When Worlds Collide

 

(1951)
Directed by Rudolph Maté
Written by Sydney Boehm from a novel by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie
Starring Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, John Hoyt, Larry Keaton
IMDB Entry

For decades, Hollywood ignored science fiction. It can probably be traced back to the movie Just Imagine, an attempt at a comedy musical SF films starring the legendary El Brendel. It was expensive and was a major flop, reducing science fiction to Saturday morning Flash Gordon serials for kids. But after the bomb dropped, interest in the genre was renewed and more adult films were attempted. Producer George Pal decided to try it, an hedge his bets by helping to create a new genre: the disaster film. The result was When Worlds Collide.

David Randall (Richard Derr) is a pilot asked to deliver some important photos to astronomer Cole Hendron (Larry Keating). Randall learns that the news is extremely bad:  a rogue star, Bellus, and its accompanying planet, Zyra, are going to crash into Earth.

Hendron goes to the UN to warn them, but he's not believed. He wants to create "arks" to save as many people as he could. He's not believed, but manages to raise money to start the project for one of these. Part of that is getting financing from wheelchair-bound millionaire Sidney Stanton (John Hoyt). They begin work on the ship.  Randall falls in love with Hendron's daughter Joyce (Barbara Rush), which leads to issues. Since not everyone can fit in the ship, a lottery system is set up.

Zyra reaches Earth first, causing tsunamis, volcanoes, and floods.  And there is plenty of interpersonal conflict and issues among the people. It forms the template for a disaster film, even though the genre did not really become a thing for years later.

The special effects were probably top notch for the time, though they pale in comparison to modern effects.  And the movie tries to get the science right. 

Still, the film is a bit slow moving, with a lot of talk about what's going to happen, so it movie is pretty flat in long stretches.  It wasn't as influential as was hoped.*

Chuck Rothman's novel, The Cadaver Princess, the story of body snatchers and evil plots in pre-Victorian London, is available from most online book sellers and to borrow from your local library using the Hoopla app.

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*The second book in the series, After Worlds Collide.