6.3
When a group of astronomers calculate a star is on a course to slam into Earth, a few days before, it's accompanying planet will first pass close enough to the Earth to cause havoc on land and sea. They set about building a rocket so a few selected individuals can escape to the planet.
Richard Derr
David Randall
Barbara Rush
Joyce Hendron
Peter Hansen
Dr. Tony Drake
John Hoyt
Sydney Stanton
Larry Keating
Dr. Cole Hendron
Rachel Ames
Julie Cummings
Stephen Chase
Dr. George Frye
Frank Cady
Harold Ferris
Hayden Rorke
Dr. Emery Bronson
Sandro Giglio
Dr. Ottinger
Kirk Alyn
Rioter Bringing Guns (uncredited)
James Congdon
Eddie Garson (uncredited)
Gertrude Astor
Traveler (uncredited)
Robert Chapman
Student (uncredited)
Gene Collins
Newsdealer (uncredited)
Marcel De La Brosse
Headwaiter (uncredited)
Estelle Etterre
Traveler (uncredited)
Paul Frees
Narrator/U.S. President (voice)
Gay Nelson
Leda (uncredited)
Edna Smith
Mary Murphy
Student
Director
Rudolph Maté
Novel
Philip Wylie
Novel
Edwin Balmer
Screenplay
Sydney Boehm
July 1, 2019
5
"Suggest we fly to another world"
Whilst I wholeheartedly agree with other amateur reviewers on line that stress you have to put yourself back to 1951 to appreciate the film more, it still doesn't take away from the fact that the film is one of the poorer offerings from the disaster/sci-fi genre of years gone by.
The methodical build up of characters is fine for adding weight to the final reel, the effects are solid for the time, and the ending has an element of heart tugging hope to it, but the film still remains a drawn out laborious watch.
No amount of shouting about lack of budget and the time frame of its birth can't detract that the film over relies on heavy dialogue to keep the viewer interested. This is all well and good if the pay off is handsome in the extreme, which sadly isn't the case on this occasion.
I have taken myself back to 1951, and for that reason alone I give it the average rating of 5/10, while I certainly have no hesitation in recommending this to genre fans for at least one watch. It deserves to be looked at, and it deserves respect of course, but that doesn't mean it's particularly above average either.
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$936,000.00
Revenue:
$1,600,000.00