When Worlds Collide
Director: Rudolph
Maté
Year: 1951
Rating: 7.0
Well,
it was a nice run Earth, but all good things have to come to an end. Sure,
we fucked up our planet but then there was Mozart, Dickens, Peking Opera
Blues, the Kinks, The Best Years of Our Lives and Ella Fitzgerald's Bewitched,
Bothered and Bewildered to partially make up for it. When that time comes
and they have to decide who to send into outer space, I wonder if a 70-year
old with no discernible skills other than being able to talk about movies
will be in the running. I would love to make it to another planet to start
all over again. That is the premise of this terrific George Pal production
directed by Rudolph Maté, who had left Poland in the mid-1930s to
work in Hollywood. Pal was of course one of the leading pioneers along with
Harryhausen in creating special effects in his films. Though I saw a review
that called the effects here embarrassingly bad, I beg to differ. I think
they are wonderful - some great modeling, laser like colors and the scenes
of the world's disasters - volcanoes, floods were impressive for its time.
Except perhaps for this final shot which is pretty dreadful.
Scientists in South Africa have determined
that the giant star Bellus is headed right for Mother Earth and tagging along
with it is the planet Zyra. They message their findings to New York to be
verified in the hands of pilot Randell (Richard Derr). Randell is a babe
magnet - when we first see him, he is in the cockpit with a blonde practically
in his lap. Then on the flight over, the hostess gives him a "my room number"
look. When he meets the daughter of the top scientist in NY, she drops her
fiancé like a hot ball of cobalt and hooks on to Randell. Joyce is
played by Barbara Rush who gives her role way more sex appeal than an end
of the world scenario should have had. But hormones are hormones. The Professor
(Larry Keating, a familiar face from the Burns and Allen and Mr. Ed Show)
confirms the findings. Oops - we have a few months to live. Buckle up, it
is going to be a bumpy ride.
He takes his findings to the U.N. and as
usual they can't agree - boo France - and then Congress who laughs at him.
"Next you are going to tell us the climate is changing". He gets sponsorship
from a few wealthy men to build a spaceship that will take them to Zrya -
though they have no idea if it is habitable. Only 40 people can make the
trip. An Arc. First the planet goes by, causing immense damage and then the
star is days away. Who will go, who will have to stay and die. I will bring
all my digital movie files, if you let me come. Some relationship drama slows
the film down and you have to wonder what the hell are people thinking about
- the world will be gone in a week and you are jealous? It's all gone. Thousands
of years of civilization will vanish in a second. This being 1951, the forty
were all white, equally divided between hunky men and attractive women and
I would guess all Christians. This is based on a book written in 1933 and
interestingly it had a sequel about life on the planet and how they begin
to fuck it up again. You can't take the human out of humanity.
