THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1961)

• Director: Val Guest
• Cast: Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern
• Film: 100mins | UK | Subtitles | Intermission
• Event: 18:30 – 21:15 / Doors 18:00 [18+]

BAR TRASH continues our 14th sensational season — TRASH PLANET 3: APOCALYPSE! — with a scorching UK sci-fi thriller about what happens when nuclear testing triggers eco-crisis.

“The INCREDIBLE becomes REAL! The IMPOSSIBLE becomes FACT! The UNBELIEVABLE becomes TRUE!”

“The picture that gives you a front seat to the most jolting events of TOMORROW!”

When the USA and Russia simultaneously test nuclear bombs, the Earth is knocked off its axis and set on a collision course with the sun. As the world burns, a washed-up reporter breaks the story… THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (1961) was directed and co-written by Val Guest (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT) and offers a scorching account of the end of days that feeds into our modern obsessions about ‘deep state’ cover-ups, the failure of authority, and the need to understand and communicate the self-inflicted horrors of climate change in the atomic age.

This was a personal project for Guest, triggered by his interest in emerging scientific evidence that nuclear testing in the Pacific was changing weather patterns around the globe. His film strives for urgency and realism in its newspaper room setting, using the actual Daily Express building in Fleet Street as a location and its one-time IRL editor (Arthur Christiansen) in the same role on screen. This clear-eyed purpose is anchored by an unsympathetic protagonist (Edward Judd) and a restrained use of melodrama as total destruction comes ever closer.

Matte paintings and other practical wizardry vividly convey a world on the brink of crisis as resources diminish and the Earth’s temperature rises. Shot in black and white, we are screening the restored 2014 version which includes tinted sequences at the start and end to suggest the inescapable heat of the sun. This intelligent disaster movie as seen from the newsroom makes a perfect companion piece to X THE UNKNOWN (1956) — shown earlier this season — with common interests in the Earth-bleaching consequences of nuclear testing and another sublime performance from Leo McKern, appearing here as a veteran newspaper journalist, struggling to get the story out.

Polite notice: We are showing THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE with subtitles from the best available digital source.

/// BAR TRASH is a celebration of cult and curious cinema, hosted by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends. Films are served with introductions, intermissions, prize giveaways, and subtitles / captions where possible. Tickets from £3.50 + fees. Adults 18+ only. Follow @tokenhomo on Instagram for updates. ///