

The Day the Earth Caught Fire
1961-11-01 · 98 min · ★ 6.8
British reporters suspect an international cover-up of a global disaster in progress... and they're right. Hysterical panic has engulfed the world after the United States and the Soviet Union simultaneously detonate nuclear devices and have caused the orbit of the Earth to alter, sending it hurtling towards the sun.
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Production details
- Directors
- Val Guest
- Production companies
- Pax Films
- Countries
- United Kingdom
- Status
- Released
Top Cast
Janet MunroJeannie Craig
Leo McKernBill Maguire
Edward JuddPeter Stenning
Michael GoodliffeJacko Jackson the Night Editor
Bernard BradenDavis the News Editor
Reginald BeckwithHarry
Gene AndersonMay
Renée AshersonAngela
Austin TrevorSir John Kelly (uncredited)
Geoffrey ChaterPat Holroyd (uncredited)
Marianne StoneMiss Evans (uncredited)
John DearthDick (uncredited)
Edward UnderdownDick Sanderson (uncredited)
Robin HawdonRonnie (uncredited)
George MerrittSmudge (uncredited)
Verina GreenlawTrixie (uncredited)
Timothy BatesonPrinter (uncredited)Title information and images are supplied by TMDb. Explore our discovery guide for advice on comparing metadata and legal viewing options.
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Recommendations

After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global climate and keep everyone safe. But now, something has gone wrong: the system built to protect Earth is attacking it, and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and everyone along with it.

Dr. Adrian Helmsley, part of a worldwide geophysical team investigating the effect on the earth of radiation from unprecedented solar storms, learns that the earth's core is heating up. He warns U.S. President Thomas Wilson that the crust of the earth is becoming unstable and that without proper preparations for saving a fraction of the world's population, the entire race is doomed. Meanwhile, writer Jackson Curtis stumbles on the same information. While the world's leaders race to build "arks" to escape the impending cataclysm, Curtis struggles to find a way to save his family. Meanwhile, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes of unprecedented strength wreak havoc around the world.

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While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he sets about the business of surviving in a world where, he knows, the old ideals of humanity will be the first casualties.

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A deadly patchwork of destructive cyclones is on an apocalyptic path of convergence at a populated Midwest city center. There, the twisters will merge into one mega tornado that threatens to obliterate the cities for hundreds of miles around.
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