The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

Director:

Val Guest

Writers:

Wolf Mankowitz (written for the screen by) &
Val Guest (written for the screen by)

Release Date:

May 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi | Romance

Tagline:

THE PICTURE THAT GIVES YOU A FRONT SEAT TO THE MOST JOLTING EVENTS OF TOMORROW...TODAY! (original U.S. print ad - all caps)

Plot:

When the USA and Russia test atomic bombs at the same time, it knocks the Earth out its orbit and sends it spiraling toward the Sun.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Disaster | Newsroom | Newspaper | Alcoholic

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Janet Munro	...	Jeannie Craig
Leo McKern	...	Bill Maguire
Edward Judd	...	Peter Stenning
Michael Goodliffe	...	Jacko Jackson the Night Editor
Bernard Braden	...	Davis the News Editor
Reginald Beckwith	...	Harry
Gene Anderson	...	May
Renée Asherson	...	Angela
Arthur Christiansen	...	Jeff Jefferson the Editor
Austin Trevor	...	Sir John Kelly
Edward Underdown	...	Sanderson
Ian Ellis	...	Michael Stenning
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jane Aird	...	Nanny (uncredited)
John Barron	...	1st Sub-Editor (uncredited)
Timothy Bateson	...	Printer in Printroom (uncredited)
Peter Blythe	...	Copy Desk (uncredited)
Peter Butterworth	...	2nd Sub-Editor (uncredited)
Michael Caine	...	Checkpoint Policeman (uncredited)
Norman Chappell	...	Hotel Receptionist (uncredited)
Geoffrey Chater	...	Pat Holroyd (uncredited)
John Dearth	...	Dick (uncredited)
Pamela Green	...	Nurse at Laundrette (uncredited)
Verina Greenlaw	...	Trixie (uncredited)
Robin Hawdon	...	Ronnie (uncredited)
Fred Johnson	...	Archie (uncredited)
Reginald Marsh	...	Picture Editor (uncredited)
Jim McManus	...	Man at Water Station (uncredited)
Carmel McSharry	...	Woman Lost in Fog (uncredited)
George Merritt	...	Smudge (uncredited)
Charles Morgan	...	Foreign Editor (uncredited)
John Rae	...	Sarge the Doorman (uncredited)
Terence Soall	...	Undetermined role (uncredited)
Marianne Stone	...	Miss Evans, Jeff's Secretary (uncredited)
Terry Walsh	...	Man (uncredited)

Directed by
Val Guest

Writing credits
Wolf Mankowitz		(written for the screen by) &
Val Guest		(written for the screen by)

Produced by
F. Sherwin Green	....	associate producer (as Frank Sherwin Green)
Val Guest	....	producer

Original Music by
Stanley Black		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Harry Waxman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Bill Lenny

Art Direction by
Anthony Masters		(as Tony Masters)

Set Decoration by
Scott Slimon

Costume Design by
Beatrice Dawson

Makeup Department
Joyce James	....	hairdresser
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Clifton Brandon	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Philip Shipway	....	assistant director
Terry Lens	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Bill Dennison	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Peter Melrose	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Buster Ambler	....	sound
Chris Greenham	....	dubbing editor
Peter Dukelow	....	boom operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Les Bowie	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Moray Grant	....	camera operator
Wally Byatt	....	focus puller (uncredited)
James Devis	....	focus puller (uncredited)
John Jay	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Jimmy Stilwell	....	clapper loader (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dulcie Midwinter	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)
Joyce Stoneman	....	assistant wardrobe (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Mike Round	....	first assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Stanley Black	....	musical director
Monty Norman	....	composer: beatnik music

Other crew
Pamela Carlton	....	continuity
Arthur Christiansen	....	technical advisor
Maureen Newman	....	assistant production accountant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Pax Films

Distributors

• British Lion Film Corporation (1961) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1962) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Congress Entertainment (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Box Office Home Video (HBO) (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Network (2001) (UK) (DVD)
• Network (2001) (UK) (VHS)
• Network (2008) (UK) (DVD)
• Ostalgica Film - Andreas Bierschenk (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Republic Pictures Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Thorn EMI Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (with tinted sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Pax Films

Trivia:

As the earth heats up Bill McGuire asks for information on the melting point of "everything from steel to my glass eye". Leo McKern did in fact have a glass eye.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie, several people in North London contract "typhus" from contaminated water. Evidently the script confused "typhus" and "typhoid fever." Typhus is spread by parasites, such as fleas or mites; not contaminated water. Typhoid fever can be spread by contaminated food or water.

Quotes:

Bill Maguire:[reading a newswire] There's a chap in Leeds says he can extract water from the atmosphere. Oh, as you were, he's been certified.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Godzilla (1977)

Soundtrack:

Light Cavalry Overture

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

1961's "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" must be judged according to the parameters of classics as 1951's "The Day the Earth Stood Still", and not today's special effects mega productions in which the perspective of the disappearance of planet Earth is taken with cynic humor. The idea came to director Val Guest during the Cold War in 1954, and it is under that decade's spirit that the movie is better appreciated. I remember seeing it when it opened, and I've never forgotten that experience, specially its tinted sequence. Forty-three years later I am able to see it again, and it's still the same notable film, not the least affected by today's cinematic technology, because, in its core, Guest's motivation -the worry for the actions of mindless men who struggle to control the Earth- is still relevant. If it's not highly regarded today as "The Day the Earth Stood Still", I think it has to do with the fact that Universal sold it as a B movie in America (though not so by British Lion in the UK, where it was a huge success, and won the film industry's top prize for its screenplay) and because not too many critics paid attention to it and wrote positive reviews, establishing it as an important science-fiction movie since then. Although there are very few re-enacted disaster scenes and it relies upon footage of real catastrophes, the tension is handled effectively in the newspaper's office where most of the action takes place, with its overlapping dialogues and constant flow of new information; and in the development of the romantic story in the midst of violence and terror in the streets. Edward Judd, Janet Munro and Leo McKern contribute good performances to this fine movie, shot in Dyaliscope.