The Day the Earth Caught Fire main backdrop
The Day the Earth Caught Fire main poster

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

Visit website

6.8/10 • 157

1961-11-011h 38m

Science FictionDrama

The INCREDIBLE becomes Real! The IMPOSSIBLE becomes Fact! The UNBELIEVABLE becomes True!

British reporters suspect an international cover-up of a global disaster in progress... and they're right. Hysterical panic has engulfed the world after the United States and the Soviet Union simultaneously detonate nuclear devices and have caused the orbit of the Earth to alter, sending it hurtling towards the sun.

Directors
Val Guest
Writters
Val Guest, Wolf Mankowitz
Editors
Val Guest, Wolf Mankowitz, Bill Lenny

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Janet Munro

    Janet Munro

    Jeannie Craig

  2. Leo McKern

    Leo McKern

    Bill Maguire

  3. Edward Judd

    Edward Judd

    Peter Stenning

  4. Michael Goodliffe

    Michael Goodliffe

    Jacko Jackson the Night Editor

  5. Bernard Braden

    Bernard Braden

    Davis the News Editor

  6. Reginald Beckwith

    Reginald Beckwith

    Harry

  7. Gene Anderson

    Gene Anderson

    May

  8. Renée Asherson

    Renée Asherson

    Angela

  9. Arthur Christiansen

    Arthur Christiansen

    'Jeff' Jefferson - Editor

Reviews2

View Reviews
CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

May 9, 2024

7/10

Newspaper editor "Bill" (Leo McKern) is trying to keep his team focused on churning out the Daily Express whilst the Russians and the Americans are detonating nuclear devices all over the shop. When two of them explode simultaneously and knock the Earth out of it's orbit, things really do start to heat up and his reporter "Stenning" (Edward Judd) and feisty switchboard worker "Jeannie" (Janet Munro) have to try to get to the bottom of things. Just imagine the red tape involved as the government officials put up all sorts of barricades to him finding out anything - possibly because they don't really know a great deal more themselves. What now ensues is a mixture of romance coupled with some increasingly exasperating investigative journalism as we appear to be heading straight into the path of the sun. Might there be a way to arrest this inevitability? More bombs perhaps? We'll have to tune into the Prime Ministerial broadcast at 9pm... Made when the cold war was alive and well, this is quite an interesting story that when you strip it back offers us quite a potent look at the futility of nuclear weapons. The drama here doesn't politicise anything, but it does use the buzzing dynamic of the newsroom to present us with a story of mankind's own stupidity and bloody-mindedness. There's a solid supporting cast and a welcome bit of sarcasm in the dialogue and it's at the better end of the apocalyptic drama genre.

Media

  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire poster

Recommendations

  • Quatermass and the Pit main backdrop

    Quatermass and the Pit

    6.6

  • Brassed Off main backdrop

    Brassed Off

    7.0

  • Crack in the World main backdrop

    Crack in the World

    5.7

  • The Disenchanted main backdrop

    The Disenchanted

    5.4

  • Operation Kid Brother main backdrop

    Operation Kid Brother

    4.4

  • An Unknown Compelling Force main backdrop

    An Unknown Compelling Force

    7.3

  • Pillow of Death main backdrop

    Pillow of Death

    6.5

  • The Final Cut main backdrop

    The Final Cut

    6.1

  • The Lady Vanishes main backdrop

    The Lady Vanishes

    7.4

  • The French Connection main backdrop

    The French Connection

    7.5

  • The King of Staten Island main backdrop

    The King of Staten Island

    7.0

  • The Blue Lagoon main backdrop

    The Blue Lagoon

    6.2

  • The Great Escape main backdrop

    The Great Escape

    7.9

  • A Time to Kill main backdrop

    A Time to Kill

    7.4

  • Escape from New York main backdrop

    Escape from New York

    7.1

  • The Iron Claw main backdrop

    The Iron Claw

    7.5

  • The Mule main backdrop

    The Mule

    6.9

  • Old main backdrop

    Old

    6.3

  • Terminator Genisys main backdrop

    Terminator Genisys

    5.9

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
newspaperlondon, englandsunheatearthglobal warmingend of the worlddisasterdisaster movie