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The Day the Earth Caught Fire

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6.8/10 • 146

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

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  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

Reviews1

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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 backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop
  • The Day the Earth Caught Fire backdrop

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