The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a 1961 British sci-fi disaster movie which tells the story of the United States and the Soviet Union simultaneously conducting nuclear bomb tests. The resulting explosions do something nasty to the Earth, resulting in floods, violent storms, sweltering heat, and an unexpected eclipse.

On the case is drunken Fleet Street journalist Peter Stenning, played brilliantly by Edward Judd. He slowly uncovers the conspiracy, with the help of the wonderful Janet Munro as Jeannie, the sparky temp at the Met Office who is completely immune to Stenning’s charm. Leo McKern is fabulous as Bill Maguire, Stenning’s only real friend at the newspaper.

Without a doubt, The Day the Earth Caught Fire is one of my all-time favourite films.

The sense of realism in the newspaper office is off the scale, in no small part due to having real-life Daily Express editor Arthur Christiansen in the role of editor of the fictional newspaper. Also, the back and forth overlapping dialogue in the office feels so real. It is as though we are eavesdropping on this world.

The story taps nicely into the Cold War paranoia of the time. 1961 saw the building of the Berlin Wall, so the whole East v. West was very much at the forefront in the minds of the public.

The film is interspersed with real-life footage of floods and other natural disasters, which help to heighten the realism, and there are a number of quite memorable moments. The scenes of desolation in the world’s major cities are well done, as is Edward Judd walking slowly up an empty London street.

As I’ve said already, the acting is excellent, with some wonderful supporting actors all the way down the cast list.

It is also laugh out loud funny in parts. Val Guest and Wolf Mankowitz won the 1962 BAFTA for Best Film Screenplay, and I am not surprised in the slightest.

This film is one of the best ever made, an absolute gem. If you haven’t seen it (what on Earth are you playing at?) then stop what you are doing and go watch it right away. I don’t think you will be disappointed.