‘The Day the Earth Caught Fire’ Sci-Fi Rocket Matinee

The Day The Earth Caught Fire (1961) is one of the best sci-fi apocalyptic movies ever made, and one with eerie echoes of today’s science. The Earth is warming up, getting closer to the sun, and nuclear bomb tests are sealing our doom. Leave to our journalistic heroes (Edward Judd, Leo McKern) to get the story and tell the people what is really going on. An unusually absorbing script and superb cast (including a young Michael Caine for about five seconds) make this an excellent Rocket Sci-Fi matinee.