kevinolzak Review of Day the World Ended

Day the World Ended (1955)

Early Corman sets the tone for what follows

[7/10 · 4 April 2019]

Arch Oboler's 1951 "Five" was the first title to portray the 'end of the world' scenario that would become a well worn cliché by decade's end, low budget efforts like "World Without End" or Roger Corman's own "Last Woman on Earth" hobnobbing with grand scale epics "On the Beach" and "The World, the Flesh, and the Devil." Samuel Z. Arkoff's brother-in-law Lou Rusoff contributed over a dozen screenplays for AIP from 1955 until his premature death in 1963, no great shakes as cinema but often more watchable than one might expect, though not so sharp with dialogue as Charles B. Griffith (James H. Nicholson would typically dream up the title and a poster, then Rusoff would write a script for it). Better known today but quite unknown at the time were the tireless efforts of Paul Blaisdell, creating an assortment of monsters on budgets that wouldn't meet the catering bill for a day at the commissary! All of these filmmakers (plus producer Alex Gordon) essentially came together for "Day the World Ended," its small cast and few locations making it ideal for a quick 9 day shoot (September 9-16, 1955) and fast playoff, double billed with Rusoff's "The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues," from the Milner brothers (of "From Hell It Came" fame). The opening narration depicts TD (Total Destruction) Day, supposedly in the year 1970, while Captain Jim Maddison (Paul Birch) and his daughter Louise (Lori Nelson) await the arrival of her fiancée Tommy, as he has provisions for only three people in his isolated home, spending ten years of his life preparing for the inevitable. Unwelcome guests arrive almost all at once: small time crook Tony Lamont (Mike Connors) and his burlesque dancer moll Ruby (Adele Jergens), looking forward to 'big things' in San Francisco; geologist Rick (Richard Denning), carrying the still living yet dangerously contaminated Radek (Paul Dubov); and elderly prospector Pete (Raymond Hatton), celebrating his lifelong goal of finding gold with his burro Diablo (the fog shrouded hills represented by dependable Bronson Canyon). Maddison proves none too pleased to see them, explaining how the lead ore in the surrounding mountains acted as a shield against radiation, praying that the rainclouds don't issue forth too quickly or everyone will be dead. One item kept secret from all but dependable two fisted Rick is the results of the Matsuo H-bomb tests, resulting in thousands of animals dead except for three that mutated and lived for three days, a chipmunk, wolf and monkey: 'its skin looked like rubber but it had the feel of metal.' While no one is happy to learn that no signs of life emanate from outside their habitat, Radek spends more and more time walking the woods at night searching for living prey, only to learn that he has an enemy, a man sized creature with sharp claws also hungry for raw meat. Corman regular Jonathan Haze gets an effective cameo as a dying victim of the deadly fallout, his burns more serious than Radek's, who confirms that above the hills lurk others like him, not many but stronger. Half the battle for Rick is keeping sleaze ball Tony from molesting poor Louise, the real loser being Ruby, whose experience with such types should have at least made her wise up by now. It won't be long before the band begins to break up, Radek's confiscation of Pete's pet burro the catalyst for the shape of Earth's future. While many critics gripe about the film's depressing mood and lack of incident, Corman's sense of pace never flags, his carefully draped indoor sets cleverly hiding all deficiencies from observant audiences. Paul Blaisdell himself wears the foam rubber costume as 'Marty the Mutant,' a game effort for a man of slight build and short stature, who obviously struggles to carry Lori Nelson in his arms (he did keep the actress giggling through every scene). Downbeat and talky yet loads of fun (unlike "Five" and others to follow), setting the template for future Corman genre efforts, more rewarding on pitiful budgets than many more expensive pictures. This was one of 8 black and white features that were later remade for AIP-TV's color package, Texas filmmaker Larry Buchanan at the helm for each under his own Azalea Pictures umbrella (half of them from Lou Rusoff screenplays). "In the Year 2889" actually turned out better than most, benefitting from an original monster, rather than the familiar wet suit used in "Curse of the Swamp Creature," "Creature of Destruction," and "It's Alive!" ("Zontar the Thing from Venus," the remake of Corman's "It Conquered the World," eventually became more famous than its predecessor).