Review of The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) by Aaron N — 04 Mar 2008

An enjoyable disaster movie with a ridiculous premise (nuclear bombs cause the Earth to spiral towards the Sun) that manages to convince thanks to the way it takes itself deadly seriuosly. The performances are also admirable, in a very British stff-upper-lip kind of way, even if it does seem slightly unimaginative to set it in a newpaper office so you can have a ream of exposition scenes in the guise of discussing tomorrow's story.

There was some strong writing though, even a little poetic in the narraton for the final scenes, as the camera swoops over two possible futures for mankind framed in headlines: "PLANET DOOMED" or "PLANET SAVED".

The effects are also convincing, especially the sinister fog that covers London as the worlds oceans start to boil...