DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE 1961 (ANCHOR BAY)

It has been 7 years since saw this or reviewed it, so I figured it was time to do it all again.

As I write this the temp is well over 100 degrees and so this is a fitting film.

Edward Judd stars as a reporter on a small English newspaper named Peter Stenning. He's divorced and enjoys spending time with his small son when he gets the time. While working for the paper he and his co-workers are informed that both the US and Russia have set off nuclear bombs on opposite poles of the earth.

Soon after stories come in of powerful earthquakes, cyclones and heat from around the world. Stennings meets a beautiful switchboard operator named Jeannie Craig and the spend a lot of time together. As Peter and Jeannie get serious more and more reports come in and London is hit with a mysterious fog that stops all traffic on the ground and in the air and that is followed by a cyclone.

It is discovered thru Jeannie that scientists have discovered that the Earth has been titled off it's axis by 11 degrees and it's heading towards the sun. Riots and other problems break out world wide and everyone finds themselves praying and hoping Earth will survive. Scientists are going to set off blasts at both poles again in the hopes of correcting the issue.

The movie starts at the end and we see what has happened via flashbacks. The movie ends with the viewer not knowing if the final plan is going to work or not. It's a bleak film, but very well done and acted. Val Guest handles the directing chores in his usual perfect style.

I did realize that the film really has no music track to speak of, and that helps a lot, much like in "The Birds". Judd gets an "introducing" credit even though he'd been acting for about 13 years before this film came out. Gorgeous Janet Munro is always a pleasure to watch and she does an excellent job while at the same time looking quite fetching in her attire.

The rest of the cast includes Leo McKern as the newspaper science reporter, Michael Goodliffe and Austin Trevor. This came out on DVD in 2001 and has never had a re-issue or an upgrade. Hopefully soon. RECOMMENDED!!