646f9e108c South African bush pilot and carefree ladies man Dave Randall finds he has been let in on the greatest and most terrible secret in the world when an eminent astronomer pays him to deliver some mysterious photos from to an equally prominent colleague in the U.S. The recipient, Dr. Hendron, confirms the awful findings of the sender: the star Bellus will collide with Earth, destroying our planet. Despite widespread disbelief, Marston and Spiro, a pair of millionaire philanthropists, give Dr. Hendron all their assets to begin construction on a huge rocket ship that will, at least theoretically, transport a nucleus of survivors to Zyra, a planet which orbiting Bellus that may or may not be habitable. The funds aren't enough to complete the spaceship, and Dr. Hendron solicits a contribution from elderly wheelchair-bound tycoon Sydney Stanton, a wheelchair-bound old man who, unlike the selfless Marston and Spiro, demands a place on the rocket, even though space and weight will be too precious for anyone but young, skilled men and women. Even as doomsday approaches, Randall is surprised to find himself in a love triangle with Dr. Hendron's daughter and her fiancé. Humanity is in peril, and only a modern-day Noah's ark, and the continued need of a man for a woman, can save it. What would happen if a rogue planet flew into our solar system and slammed into the Earth? That question is answered in this apocalyptic sci-fi tale. An astronomer discovers an object that has just entered the solar system. His calculations show him it's big and headed straight for the Earth. The only problem is convincing the rest of the world. The crisis brings out the best and worst in humanity. Even though its visuals have dated somewhat since its original release back in 1951, "When Worlds Collide" is still an interesting "End-of-the-World" Sci-Fi fable, no matter what anybody says to the contrary.<br/><br/>Brilliant scientist, Dr. Cole Hendron tries to convince a doubting world that Earth is in the direct path of a rogue planet called Bellus that's about the size of our Sun. And a collision with it is inevitable.<br/><br/>With no time to lose, wealthy financier, Sydney Stanton orders the immediate construction of a giant spaceship to transport selected survivors safely to a distant planet known as Zyra.<br/><br/>A world lottery is held in order to determine who is to travel to Zyra on this astounding spacecraft.<br/><br/>The special effects (which includes the submersion of Manhattan) won an Oscar for this impressive, technicolor, "George Pal" production.<br/><br/>Just convince yourself that "When Worlds Collide" could really happen and I guarantee that you'll enjoy this throughly entertaining picture from start to finish. The Earth is set to collide with another planet in about a year. A huge team of scientists and technicians race against time to complete a spaceship to save some of the population.<br/><br/>The acting is pretty bad; the dialogue is on a comic strip level; the science is laughable, the blank reactions of people that the Earth is about to be destroyed are funny and the special effects are–ummmmm–interesting but I still liked it. It runs quickly (85 minutes), is very colorful (hopefully you'll see a good Technicolor print) and everybody takes the silly premise very seriously. Also I liked the special effects. They're VERY obvious but kind of fun to watch. <br/><br/>This is not a great sci-fi film by any means but it is a fun example of the sci-fi films of the 50s. Worth seeing.
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