Good old-fashioned, black & white Science Fiction/disaster-movie classic that effectively emerges two giant contemporary fears at once, namely the Cold War and the rapidly evolving nuclear science. Whereas most other 60's Sci-Fi movies used the versatile side-effects of nuclear testings for grotesque apocalypse stories, involving mutated animals or even people, the premise of "The Day the Earth Caught Fire" is much more realistic and genuinely disturbing. A duo of Daily Express reporters discover, with the help of a weather girl, that the earth has been tilted off its axis because both the Russians and the Americans ignited their H-bombs simultaneously. The unusually high temperatures in Londen, as well as other inexplicable weather phenomenons, indicate that our planet is moving towards the sun very fast. Despite an obvious lack budget, director Val Guest (creator of other genre milestones such as "The Quatermass Experiment" and "The Abominable Snowman") did everything possible to make this film look like a captivating and paranoid drama. The images of a dying Londen, enshrouded in fog and heat, are truly atmospheric and there also are some very intelligent extra elements added, like new epidemics as a result of water shortness. Surprisingly enough, there's even room for an honest (and credible, for once) love-story between the cynical reporter and the overly-emotional weather-girl. Personally, I didn't really like the ending but it does typify 60's cinema greatly. The acting performances are splendid, with Leo McKern ("X-the Unknown"),Edward Judd ("Island of Terror") and the adorable Janet Munro (former child star of "Swiss Family Robinson"). The Day the Earth Caught Fire is a vastly underrated Sci-Fi gem, probably because it wasn't a Hammer production, and genre fans should urgently re-discover it. Highly recommended!

"The Day the Earth Caught Fire" is an intelligently made but incredibly depressing film. The Earth is screwed in this drama. It seems that the US and USSR simultaneously tested nuclear devices and there's been an unforeseen problem...the blasts have affected the Earth's axis. Only later do they realize that the Earth is also now slowly drifting towards the sun. The magnitude of this as well as the possible solution are only discussed late in the film. In between, you see the story unfolding from the viewpoint of a group of reporters. The overall effect is rather realistic as well as super-depressing. While other Earth in peril films have been made, this is earlier and more intelligently made than most. The film has a few minor problems related to special effects but considering when it was made and its budget, the film actually is remarkably good. Certainly not a feel-good movie but one that is very well presented. Some might hate the ending--I thought it quite appropriate and well done, though I did think the social chaos in the film was probably way understated if such a situation ever occurred. Not a crackpot or bug-eyed monster sort of sci-fi film, that's for sure.

Hammer man Val Guest directed this predictable disaster movie, which has the same basic premise as NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT, except on a much grander scale (as portrayed via some choice stock footage). In a way it's a throwback to the '50s atomic monster movies, as the disaster turns out to be the direct result of nuclear testing.

On the plus side there is an intelligent script, which gives realistic impressions of the public's reaction to the news that they may only have days left to live (rioting breaks out in one area of London) and solid performances from Edward Judd as the dashing reporter hero and a youthful-looking Leo McKern (THE OMEN) as a stuffy but friendly newspaper editor. The realism and tension in this film is the best thing about it - but unfortunately, it sometimes becomes too realistic. I would have preferred a little bit more science fiction thrown in.

Unfortunately the excitement is greatly diminished by a dull romance between Judd and Munro, which I could quite happily have done without. Romance has been done a million times before and this time was no different. Also, action fans should look elsewhere, as the only exciting sequence is one where Judd has to rescue his girlfriend from a group of water-crazy teenage delinquents, and one gets knocked down a lift shaft in a comic moment.

There is some interesting (if cheap-looking) effects work from Les Bowie (also from the Hammer stable) to add considerably to things, but in the end the central premise is enough to carry the film through and it's an intelligent speculation of what could happen if we're not careful when dealing with Mother Nature.