When Worlds Collide

Never an honest-to-goodness science fiction movie, this George Pal production looks and sounds more like a series of Sunday school classes. “When Worlds Collide”, an apocalyptic tale adapted from the 1932 novel of the same name co-written by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, offers a sort of contemporary rehash of the Biblical Noah’s ark story (“And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt”). This time, humanity (so to speak… actually just a handful of people) is forced to embark on a new life on a heavenly body. Clearly, most of the characters’ actions are neatly pigeonholed into various aspects of Christian doctrine (theological virtues, Ten Commandments, etc.), which is so constraining as to completely invalidate any realistic psychological depiction. Absent that, we’re left with a consistent, continuous bombardment of dubious praise and condemnation.

At the end of the day, when we take a cold, rational look at the wealthy Stanton, an irascible embodiment of human conceit, his motivations and conduct seem far more logical than those of the “philanthropic” Dr. Hendron. After all, Stanton’s financial support did make the ark possible, and his deal with the lead scientist provided for his presence on board. What right does Hendron have to unilaterally break that agreement? And, more broadly, what right does he have to decide who will be allowed onto the ship, presumably to live, and who must stay behind on Earth to die? (His lottery is revealed to be an elaborate sham.) These are reasonable questions that even “messenger boy” David Randall echoes (“I can give you a dozen reasons why I shouldn’t go. Can you give me one good reason to include me“). Hendron replies by invoking his daughter’s emotional well-being (“She [Joyce] wants you, Dave“).

What is there to say about the improbable love triangle or the tag-along kid who convinces the pilot to let his pet dog onto the jam-packed spacecraft at the expense of some chickens already onboard (by what criterion is a dog more valuable than two hens? An emotional yardstick?).

From a technical point of view, Maté’s film holds its own (it won an Oscar for best special effects), but otherwise the film certainly hasn’t aged well.