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The Day The Earth Caught Fire
01/08/2006 . Source: Geoff Willmetts 
DVD: Network 7952138. 96 minute film with extras. Price: £ 6.59 (UK). stars: Janet Munro, Leo McKern and Edward Judd. Buy The Day The Earth Caught Fire in the USA - or Buy The Day The Earth Caught Fire in the UK  I thought this might be an appropriate film for you people to watch at this time of year while you're waiting for the heatwave to happen. I have a somewhat unusual metabolism that hasn't really been touched by these moderate temperatures.
Looking at how hot London becomes in this film, 95F (35C in modern terms), you'd probably wonder what the fuss was back in 1961 as well. Mind you, in this alternative reality, you didn't have their problem and either as director Val Guest says in the audio commentary, numbers were chosen arbitrary cos it had never been that hot in London.
Although not cited directly as part of the Cold War activity, both America and the USSR let off multiple test atomic bombs in different parts of the world at the same time. The result of which as reporters at UK's Daily Express newspaper discovers, tilts the Earth by a further 11 degrees and is also causing the planet to move in closer towards the Sun at said 11 degrees as well.
The results of all of this bring drastic weather changes from heat fogs, thunderstorms, droughts and floods. We get some of these effects today sans letting off nukes so you should get the idea. From all accounts, the world is about to end. People either are fleeing to the country, staying at home or having manic parties in the streets. Hmmm...not too different from today after all. If you like your whisky neat, then it didn't matter to one of the reporters until love got him to start sobering and doing his job properly of reporting events.
Rather than follow events from the scientists POV to sorting out, we follow the lives of two journalists (actors Leo McKern and Edward Judd) and a nearly unintentional whistle-blower at the Met Office (actress Janet Munro) through this calamity providing an everyman approach to the situation and probably helped to keep the budget under control. The dialogue is sharp and believable and even got the film a British Film Academy Award for its screenplay. You also get to see the remarkable special effects of the legendary Les Bowie and what can be done on a shoestring budget and still look convincing.
In many respects, this is practically a low-key SF movie with high believability factor, especially how it affects people. The science is a bit iffy but we're a lot better informed these days. A further tilt of 11 degrees would be melting the ice caps for instance so we'd probably all be drowned without a water shortage before the heat got to us. As the story doesn't dwell on this, it's almost incidental to the film title.
The extras include an audio commentary with director Val Guest, who died earlier this year, which gives immense insight into this classic film even if there is no actual distinction as to whether this is the UK or US edition. Back in 1961 we could get away with a little more nudity than America and alternative scenes were filmed for them. Saying that, the stills gallery contains pictures of the late actress Janet Munro having a wash that leaves little for the imagination.
At this price and suitable weather, 'The Day The Earth Caught Fire' is a film suitable for the summer months with suitable humidity to have sympathy to the characters. Don't miss this classic.
GF Willmetts
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