The Day the Earth Caught Fire
If you’ve never seen The Day the Earth Caught Fire – or if you have, long ago – this DVD is an absolute must.
Simultaneous nuclear tests by America and Russia cause a change in the tilt of the Earth’s axis, resulting in extreme weather and, as the story develops, the possible end of mankind. The extent of the disaster from its cause is perhaps overdone; director and co-writerVal Guest ( Expresso Bongo, Quatermass 2 and much else) sent a copy of the screenplay – which later won a BAFTA – to the then science editor of the Express, Chapman Pincher, who said it was a “riveting story but bloody balls”.
Much of the action is set in the newsroom of the Daily Express, all the more realistic for it being modelled in detail on the genuine article and for the editor being played by Arthur Christiansen, who had once filled the role in real life; the news editor is played by journalist Bernard Braden, who later fronted the consumer programme Braden’s Week, on which a certain Esther Rantzen was a researcher...
The story crackles with energy, both in the newsroom, as journalists battle with deadlines and reluctant sources, and on the streets of London, as the weather becomes more and more unpredictable: heat waves, thick ground fog, floods, hurricanes, fires, the Thames drying up – all superbly done with a mixture of paintings, models and stock footage, long before the days of CGI. The tension builds inexorably.
Of the three lead characters, only one went on to greater things. The science editor Bill McGuire is brilliantly played by Leo McKern, long before his days as Rumpole, and even before his iconic Number 2 in The Prisoner. But although Edward Judd, as the hard-drinking, divorced, failing journalist Peter Stenning, continued in acting for some years, he’s now remembered mainly for a very short public information road safety film, “Think once. Think twice. Think bike!” Stenning’s love interest, Jeannie, who leaks the story of the Earth’s tilt to him, is played by the delightfully gamine Janet Munro (later married to original Avengers actor Ian Hendry), a prolific actress who died 11 years later, aged just 38.
The film is a time-warp; 1961 is more than half a century ago! It’s monochrome, with the opening and closing scenes tinted with a disturbing yellow light. It takes a while to acclimatise to the acting style and accents, perhaps especially Janet Munro’s perfectly modulated voice, and the easy sexism of Stenning and others may shock today’s sensibilities – although Jeannie is more than a match for it, a far stronger female role than in most films of the time.
What else is different? Well, in 1961 the Daily Express was still a real newspaper. All the papers are broadsheets, and stories are written on heavy desk typewriters. But some things haven’t changed much: journalists are cynical, politicians are unbelievable, then as now. As the crisis comes to a climax, the prime minister broadcasts blandly on the radio: “I ask you now to face the future calmly and constructively, remembering that here in Britain at least, the weather is something we are used to coping with.” In contrast, Leo McKern’s Bill McGuirte lambasts “the stupid, crazy, irresponsible bastards” who caused the disaster.
Unusually there is very little incidental music in the film; the quality of the acting and the ever-worsening weather provide sufficient dramatic tension. But music would also have conflicted with the documentary style of filming, which includes footage of a real CND march as well as people queuing for water in London parks.
The DVD is bulging with extras, including a 34-minute appraisal of the film by several critics and a nineminute interview with Leo McKern in what must have been one of his last appearances before his death in 2002. More disturbing are three official films about nuclear weapons and war – from 1952, 1956 and 1962 – which are far more frank about their consequences than would happen today. There’s also a chunky booklet with several fascinating essays.