When I choose one of those cheesy 1950s science fiction films, I assume that they will be equal parts camp and horrible script. I can tell you that When Worlds Collide (1951) has plenty of the former, but I find that the latter turned out better than I expected. As the quality of these combined factors dips with these movies gets progressively worse, there is a concomitant rise in the jokes I crack while watching them. I did make a few with this one, to be fair, but far fewer than I anticipated. I also love seeing old school special effects. As I describe the proceedings to you, try to picture how, using the technology available in 1951, they managed to give you a sense of what is happening. The title almost speaks for itself in what it is trying to accomplish. It is literally about two worlds colliding, and unfortunately one of these is Earth. Throw in some Biblical references and you have somewhat of a fan in me.
Those Biblical references come at the beginning of When Worlds Collide. With the opening of an ornate Bible meant to convey the wisdom therein, we are reminded of how God chose Noah to remain from amongst a humanity that had grown corrupt and vile since Creation. I would remind you that this also comes in the first book of Scripture. In more modern times, we have Dr. George Frye (Stephen Chase) making calculations at an observatory in South Africa. His findings are stark. In a distant (but not distant enough) part of the universe, there is a star called Bellus. Orbiting around it is an earth-like planet called Zyra. This all sounds well and good until Dr. Frye reveals that they are on a collision course for Earth. Word needs to be immediately sent to his colleague in New York City, Dr. Cole Hendron (Larry Keating), in order to verify these devastating predictions. The person to take them is the apparently irresistible to women-kind, David Randall (Richard Derr), who is also a pilot. He is given a large sum of money to do so, though is suspicious when Dr. Frye tells him that he will not have long to spend it. David is to deliver the contents of a small piece of luggage directly into Dr. Hendron’s hands. Luckily, the scientist meets David at the airport, along with his beautiful daughter, Joyce Hendron (Barbara Rush). Joyce quickly develops an attraction to David, who just cannot seem to help himself, and this little band heads to Dr. Hendron’s office. There we meet Dr. Tony Drake (Peter Hansen), who is not an astro-physicist, but a medical doctor engaged to Joyce. No matter these evolving social dynamics, Dr. Hendron gets to work right away and is able to prove Dr. Frye correct. Dr. Hendron next takes this terrible news to the United Nations. Some of the countries assembled to hear his testimony listen, but many dismiss what he has to say, citing their own experts on the matter who say there is nothing to fear. Undaunted, he next begins appealing to the private sector, the idea being that they need to do something in order to save what they can of civilization. He proposes essentially constructing a new ark, hence the Bible passage at the beginning, to try to land on Zyra and begin civilization anew. Yet, it is going to take a long time and a lot of money to build. Dr. Hendron is able to convince a few wealthy industrialists to contribute, but he is still short of his goal. This is when he is approached by Sydney Stanton (John Hoyt), perhaps the richest businessman of them all. Though he is confined to a wheelchair, he is insistent on being one of the precious few people to attempt reaching Zyra. He also wants to control the decision as to who goes and stays, but Dr. Hendron draws the line at that point. With everything in place, they begin assembling at the build site. David is there, too, coming along seemingly at Joyce’s behest. Once the news of Earth’s impending destruction had been accepted, by our main characters at least, Dr. Drake asked Joyce to move up their nuptials, saying that they had no more time to waste. She puts him off, with her father’s help, and David is the unstated reason. As such, it makes for some increasingly awkward interactions between David and Dr. Drake, who otherwise get along. Eventually, Dr. Drake sees that he is losing his fiancée to David, and he initially does not take this change in feelings lightly. Indeed, when Zyra passes Earth, triggering a great deal of ecological upheaval, Dr. Drake is ready to fight David. In the wake of the earthquakes, flooding, and other rumblings, they put aside their differences to take aid via helicopter to some stranded people nearby. In the process, they spot a little boy stranded on a rooftop whom they rescue. David jumps down to get the kid in the vehicle, and Dr. Drake makes to leave David behind, but soon circles back for his romantic rival. This all takes place less than two weeks before Bellus is to come and devour the planet. During that time, Dr. Drake has a change of heart, seeing the genuine love that has blossomed in Joyce. Then comes the announcement of the lottery for those who will go on the ship. Certain ones, like Dr. Hendron and Sydney, are automatically going. Seeing how Joyce feels about David, Dr. Hendron announces that this new target of his daughter’s affections will be on board. David feels he has no right to this, and secretly asks Dr. Hendron to exempt him. However, Dr. Drake informs David that the other pilot might not do well recovering from the blackout caused by the launch. Between that and his own tender care for Joyce, David finally accepts his assignment. Then comes the big day, as it were. The survivors are announced, and it is time to launch. Those to be left behind decide to stage a last-minute coup. Dr. Hendron and Sydney, being the last in line, witness an armed mob start to swarm the take off area. To Sydney’s horror, Dr. Hendron, I guess, releases the parking brake and the ship zooms away. After much consternation, they land on Zyra and live relatively happily ever after.
It seems kind of morbid to say that the survivors at the end of When Worlds Collide live happily ever when you consider the billions on Earth who died. You could also quibble about a few science facts that I am sure the movie gets wrong. Finally, and this was an unfortunate sign of the times in which this was made, but there is a glaring lack of people of color amongst those who make it to Zyra. What I focus on is this modern re-telling of Noah, and I would take it over the film of the same name. Still, how similar are these two stories? While there are far more people on the spaceship than are reported to have been on the ark, you do see animals in their stalls, two-by-two. I could nitpick a number of other details, but the general structure of the stories is similar. What is lacking, though, is a sense of the wickedness of humanity in a broader sense. The Bible is pretty clear about humanity’s fallen nature in whatever time elapsed between Adam and Eve and Noah. I am not sure you can say the same thing for how society is portrayed here. There are some villains, to be sure. Sydney clearly has selfish motives for financing the ship, which is in contrast to so many other selfless acts you see by the other characters. All the same, if you want a more specific parallel between our picture and Scripture, David in the immediate aftermath of learning about Earth’s fate is useful. He goes to a fancy dinner club where everyone else is carrying on without a care, while he gets drunk and is lighting cigarettes by burning ten-dollar bills. While it is not accurate to call this an act of despair, it does somewhat jive with Noah’s behavior after deboarding the ark, found in Genesis 9:21-29. He proceeds to get inebriated, lays naked in his tent, and gets angry with his sons for covering his body. This might all seem incidental, but there are several references to Christianity throughout, but without being a faith-based production.
As I said in the introduction, When Worlds Collide is better than I expected. It has its flaws, but it is neat to see how the characters navigate their impending doom. The practical special effects are fun, too. If you have eighty minutes to spare, you might enjoy it as well.
The Legionnaire 