Terror Filled Mondays!

This week, Terror Filled Mondays takes on a wider scope. Most of the films so far have dealt with terror on a smaller scale but, there’s no denying the horror of a planet-wide catastrophe.

The ship’s construction is a race against time as doomsday approaches. Groups in other nations also begin building ships. As time begins running out, formerly-skeptical scientists admit that Hendron’s group was right about doomsday, and governments prepare for the inevitable.

As the appointed day of annihilation draws closer, the ship is loaded with food, microfiche copies of books, equipment, and animals. Approximately fifty passengers are selected by lottery, but Randall refuses to take part, believing that he has no useful skills to contribute. However, Drake tricks him into joining the crew by inventing a medical condition for the pilot, making a backup necessary. The cynical Stanton, having bought weapons to defend the base, becomes more anxious as time passes.

This movie is one of George Pal’s great contributions to the genre and though I haven’t seen it in awhile I have to imagine it holds up against some current fare. Certainly I’ve seen a couple of Discovery Channel and History Channel shows that deal with the exact same subject matter. Even the flicks Armageddon and Deep Impact mined the same subject matter but, When Worlds Collide is the one that started it all!