ben hibburd You maybe familiar with the story, as it has been parodied endlessly in cartoons and other forms of popular culture. An astronomer discovers that the Earth is on a collision course with another star. Despite all the warnings he gives, nobody believes him except for a billionaire tycoon, whose solely invested in his own preservation. Together with pilot David Randall(Richard Derr) and a group of builders, they set about constructing a rocketship that will jettison them to safety on a new planet, and restart the human race.When Worlds Collide is directed by Rudolph Maté, and he does a good job of making the circumstance and story feel real enough that the audience doesn't role their eyes at all the Sci-Fi mumbo jumbo. The film was made In 1951 and won the Oscar for best visual effects, and it's easy to see why. The film looks fantastic in all its technicolor glory. The simplistic design of the ship has helped the ageing of the film, even when it's plain to see the miniature sets and where the rocket is held up by two pieces of string. The film does have a few Issues though. It's essentially a modern take on Noah's Ark, and there are moments where it does get preachy. Also the characters have next too no personality save for the main character played by Richard Derr. This is a very plot driven film, all-most nothing else seems to matter. There are a-lot of dull scenes of people talking in a room that leads nowhere. This unfortunately makes the film more forgettable especially in a time period where Science Fiction was hugely popular.

classicsoncall There were some great science fiction movies coming out of the Fifties, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) and "Forbidden Planet" (1956) are ones that immediately come to mind. Contrary to what a host of reviewers on this board have to say, I don't think this was one of them. With a title like "When Worlds Collide", I expected a bit more colliding in the movie than actually occurred. Most of the story had to do with preparatory work to get ready for the eventual destruction of Earth by a runaway star and it's orbiting planet, or vice versa as the case may be. Inserted into the picture was a romantic triangle of sorts that managed to work itself out over the course of the story, but it's not something I'm interested in watching a sci-fi flick. Don't get me wrong, the movie isn't terrible by any means, for example it doesn't approach "First Spaceship on Venus" territory. But when you have a film that conjures up an image of destruction on a massive scale it ought to deliver something along those lines. If only the script had used the word 'azimuth' in any of the scientific calculations coming out of the differential analyzer, I could have thrown in a bonus point in my rating of the picture. Instead, Dr. Tony Drake (Peter Hansen) had this weird patch of brown in the back of his otherwise full head of black hair. Never mind, those two items cross each other out.

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.

Lee Eisenberg While many sci-fi flicks portrayed alien invasions, Rudolph Maté's "When Worlds Collide" is sort of a precursor to "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon". It depicts a star headed straight for Earth, destined to obliterate the blue planet. So, the world's top minds build a rocket ship to move to the planet circling the star (yeah, can you get more far-fetched?). Meanwhile, the star completely alters Earth's climate (sounds like what's happening now).I noticed that "WWC" co-stars Larry Keating, better known as Roger Addison on "Mister Ed", and Hayden Rorke, better known as Dr. Bellows on "I Dream of Jeannie". Interestingly, many of the "IDOJ" cast members co-starred in movies about possible ends of the world. Barbara Eden co-starred in "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", which depicted global warming long before there was even a concept of it. Larry Hagman co-starred in "Fail-Safe", about the prospect of a nuclear holocaust (the movie was no match for "Dr. Strangelove"). Emmaline Henry co-starred in "Rosemary's Baby".Anyway, "WWC" is a pretty fun movie.