Producer George Pal produced some of best science
fiction epics of the 1950’s including DESTINATION MOON, CONQUEST OF
SPACE, and the landmark WAR OF THE WORLDS, which in my opinion has yet
to be topped. In 1951, Pal produced another Sci-Fi saga, WHEN WORLDS
COLLIDE, the first Hollywood movie that intelligently chronicles the
Earth’s destruction. Pal assembled quite a cast for his apocalyptic
vision, including Richard (TERROR IS A MAN) Derr, Barbara (IT CAME FROM
OUTER SPACE) Rush, Alden (THE BLOB) Chase, and John (ATTACK OF THE
PUPPET PEOPLE) Hoyt. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is not a perfect film by any
means, but it was a solid piece of science fiction filmmaking that is
undone by the dated effects and flat direction of Rudolf Mate, a former
cinematographer. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is often imitated, but never
duplicated. Even modern re-tellings of the movie like DEEP IMPACT and
ARMAGEDDON (which replace the runaway planet with giant asteroids) have
failed to recapture the wonder of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. Paramount Home
Video releases the movie on DVD in 2001, fifty years are it debuted in
American cinemas.
A South African observatory calculates that a
Jupiter-size star, called Bellus, with an orbiting planet is on a
collision course with Earth. Central character Dave Randall (Richard
Derr), a professional courier who chases women in his spare time (and
sometimes even on the job), carries the documentation to the U.S. where
the findings are confirmed by Dr. Cole Hendron (Larry Keating); Randall
somehow gets pulled into Hendron's survival project and also into a
serious relationship with Hendron's daughter Joyce (Barbara Rush). Most
astronomers discount the findings (the computers of the day--they're
called differential analyzers--are slow and clunky), and the
public doesn't believe Hendron until it’s too late. However,
millionaire Sydney Stanton (John Hoyt) does believe him, and finances
the construction of a spaceship that will carry 40 people and some
plants and animals to the new planet Zyra before Earth is destroyed by
Bellus. Dr. Hendron and his team recruit hundreds of hopefuls to build
the space ark that is to take the last bastion of humanity to the stars.
To be fair to all, Dr. Hendron offers a lottery to the workers to
randomly select who will make the trip. However, when Zyra passes by the
Earth, our planet is thrown into chaos. Earthquakes, tidal waves, and
volcanoes kill thousands. These catastrophes also jeopardize the
construction of the space ark! Dr. Hedron and his team must scramble to
put things right, because Bellus will arrive in a matter of days…
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is a good movie that could
have been great. The pieces are there for a blockbuster science fiction
epic. The movie has solid Sci-Fi concepts and intelligence. It has a
good cast and decent characterizations. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE also
features some fine George Pal visuals. Yet, the pacing languishes at a
snail’s pace. The melodrama is hokey, and some of the human
relationships don’t completely hold water. For instance, the three way
love triangle between Richard Derr, Barabara Rush, and Peter Hanson does
not complement the catastrophic nature of WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE. Usually
these 3 way relationships work in movies because the hero steals away
the bad guy’s girl. But Hanson’s character is also a good guy,
rendering this point moot. The secondary characters are completely
unreal the movie as well. These people help construct the giant space
ark, but never do they crack or even pause to consider their fates. When
the survivors arrive on the new planet, they don’t even stop to mourn
the loss of their loved ones back home. Some of the special effects are
impressive, such as the construction of the space ark and the
destruction of New York city (all rendered with miniatures). Pal does
not even show the climatic collision (thereby saving a huge portion of
the budget). Some scenes including the matte paintings of the planet
Lyra leave must to be desired. Problems aside, George Pal does a
marvelous job of imbuing spectacle into the film, and creating an
overall sense of doom.
WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE is presented in the original
ratio of 1.33.1. The movie was shot before CinemaScope was perfected. No
picture information is missing from Paramount’s transfer. The contrast
and coloring are superb, which allows the Technicolor palette to
saturate the image. The source print used for the transfer is in great
condition, considering the 50-year age of this film. There are moments
when the image becomes overly grainy. The transfer allows the details of
the special effects miniatures to be marveled at. This easily rivals
Paramount’s WAR OF THE WORLDS disc for color, clarity, and depth. The
sound is Dolby Digital Mono 2.0. This mono soundtrack is free from hiss,
drop-outs, and distortion. Paramount obviously spent some time cleaning
up the vintage soundtrack. I’ve never heard a mono presentation that
offers as much bass. This is great to behold during the destruction
scenes, and when the rocket takes off and lands. The only extra on the
disc is the original trailer. It too is full frame, color, mono, and
runs 1:59. The trailer looks fully restored, much like the feature.
For all it’s weaknesses, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
offers a serious and thought provoking examination of the end of Earth.
While our home planet fries in the anticlimactic conclusion, the picture
does offer an ending that hints at a bright future. This movie is not
completely downbeat, much like the bleak ending of ON THE BEACH. The
dramatic elements and pacing suffer (like most 1950’s features), but
George Pal provides a sense of awe in chronicling the last days of
Earth. Pal also hints at religious overtones like he does with most of
his films (remember the ending of WAR OF THE WORLDS?). Paramount
releases an excellent DVD presentation that captures the flair of the
original theatrical presentation. I can’t wait to see more titles from
Paramount’s deep back catalog.
WHEN
WORLDS COLLIDE is available from DVDEmpire.com
