Crack in the World is directed by Andrew Marton and written by Jon Manchip White and Julian Halevy. It stars Dana Andrews, Janette Scott, Kieron Moore, Alexander Knox, Peter Damon and Jim Gillen. Music is scored by Johnny Douglas and cinematography by Manuel Berenguer.
Dr. Steven Sorenson (Andrews) plans to tap the energy magma source deep in the Earth's interior by exploding a nuclear device down in the core. In spite of desperate warnings by fellow scientist Ted Rampian (Moore) that it will cause a disaster, Sorenson proceeds after getting the backing of his superiors. The experiment causes a crack to form in the Earth's crust, which starts to escalate and threatens to split the Earth in two. Can the scientists come up with something to avert the catastrophe they have created?
The science might be hokey but the premise is a "cracker" in what seems to be the forgotten film of the sci-fi/disaster movie splinters. Much time is afforded to human interactions and discussions of the science involved, and of course the repercussions of man's inherent need to tamper with the world we live in. When the effects come they are excellent, aiding the drama considerably, there's even a bit of model work that nods back to a time when such a thing was a staple of genre movies. There's a tension fuelled love triangle going on between the three main protagonists, and one of them is ill, very ill, this adding spice to the human drama as the world starts to come apart. The clock ticks down and as the jeopardy rises so does the excitement, leaving us with a tense finale that rounds the film out as a more than worthy film for genre fans to enjoy. 7/10
Dr. Steven Sorenson (Andrews) plans to tap the energy magma source deep in the Earth's interior by exploding a nuclear device down in the core. In spite of desperate warnings by fellow scientist Ted Rampian (Moore) that it will cause a disaster, Sorenson proceeds after getting the backing of his superiors. The experiment causes a crack to form in the Earth's crust, which starts to escalate and threatens to split the Earth in two. Can the scientists come up with something to avert the catastrophe they have created?
The science might be hokey but the premise is a "cracker" in what seems to be the forgotten film of the sci-fi/disaster movie splinters. Much time is afforded to human interactions and discussions of the science involved, and of course the repercussions of man's inherent need to tamper with the world we live in. When the effects come they are excellent, aiding the drama considerably, there's even a bit of model work that nods back to a time when such a thing was a staple of genre movies. There's a tension fuelled love triangle going on between the three main protagonists, and one of them is ill, very ill, this adding spice to the human drama as the world starts to come apart. The clock ticks down and as the jeopardy rises so does the excitement, leaving us with a tense finale that rounds the film out as a more than worthy film for genre fans to enjoy. 7/10