The Invisible Lands

Men, women, children and babies. It didn't discriminate. It came like a thief in the night and destroyed them all in fire, quake, flood, and tumbling buildings. The world was struck by an earthquake so large that it shook down the majority of cities around the planet. Millions died the first few seconds and billions after that.
 
When it was over a shattered world rushed to find out why it had happened?
 
Someone had struck the surface world from its interior.
 
A Special Forces team is put together to enter the world and find the secret enemy. They fail to come back.
 
A second team is now entering and time is running out. Will they be able to stop the next attack, which will be an extinction event?
 
The Invisible Lands

Below is the theme music for After Shock One.

Pulse pounding, hopeful and fearful, dreaming and dealing with a world gone crazy.

When I first embarked on my first story about these remarkable people, they were not on the surface, but heading towards the Center of the Earth. On a mission to find and eliminate the source of the Big One, an earthquake so devastating that it struck down all the major cities of the world. 

The story followed a team of Special Forces who bravely go into the interior of the earth, not even sure if they will find a way inside, let alone a way to their goal. Brave men and women dedicated to discovering the truth and righting the wrongs that were cast upon our fair earth and its people.

We followed their trek into the interior, pursued by the knowledge that the Earth soon would face a life extinguishing quake if they didn't reach their goal.

Enroute they face sabotage, monsters that shouldn't exist, alien forces that are remarkable in their savagery and cunningness. 

But even in the midst of so much destruction and sabotage, they find a measure of friendship that endures the ongoing challenges of their mission.

Four stories into the trek, the brave team has lost friends, faced death, been wounded, and faced a dark and horrible ending beyond the love of the ones they left behind.

By the fifth story, two of the Special Forces have been lost, and are supposedly dead, but it turns out they have survived, unknown to their friends. In their saga they face certain death and a friendship totally unexpected and  unusual in any and all ways.

And still the story moves on, following the Special Forces as they continue on what has become to them a trail of death into the unknown.

But in my newer stories, After Shock One, being the first, we follow what happens to the citizens left behind. How do they cope with the ongoing afteshocks of the Big One. How do they cope with a civilization that is not only been shattered, but must rebuild from scratch.

In these stories, which leads to After Shock Two, we follow a few personalities who must not only survive a horrid experience, but summon the courage to help others less fortunate than themselves. Both stories are about heroes and heroines. People who care deeply about life so much, that they refuse to give up!

I"ve put a lot of thought into the above journeys, and at this time I am working on a new series based on the above ones, which will trace the Big One back to its roots. Where did it all begin? Why?

Meanwhile, I will continue to follow m brave teams exploring the inside of our planet in their desire to save the world from utter destruction. 

Science fiction at its finest and perhaps even a prediction of what could be if we don't change our ways and our attitude towards Mother Earth.

Next post is my theme music for After Shock One.

Enjoy

​John

They wanted to save the world.

Instead they had to save themselves!

Increments

A new novel in the Journey to the Center of the Earth series.

​Coming soon to Amazon!

This movie rocks even by today's standards.

Several remakes were done in recent past  years and none of them approached the depth and drama of this film, which tracked the loss of so many and the bravery of those who faced a world coming to an end, and those who flew off to a new world, not knowing if they would live or die.

Pioneers of catastrophe in a sense.

Wikipedia's take on it below:





When Worlds Collide (1951 film) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When Worlds Collide Theatrical release poster
Directed by Rudolph Maté Produced by George Pal Written by Sydney Boehm
Novel
Edwin Balmer
Philip Wylie Starring Richard Derr
Barbara Rush
Peter Hansen
John Hoyt Music by Leith Stevens Cinematography W. Howard Greene
John F. Seitz Edited by Arthur P. Schmidt Production
company
Paramount Pictures Corp.
Distributed by Paramount Pictures Corp. Release dates

• November 22, 1951 (Los Angeles)[1]

Running time
83 minutes Country United States Language English Box office $1.6 million (US rentals)[2] When Worlds Collide is a 1951 American Technicolor science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal, directed by Rudolph Maté and starring Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen and John Hoyt. When Worlds Collide is based on the 1933 science fiction novel of the same name, co-written by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer.

The film concerns the coming destruction of the Earth by the rogue star Bellus and the desperate efforts to build a space ark that will save and transport a small portion of humanity to the star's single orbiting planet, Zyra.

Contents

• 1 Plot
• 2 Cast
• 3 Production
• 4 Reception
• 5 Cultural references
• 6 Remake
• 7 References
• 8 External links

Plot Pilot David Randall is paid to fly top-secret photographs from South African astronomer Dr. Emery Bronson to Dr. Cole Hendron in the United States. Hendron, with the assistance of his daughter Joyce, confirms their worst fears: Bronson has discovered a rogue star named Bellus that is on a collision course with Earth.

Hendron warns the delegates of the United Nations that the end of the world is little more than eight months away. He pleads for the construction of spaceships to transport a lucky few to Zyra, the sole planet in orbit around Bellus, in the faint hope that it can sustain life and save the human race from extinction. However, other equally distinguished scientists scoff at his claims, and he is not believed by the UN delegates.

Hendron receives help from wealthy humanitarian friends, who arrange a lease on a former proving ground to construct an ark spaceship. To finance the construction, Hendron is forced to accept money from the self-centered, wheelchair-bound industrialist Sidney Stanton. Stanton demands the right to select the passengers, but Hendron insists that he is not qualified to make those choices; all he can buy with his wealth is a single seat aboard the ark.

Joyce becomes attracted to Randall and prods her father into finding reasons to keep him around, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend, medical doctor Tony Drake. The ship's construction is a race against time. As Bellus nears, former skeptics admit that Hendron was right and governments prepare for the inevitable. Groups in other nations also begin building spaceships. Martial law is declared and residents in coastal regions are moved to inland cities.

When Zyra makes a close approach, its gravitational attraction causes massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tidal waves that wreak havoc around the world. Several people are killed at the ark's construction camp, including Dr. Bronson. In the aftermath, Drake and Randall travel by helicopter to provide assistance to survivors. When Randall leaves the helicopter to rescue a little boy stranded on a rooftop surrounded by water, Drake must resist a strong temptation to strand his rival.

As the day of doom approaches, the spaceship is loaded with food, medicine, microfiche copies of books, equipment, and animals. Finally, the lucky passengers are selected by a lottery, though Hendron reserves seats for a handful of people: himself, Stanton, Joyce, Drake, pilot Dr. George Frey, the young boy who was rescued, and Randall, for his daughter's sake. When a young man turns in his winning ticket because his sweetheart was not selected, Hendron arranges for both to go. Randall refuses his seat and only pretends to participate in the lottery, believing he has no skills needed for settling on Zyra. For Joyce's sake, Drake fabricates a "heart condition" for Frey, making a co-pilot necessary; Randall is the only choice.

The cynical Stanton becomes increasingly anxious as time passes. Knowing human nature, he fears what the desperate lottery losers might do, so as a precaution, he has stockpiled weapons; Stanton's suspicions prove to be well-founded. His much-abused assistant, Ferris, tries to add himself at gunpoint to the passenger manifest, only to be shot dead by Stanton. During their final night on Earth, the selected passengers and animals are quietly moved to the launch pad to protect them from more violence.

Shortly before takeoff, many of the lottery losers riot, taking up Stanton's weapons to try to force their way aboard the space ark. Hendron surprises everyone by staying behind at the last moment and forcibly keeps Stanton with him in order to conserve fuel for the flight. With an effort born of ultimate desperation, Stanton stands up and starts to walk in a futile attempt to board the departing spaceship.

The crew are rendered unconscious by the g-force of acceleration and do not witness the Earth's collision with Bellus, displayed on the forward television monitor. When Randall comes to and sees Dr. Frey already awake and piloting the ship, he realizes he has been deceived.

As the space ark enters Zyra's atmosphere, the fuel finally runs out; Randall takes control, gliding the ship to a rough, but safe landing. Earth's survivors begin to disembark, finding Zyra to be habitable. David Randall and Joyce Hendron follow, walking hand-in-hand down the ramp to explore an unknown but hopeful future.

Cast

• Richard Derr as David Randall
• Larry Keating as Dr. Cole Hendron
• Barbara Rush as Joyce Hendron, his daughter
• John Hoyt as Sydney Stanton
• Peter Hansen as Dr. Tony Drake
• Alden Chase as Dr. George Frey, Dr. Hendron's second in command
• Hayden Rorke as Dr. Emery Bronson
• Frank Cady as Harold Ferris

Production A feature film, based on the original novels When Worlds Collide and After Worlds Collide, first serialized in Blue Book magazine in 1932, was first considered for filming by Cecil B. Demille in the 1930s. When George Pal began producing his version years later, he initially wanted a more lavish production with a larger budget, but he wound up being forced to scale back his plans.[3]

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was first considered for the role of Dave Randall, but Richard Derr was finally hired for the part.[4]

Chesley Bonestell is credited with the artwork used for the film; he created the design for the space ark that was constructed to journey to Zyra. The final scene in the film, showing the sunrise landscape of the alien world, was taken from a Bonestell sketch. Because of budget constraints, the director was forced to use this color sketch rather than a finished matte painting, drawing criticism. The additional poor quality still image showing a drowned New York City is often attributed to Bonestell, but it was not actually drawn by him.[5]

The Differential analyzer at UCLA is shown briefly near the beginning of the film; it verifies the initial hand-made calculations confirming the coming destruction of the Earth. "There is no error."[3]

Producer George Pal considered making a sequel based on the second novel After Worlds Collide, but the box office failure of his 1955 Conquest of Space made that impossible.[3]

Reception When Worlds Collide was reviewed by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times noted that George Pal had followed up on his other prophetic epic. Destination Moon: "... this time the science soothsayer, whose forecasts have the virtue, at least, of being represented in provocative visual terms, offers rather cold comfort for those scholars who would string along with him. One of the worlds which he arranged to have collide is ours."[6]

Freelance writer Melvin E. Matthews calls the film a "doomsday parable for the nuclear age of the '50s."[7] Emory University physics professor Sidney Perkowitz notes that this film is the first in a long list of movies where "science wielded by a heroic scientist confronts a catastrophe." He calls the special effects exceptional.[8]

Librarian and filmographer Charles P. Mitchell was critical of the "... scientific gaffes that dilute the storyline," as well as a "failure to provide consistent first class effects." He pointed out that there were inconsistencies in the script, such as the disappearance of Dr. Bronson in the second half of the film.[Note 1] In his flawed analysis, Mitchell also does not recognize that sister spacecraft are being built by other nations and their ultimate fate. He summarizes by saying, "the large number of plot defects are annoying and prevent this admirable effort from achieving top-drawer status."[4]

Awards When Worlds Collide won the 1951 Academy Award for special effects. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography-Color.[9]

Cultural references When Worlds Collide is one of the many classic films referenced in the opening theme ("Science Fiction/Double Feature") of both the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show (1973) and its cinematic counterpart, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1976).[10] In the feature film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), two cargo containers can be seen labeled "Bellus" and "Zyra" in the Genesis Cave.[11]

In the film adaptation of L.A. Confidential (1997), tabloid writer Sid Hudgens arranges for the publicity-loving Jack Vincennes to arrest a young actor on the night of this film's premiere, resulting in photos of the arrest with the theatre holding the premiere in the background accompanied by the headline "Movie Premiere Pot Bust" (the scene is shown taking place in 1953, long after the 1951 premiere of When Worlds Collide).[12]

When Worlds Collide is the title of a 1975 album (the related single is "Did Worlds Collide?") by Richard Hudson and John Ford, their third release after leaving Strawbs.[13]"When Worlds Collide" is the title of a single by the heavy metal band Powerman 5000 from the 1999 album Tonight the Stars Revolt!.[14]

Remake Paramount Pictures began pre-production on a remake of When Worlds Collide c.2013. As of April 2015, however, its status remained unknown, according to IMDB, and it appears unlikely that the remake will ever be made.[15]

References

""When Worlds Collide"." Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: July 20, 2013

"The Top Box Office Hits of 1951." Variety, January 2, 1952.

Warren 1982, pp. 151–163.

Mitchell 2001, pp. 252–254.

Miller et al. 2001, p. 65.

Crowther, Bosley. "Movie Review: When Worlds Collide (1951); The screen in review;George Pal's new film adventure into outer space, 'When Worlds Collide,' opens at the Globe." The New York Times, February 7, 1952.

"1950s Science Fiction Films and 9/11". google.com.

Perkowitz 2007, p. 9.

Sullivan et al. 2011, p. 21.

Miller 2011, p. 127.

"Star Trek cast and crew (August 6, 2002)." Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, The Directors Edition: Special Features (DVD; Disc 2/2): Paramount Pictures.

Veniere, James. "Director of L.A. Confidential hits stride. Boston Herald. September 14, 1997.

"Hudson-Ford – Worlds Collide." discogs.com. Retrieved: January 9, 2015.

"Tonight the Stars Revolt!" allmusic.com. Retrieved: January 9, 2015.

1. "Sommers Returns to When Worlds Collide." Micechat (originally published in Variety, April 2005). Retrieved: April 11, 2015.

Notes

1. Dr. Bronson was mentioned as arriving at Hendron's camp in dialog and later depicted as being killed when a construction crane fell on him during the devastating passage of Zyra.

Citations
Bibliography

• Hickman, Gail Morgan. The Films of George Pal. South Brunswick, New Jersey: A. S. Barnes and Company, Inc., 1977. ISBN 978-0-49801-960-9.
• Matthews, Melvin E. Hostile Aliens, Hollywood, and Today's News: 1950s Science Fiction Films and 9/11. New York: Algora Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-0-87586-498-3.
• Miller, Ron, Chesley Bonestell, Frederick C. Durant and Melvin H. Schuetz. The Art of Chesley Bonestell. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. ISBN 978-1-85585-884-8.
• Miller, Scott. Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll, and Musicals. Lebanon, New Hampshire: University Press of New England, 2011. ISBN 978-1-55553-761-6.
• Mitchell, Charles P. A Guide to Apocalyptic Cinema. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2001. ISBN 978-0-31331-527-5.
• Perkowitz, S. Hollywood Science: Movies, Science, and the End of the World. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-23114-281-6.
• Reginald, R. and Douglas Menville. Things to Come: An Illustrated History of Science Fiction Film. New York: Times Books, 1977. ISBN 978-0-81290-710-0.
• Sullivan, III, C. W., Tobias Hochscherf, James Leggott, Donald E. Palumbo, et al., eds. British Science Fiction Film and Television: Critical Essays, Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy 29. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2011. ISBN 978-0-78644-621-6.
• Warren, Bill. Keep Watching The Skies Vol. I: 1950 - 1957. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 1982. ISBN 0-89950-032-3.

External links Wikiquote has quotations related to: When Worlds Collide

• When Worlds Collide at the TCM Movie Database
• When Worlds Collide at the Internet Movie Database
• When Worlds Collide at AllMovie
• When Worlds Collide at Rotten Tomatoes

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Films directed by Rudolph Maté
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Planetary defense

Categories:

• 1951 films
• English-language films
• American science fiction films
• American films
• American disaster films
• French-language films
• Portuguese-language films
• Spanish-language films
• Films based on science fiction novels
• Films that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
• Paramount Pictures films
• 1950s science fiction films
• Impact event films
• Films set in New York
• Films set in South Africa
• Films set in Washington, D.C.
• Space adventure films
• Films based on American novels

It wasn't supposed to happen.

Everyone feared it might.

And then it did!

Coming soon: Journey to the Center of the Earth at Amazon.Com