History Film / TheDayTheEarthCaughtFire

The movie is told in {{flashback}} and is set in the aftermath of an atomic bomb disaster: it seems the United States and the Soviet Union conducted near-simultaneous bomb tests on opposite sides of the globe, knocking Earth off its axis. Peter Stenning (Judd), an alcoholic reporter for the ''[[BritishNewspapers Daily Express]]'' in London, is stressing through a messy divorce and is struggling to find a newsworthy story to be taken seriously, although it's down to the sabotaging work of his editors, who are annoyed with his deteriorating attitude. However, Peter manages to get his friend and colleague Bill Maguire ([=McKern=]) to ghostwrite for him.

* LocalHangout: Harry's Bar, which mainly serves a clientele of reporters, patterned after the real-life Fleet Street bar El Vino.

--->'''Jefferson:''' Good evening, sir. Well, the Russians have just about topped everything. Macready got through from Moscow. They held an international press conference, had their top scientists present. They say that those two bangs did more than alter the tilt. They made an eleven-degree shift in our orbit...

* WouldHurtAChild: [[spoiler:Teenage nihilists have a large water party and presumably broke into Jeannie's apartment to steal her water or try and encourage her to join them. Although they haven't attacked her personally, Peter immediately punches two boys -- one of them falls out of a window to their death, implied by a teen's horrified scream when the group goes to check -- and locks the rest of the kids out by shoving a chest of drawers in front of the door.]]

* WouldHitAChild: [[spoiler:Teenage nihilists have a large water party and presumably broke into Jeannie's apartment to steal her water or try and encourage her to join them. Although they haven't attacked her personally, Peter immediately punches two boys -- one of them falls out of a window to their death, implied by a teen's horrified scream when the group goes to check -- and locks the rest of the kids out by shoving a chest of drawers in front of the door.]]

''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' is a 1961 {{BAFTA}}-winning British science fiction film co-written and directed by Creator/ValGuest, starring Edward Judd, Leo [=McKern=], and Janet Munro. It is regarded as one of the best apocalyptic movies to come out of the 1960s and a classic in the genre.

--->'''Jefferson:''' Good evening, sir. Well, the Russians have just about topped everything. [=McCready=] got through from Moscow. They held an international press conference, had their top scientists present. They say that those two bangs did more than alter the tilt. They made an eleven-degree shift in our orbit...

The movie is told in {{flashback}} and is set in the aftermath of an atomic bomb disaster: it seems the United States and the Soviet Union conducted near-simultaneous bomb tests on opposite sides of the globe, knocking Earth off its axis. Peter Stenning (Judd), an alcoholic reporter for the ''[[BritishNewspapers Daily Express]]'' in London, is stressing through a messy divorce and is struggling to find a newsworthy story to be taken seriously, although it's down to the sabotaging work of his editor Jeff Jefferson (Arthur Christiansen), who is annoyed with his deteriorating attitude. However, Stenning manages to get the help from his friend and colleague Bill Maguire ([=McKern=]) to ghostwrite.

News soon hits that the USA and the Soviet Union have activated atomic bombs and Earth begins to drastically change. The Earth's axis shifts, global warming begins to make water evaporate, and governments begin to evacuate cities. Peter is sent to the British Met Office to find out how much the temperature has changed, and he meets typist Jeannie (Munro). The two of them fall in love and help each other look for more information, but it's soon revealed by scientists that Earth's orbit has been altered so severely that it's now moving inexorably toward the Sun...

* CasualDangerDialogue: A variation. After America and the Soviet Union have used their atomic bombs, parts of the globe begin to suffer from after effects. Peter is sent to the Meteorological Office for research, where he has a MeetCute with Jeannie.

* OhCrap: After Jeannie confides to Peter with some of what she's overheard at the Met Office, he shares it with Bill:
-->'''Peter:''' I heard a funny story on my way to the park this morning.
-->'''Bill:''' How funny?
-->'''Peter:''' What's the nutation of the Earth?
-->'''Bill:''' Nutation? Well, it's a slight oscillation on the Earth's axis. It's caused by the pull of the sun and the moon on the Equator.
-->'''Peter:''' It's changed.
-->'''Bill:''' You see, there's a slight bulge on the-- ''[freezes in his tracks and stares at Peter]''
-->'''Peter:''' There's also an item here about axis rotation. There's been an eleven-degree variation, whatever that may be.
-->'''Bill:''' Where'd this come from?
-->'''Peter:''' Never mind where it came from. Translate it.
-->'''Bill:''' It means I was right.
-->'''Peter:''' Well, congratulations.
-->'''Bill:''' They've shifted the tilt of the Earth. The stupid, crazy, irresponsible bastards. They've finally done it.

The movie is told in {{flashback}} and is set in the aftermath of an atomic bomb disaster: it seems the United States and the Soviet Union accidentally conducted near-simultaneous bomb tests on opposite sides of the globe, knocking Earth off its axis. Peter Stenning (Judd), an alcoholic reporter for the ''[[BritishNewspapers Daily Express]]'' in London, is stressing through a messy divorce and is struggling to find a newsworthy story to be taken seriously, although it's down to the sabotaging work of his editor Jeff Jefferson (Arthur Christiansen), who is annoyed with his deteriorating attitude. However, Stenning manages to get the help from his friend and colleague Bill Maguire ([=McKern=]) to ghostwrite.

* OhCrap: Peter shares the secret Met Office information that Jeannie has confided to him with.

News soon hits that the USA and the Soviet Union have activated atomic bombs and Earth begins to drastically change. The Earth's axis stops, global warming begins to make water evaporate, and governments begin to evacuate cities. Peter is sent to the British Met Office to find out how much the temperature has changed, and he meets typist Jeannie (Munro). The two of them fall in love and help each other look for more information, but it's soon discovered by scientists that the Earth's axis is damaged so badly, that its orbit is now moving it inexorably toward the Sun...

News soon hits that the USA and the Soviet Union have activated atomic bombs and Earth begins to drastically change. The Earth's axis stops, global warming begins to make water evaporate, and governments begin to evacuate cities. Peter is sent to the British Met Office to find out how much the temperature has changed, and he meets typist Jeannie (Munro). The two of them fall in love and help each other look for more information, but it's soon discovered by scientists that the Earth's axis is damaged so badly, that the Earth is caught in the sun's gravitational pull...

* ApocalypseAnarchy: Water rationing is imposed as the Earth hurtles toward the Sun. At one point, the protagonist has to fight his way through a street full of teenaged {{Beatnik}}s high on drugs having a water fight. He eventually makes his way to the apartment of his LoveInterest, and they spend a more quiet time together.

* ApocalypseAnarchy: Water rationing is imposed as the Earth hurls toward the Sun. At one point, the protagonist has to fight his way through a street full of teenaged {{Beatnik}}s high on drugs having a water fight. He eventually makes his way to the apartment of his LoveInterest, and they spend a more quiet time together.

-->'''Peter:''' ''[under his breath to Leo]'' This girl's a bigger threat than radiation!

* Continuity Goof: After the detonation of the "Corrective Bombs", Peter leaves Jeannie in the pub while he walks back to the newspaper office to write his story; yet when he gets there he gets her on his intercom to dictate his story, implying that she had got there first.

* AmusementPark: The Battersea Park Fun Fair figures in a couple of scenes.

** Bill has an epic one.

* AndStarring: Edward Judd gets an "and introducing" credit.

* LocalHangout: Harry's Bar, which mainly serves a clientele of Fleet Street reporters.