StuOz Very early disaster movie about a crack in the earth.What needs to remembered here is that this came BEFORE the disaster movies of the 1970s (Earthquake, The Towering Inferno, The Swarm, etc) and you have to wonder just how much of this film was copied by Irwin Allen and others. The music of the film has what now seems like rather routine "disaster music", but back then, the opening score would have been like nothing nobody had heard before. Think about it.Crack In The World is a wonderfully scripted, acted, filmed, scored, epic that deserves more attention than it gets. Maybe the average science in the plot is the reason it does not get talked about a lot these days?

bkoganbing What begins as a scientific disagreement ends with an event having importance for the solar system we live in. Drs. Dana Andrews and Kieron Moore a pair of well known physicists are working on a project that would crack the earth's crust. The idea is to have a controlled flow of magma from the center of the earth from which humankind can extract the mineral wealth it needs and have a never ending heating supply. Andrews wants to drop a missile with an atomic warhead down a shaft. He feels it will bore a hole allowing for a controlled flow. Moore however thinks the explosion will shatter the crust because of the underground atomic testing that's been done. Guess who turns out to be right?In addition to their scientific disagreements Andrews and Moore are romantic rivals as well. Janette Scott who is married to Andrews once was going out with Moore who still has a yen for her. I'm not sure of the physics or the geology that we are given in Crack In The World, but this is a well done science fiction drama spiced with a little romantic rivalry. A Crack In The World does form and threatens to dismember the planet itself.Well we're still here and if you want to see the miracle that saves the Earth then see Crack In The World. Good indication there is a ruling power out there.

MartinHafer While this is not the sort of movie I usually like to watch, I sought it out for one reason--Dana Andrews. While he's not especially famous today, Andrews was a wonderfully realistic and solid actor who never seemed to get his due--even though he made a ton of films--many of which were terrific (such as "Laura", "The Ox-Bow Incident" and "The Best Years of Our Lives"). Part of this might be because of his rather ordinary looks and perhaps part of this might be his own fault, as later in his career he wasn't exactly choosy about the roles he took--with appearances in schlock films like "The Frozen Dead". Whatever the reasons, even his disappointments feature him doing his best and putting in one great acting performance after another. I just marvel at his professionalism and seemingly effortless acting and would watch him in anything.Andrews plays a very flawed scientist. Because he is dying and wants to make a name for himself, he has decided to try a risky experiment--one that his co-worker thinks might cause a chain-reaction that could rip the planet apart. At first, the experiment seems to have worked, but by shooting a nuclear bomb into the Earth and releasing magma, the integrity of the planet has been compromised. Earthquakes and tsunamis begin and it appears as if eventually the Earth will crumble apart. In a last-ditch effort to avert this disaster, a wacky plan involving blowing up a volcano to relieve pressure is planned. Will this work or is mankind royally screwed?! This movie is reasonably well done technically, though a few scenes are a tad clumsy when it came to special effects. As for the plot and acting, they are all fair--worth seeing, perhaps, but it's far from a must-see and really only a pretty good time-passer.

ShadeGrenade 'Crack in The World' used to play a lot on '70's British television, but has been strangely invisible for years now. My copy was taped off Sky about 1994! It is a gripping sci-fi thriller based loosely on the 'Mo-Hole Project'; American scientists once attempted to drill to the Earth's core, but abandoned the idea ( for reasons that are still shrouded in mystery ). Another source of inspiration could be the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle short story 'When The World Screamed'.Dr.Stephen Sorenson ( Dana Andrews ) is head of 'Project Inner Space', a plan to ( you guessed it ) drill to the Earth's magma core and tap the limitless energy there. To break through the outer shell, he proposes firing a nuclear missile. Dead against the scheme is Dr.Ted Rampion ( Keiron Moore ) who believes said missile will in fact shatter the shell, causing red-hot magma to pour into the sea. Rampion attempts to get the British Government to withdraw support, but it is too late - the missile is launched.Initially it appears that the project is a success, but then tremors and other disturbances are reported. Rampion's worst fears are confirmed - the explosion has opened a fissure in the Earth's crust, meaning it is only a matter of time before it widens sufficiently to literally break the entire world in half...This is a disaster movie before the term was coined; the special effects are good ( for the time ), particularly the volcano sequence and the train crash. Andrews turns in his usual block of wood performance, but then disaster movies are not about great acting in any case. Keiron Moore and Janette Scott ( Thora Hird's daughter, incidentally ) previously worked together in the 1963 film of 'Day Of The Triffids' ( they were that young couple trapped in the lighthouse ). Again neither turn in Oscar-worthy performances ( Scott seeming to have strayed out of another movie ). What bogs the film down is the soppy sub plot involving Scott and Moore; their characters had once been an item apparently and events give them an excuse to get together again. Luckily for them Dr.Sorenson is terminally ill and so won't pose much of a threat to their happiness.For most of the time, 'Crack In The World' is tense, frightening stuff. Director Andrew Marton was partly responsible for 'The Longest Day'. When the missile goes down the bore hole you will finding yourself shouting at the screen: "You stupid idiots! You've just destroyed the world!". The film was made before the 'tectonics plates' theory was formed, meaning that a crack like the one here could never in fact destroy the world, they are continually appearing in the Earth's surface. The ending - in which a chunk of the Earth defies the laws of gravity and becomes a new Moon - does not bear close scrutiny. Five years after it was made, the plot was ripped off by 'Dr.Who' for the seven-part story 'Inferno', starring Jon Pertwee, which threw in werewolves and parallel universes for good measure.The 'Project Inner Space' scheme is so mad, so monstrously insane that one day I expect someone will attempt to do if for real. I hope I won't be around then.