a frustrating period for me. Most of the SF films released in the UK were given 'A' or 'X' certificates, so I could see the posters and the trailers, but not the pictures themselves. The Night the World Exploded was one of the few exceptions.I saw it on its original release and I never forgot my excitement at watching an actual science fiction movie at last. The mysteriously swelling black rocks, like ticking time bombs, had me glued to my seat whenever they appeared.Then the movie disappeared. It never showed on UK TV and the video revolution seemed to pass it by. Now, finally, it has re-emerged as part of the Columbia Classics series and another small segment of my childhood has been restored to me.Its premise is more intriguing than most science fiction 'B' movies of the era and the scientific gobbledygook is slightly more convincing. The story is not particularly well thought-out and has some conspicuous padding but it mostly cracks along at an acceptable pace. It looks a lot more expensive than it really was, because of the judicious use of stock footage. This was unusually well-selected, with generally good print quality that blends well with the principal photography. A couple of the devastation scenes are clearly just demolition work, and the voice-over narrator has his work cut out justifying the inclusion of some WW2 bombing footage, but it impressed the hell out me when I was 9.What didn't impress me, I am sad to report, was one of the movie's greatest assets - the ever adorable Kathryn Grant. Interestingly, she seems to get top billing, ahead of William Leslie: and why not?However, the biggest bonus is that the DVD print is immaculate. It is probably better than the one I saw in 1957. The movie still exists in all its original glory.Take a bow, Columbia Classics!The Night the World Exploded is no masterpiece, but I am glad that it is finally back in my life.
If you're looking at the reviews for Night the World Exploded, you are probably already a hopeless 50's sci-fi addict. But it's OK, you're in good company.This is actually a pretty engaging film that may hold up to some repeated viewings. Although the props and sets are not as good as they could be, they still support a very interesting story with good production values and some very good B movie acting.I would actually recommend this film above The Unknown Terror and Flame Barrier. These two are probably better films with bigger budgets but have a very boring script with little to no action.Also, if you're into 'End of the World' flicks, don't miss Crack In The World - one of the best!!
Entertaining typical 50's sci-fi low budget offering with slightly above average plot line for the time.However, particularly amusing are scenes in the military command aircraft which used card tables and folding chairs in front of mock-up aircraft porthole windows.