Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 1 November 1951 by Paramount Pictures Corporation. New York opening at the Globe (sic): 6 February 1952. U.S. release: November 1951. U.K. release: 15 October 1951 (sic). Australian release: 21 December 1951. Sydney opening as first atraction at Paramount's now long demolished "Prince Edward" (ran three weeks). 82 minutes. SYNOPSIS: As the Earth approaches Doomsday, a space "ark" is hastily constructed to transport a few elite survivors to a neighboring planet.NOTES: Winner of the award for Best Special Effects from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Also nominated for Color Cinematography, but lost out to An American in Paris. Although Paramount expected a repeat of the commerical success enjoyed by Eagle-Lion's Destination Moon, they were disappointed. True, the movie garnered enough domestic revenue to make a modest 50% profit on its million-dollar negative cost, but overseas the picture barely recouped advertising, print and distribution expenses. In Australia, Paramount's top money-spinners for 1951 were (in order): Here Comes the Groom, Samson and Delilah (including road show receipts), A Place in the Sun, The Lemon Drop Kid and My Favorite Spy. COMMENT: Despite its disappointing fade-out on an obvious backdrop, I enjoyed this Pal sci-fi entry which boasts a skillfully plotted and well-characterized screenplay plus a number of ingratiating performances, in addition to its obligatory (and often most effective) special effects. I thought Richard Derr (whose movie career surprisingly never really took off) most attractively personable as the lead, while Larry Keating and John Hoyt seized their opportunities to make the most of the best roles they were ever handed. Also to be thoroughly commended: Paramount's pleasant "Golden Circle" players, Peter Hanson (sic) and Barbara Rush. Character actor Frank Cady has a stand-out cameo too, and I liked the air of quiet authority Stephen Chase so suitably brought to his Dean Frey. Keen-eyed fans will also zero in on Mary Murphy as a prominent student at the plant and Stuart Whitman in a brief innings as a reluctant rebel. Director Rudy Maté keeps the movie simmering at an agreeable pace which makes such admirably short work of its action-packed 82 minutes, most viewers will feel inclined to watch it through again. Interestingly, although the movie repeats the Destination Moon criticism of President Truman's allegedly supine, dilatory and disinterested administration, this element is actually downplayed in When Wortlds Collide by comparison to the many overt and direct frontal attacks in Moon. Needless to say, no mention at all is made of the movie's strong political bias on the Destination Moon DVD jacket. Paramount, however, to my surprise, have really highlighted this same aspect-a minor one in Collide-on their liner notes! What makes this one-sided write-up even more astonishing is that in the film itself writer Sydney Boehm goes to a great deal of trouble to deflect this criticism and get the government off the hook. He even stages a long and almost wholly extraneous scene in the United Nations-a scene which has no equivalent in the Wyler-Balmer novel-for precisely this purpose. AVAILABLE on DVD through Paramount. Quality rating: Ten out of ten.

storyguide-axel Astronomers predict that a world (or rather a sun) will collide with Earth, destroying everything – effectively wiping out the human race. This world/sun is Bellus, but before that happens, another planet, Zyra, will pass close by earth. This near-collision will result in earthquakes and tsunamis.Dave Randall (Richard Derr), a rogue and pilot, is paid to take the secret information of earth's doom to London, to scientists that are going to verify the terrible information. The information turns out to be correct and the scientists start to plan their escape from earth. They hope that it is possible to fly into space and land on Zyra, which will (hopefully) be suitable for humans.Randall suddenly finds himself in the middle of this whole affair, in love with the daughter of one of the scientists. This may also be his ticket aboard the ship to Zyra. However, Randall may be a rogue, but he also has a conscience. When it is time to choose which 40 people will make the journey, Randall gives up his seat. He does not feel that he has earned the right, that there are other more worthy people to take the seat.This might be so, but when the time comes to leave earth, Randall finds an unlikely ally that may help him out in the hour of need…When Worlds Collide is an old movie. It certainly has a story that it wish to explore, but with today's knowledge, the thought of a planet (or maybe even two) crashing into earth seems… ludicrous. Sure, a comet, asteroid or even a meteor would have been fine, but two planets passing through earth's orbit within a month… I don't think so. Of course, I am not a scientist nor an astronomer.I know this movie was made in a different time, but I can't help but wonder about the reactions of the people when they hear that earth is doomed. I would have thought that people would panic, but they don't, only in the very last second when Bellus is within a stone's throw. Sure, they might not believe in the information, but they must when the big red thing gets closer. To destroy earth is a pretty reckless thing, I don't think a little emotion is too much to ask.Another thing that really annoyed me. The ending. I don't mind the people reaching Zyra, nor that the planet is suitable for humans. What really annoys me was the use of a painted landscape. This might not have looked fake back in 1951 (although I think it did, unless the movie was in black and white originally), but it does today and when the landscape looks distinctly like earth, I can't help but wonder if they couldn't have found a real location somewhere, like in Asia? I won't even comment on the strange climate zones on Zyra (heavy snow and then 50 ft. away… a beautiful green meadow).Was there nothing that I liked in this movie? There certainly was. The character of Dave Randall, for one. He feels real and seems disturbed by the thought of dying in so young age. He acts cool, but also human when disaster strikes. I also liked the pace of the movie. Strangely enough, the movie does keep you entertained, maybe for the wrong reasons (the movie is quite funny), but still.As far as references go, there is a scene where New York is flooded, which reminded me of The Day After Tomorrow (Roland Emmerich, 2004), but also of 2012 (Roland Emmerich, 2009), where the humans built an ark of their own, only this one isn't supposed to leave earth. Of course the last is a biblical reference.Lastly, I just saw that they are working on a new When Worlds Collide movie which is supposed to hit the cinemas in 2012. I can only hope that it is better than the original.

tomgillespie2002 Though the great space race between America and the U.S.S.R. was still a number of years away, the fact that space travel was a real possibility fuelled audiences desire for sci-fi that was rooted in scientific theory. I emphasise the word theory as the science behind the Golden Age of sci-fi was generally rather loopy, though the films were happy to make heroes of scientists. They were no more self-isolated lunatics cooking up destructive experiments or digging up corpses to make a monster, but wise, goateed intellectuals, or square-jawed protégées capable of saving humanity from any potential threats. Of course, the 1950's mainly gave us rubber-suited aliens or giant, mutated monsters, but there were a few directors and producers that were aiming to give the audience a more satisfying, thoughtful experience, such as Rudolph Mate's When Worlds Collide.After scientists discover that there are a pair of rogue planets hurtling towards Earth, pilot David Randall (Richard Derr) is given the task of delivering the information to New York for further research. When Dr. Cole Hendron (Larry Keating) confirms the fear, the news is brought to the attention of the United Nations, where they are laughed out as crackpots. It is believed that the first planet will pass so close to the Earth, it will cause devastating damage, only return from its orbit of the Sun to destroy Earth completely. With the help of Sydney Stanton (John Hoyt), who provides the funds, Hendron and his colleagues begin work on a spacecraft that will transport a small band of survivors to the second planet, which they believe is habitable and will remain on a stable orbit.Rather than giving us special-effects filled set-pieces or killer aliens, When Worlds Collide entirely focuses on humanity's reaction to potential catastrophe. The story is an obvious parable of Noah's Ark, with God venting his fury upon the Earth he saw as fallen into sin, and this theme comes to fruition near towards the end as a lottery-system is drafted to choose who stays and who goes, with the inevitable violent rebellion of those facing death. This harsh depiction of the human race was the most intriguing idea the film had, which makes it sad that the film-makers failed to capitalise on it, instead focuses on a dull love story between Randall, Hendron's daughter Joyce (Barbara Rush) and Dr. Tony Drake (Peter Hansen).The film was successful and went to be hugely influential in the genre, but it is held back from being anything great by some gaping plot-holes, lazy plot devices, and some erratic special effects. It took home to Academy Awards for Special Effects, but the new world reveal at the climax is a rather hastily painted backdrop, ruining any sense of wonder the ending may have provided. There is plenty of fun to be had with When Worlds Collide and gave many future writers and directors to think about, but producer George Pal funded better and more satisfying sci-fi in The War of the Worlds (1953) and The Time Machine (1960).www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

froberts73 The box from the film features 2 rave reviews about this talk-talk mess. One is from the Apollo Movie Guide. (?) The other from a respected sci-fi publication.Granted, it was filmed at a time when 3 for a nickel sci-fi flicks were being mass produced, but many of them were still fun and somewhat exciting to watch.This one was cheesier than a Kraft outlet, a world populated by so-so actors, with the exception of Richard Derr, who I found interesting to watch. I would have thought he would be a bigger name.The pseudo-intellectual conversations sounded like a pie-eyed politician trying to impress his constituents with his knowledge.Technically, the film was nowhere. The flood scenes? They looked like somebody filled a tub and put in some miniature buildings. The water was stirred with a big spoon.I sat through it but, after I send off this review, it will be tossed in the trash can.I won't have to worry about who lives or dies. The movie was dead after the titles came on.Yuck!!