IMDB Review, Author: Chuck H: This movie was an anachronism when it was made in 1965--It was WAY above the level that audience sophistication demanded in those days. Although science has moved forward since then(plate tectonics,etc.), it does not detract from the essential viability of this film.

For a Sci-Fi movie involving the apocalypse, this story hangs together well and requires relatively little "suspension of disbelief." The plot builds suspense very nicely and at an increasingly ominous and break-neck pace.

Typical of British films, the script is rather well written, and Andrews, Moore and Scott(the latter two were married in real life), as well as the usual cast of Britishers do a wonderful acting job. Special effects are excellent and include many convincing shots of real volcanic events.

The scene in which the fissures converge is awe-inspiring, though the final massive event could benefit from modern CGI effects. The science--I should know--is not all that bad! The musical score is first-rate, and adds greatly to the movie's charm, building suspense beautifully. Fire up the microwave, get the popcorn, settle down and watch this one--IF you can find a copy!

IMDB Review, Author: joseph t: Yes, let's put this to bed right away. The scientific premise is flawed. We now know that the crust of the Earth is not a solid shell, but riddled through with many cracks. Not only are these not harmful, they are an essential component and feature of a geologically active world.

It is how the Earth renews itself, builds land, and promotes life. There is little mankind can do in the way of "cracking" the Earth that the Earth has not done itself, many times over, in much greater magnitude. But, that said, this is still a fun movie.

The pace of action and buildup to the spectacular climax is first-rate. I found myself just waiting for the next disaster to make itself manifest, be it an earthquake, volcano, tsunami, or all three. The underlying message is still sound: mankind should use caution in tinkering with the forces of nature.

A time-worn premise, to be sure, but no less valid today. We as a species are young and have much to learn, by being aware of the hidden forces of nature and the unintended consequences of good-intentioned tinkering.

The cast is quite good. Sci-fi stalwart Dana Andrews is the featured player, of course, but the other actors do some good work. For it's time, the special effects are well-done.

Like any well-paced disaster film, as the action races to a climax, we find ourselves pulling for the "good" guys against, hey, wait a minute, there are no "bad guys", just the unleashed forces of nature, knowing no good or evil, just following their natural course. It's a fun twist and makes you think.

Overall, it's hard not to recommend "Crack in the World" for a fun couple of hours' escapism and entertainment. Just suspend the disbelief a bit and go along for the ride.

Resources: Wikipedia.org, imdb.com

Crack in the World 1965

He and Sorensen then pore over spectrographic data and films of old nuclear detonations, and finally realize what has happened: the missile touched off a fusion explosion in a layer of hydrogen in a pocket beneath the magma, so that the force of the explosion was greater than Sorensen expected.

But this finding also suggests a solution: /another/ detonation in the path of the crack could break a gaping hole in the crust; the crack would run into it and stop. Rampian sets out with a heat-shielded fission bomb and asks a fellow scientist, Steele (Mike Steen), to descend into a dormant volcano crater with him to drop the bomb into the lava.

Steele dies when the bomb, catching Steele's line between itself and the surrounding rock, parts the cable and sends Steele falling into the lava pit. Rampian, nearly overcome with grief, barely manages to release the bomb into the lava before he collapses at his line, overcome by the heat. The crew hastily haul him up and take him off the island, to a nearby island where they give the signal to set the bomb off.

The bomb blows the volcano cone away, and at the Project site, the seismologists confidently believe that the crack has in fact stopped. Then Dr. Evans sends a message to Maggie informing her of the truth about her husband: that his disease is malignant, terminal, and will kill him within a week. She takes a tearful leave of Ted and prepares to rush back to Sorensen's side.

But then another earthquake in the Indian Ocean signals that the crack has *not* stopped, but has changed direction. Rampian asks Sorensen to be more specific, and when he hears where the new quake's epicenter was, he realizes that the crack has doubled back toward the Project's original bore hole--a course that might not have the dire consequences of cleaving the crust into two equal hemispheres.

But the crack is now moving at twice its original speed. Rampian rushes back to South Africa to observe the crack's progress personally. He and Maggie soon realize that *two* cracks have opened in the crust, both converging on the bore hole.

Rampian orders an evacuation of a nearby village--but can then only watch helplessly as an evacuation train heads directly for the crack, and is wrecked when the crack knocks over a trestle while the train is trying to cross it. Frustrated, Rampian orders another evacuation, and then he and Maggie return to the Project.

There they find that Sorensen has ordered a full evacuation--but Sorensen has stayed below in the bunker and won't come up! Maggie and Rampian take the elevator down, to find Sorensen sitting alone at the consoles. He says that he will personally record what he believes will be the birth of a new moon.

Of course, he really is suicidal, a fact he makes clear when he sends Rampian and Maggie out of the control room on separate errands--and then abruptly shuts the heavy door, locking himself in, and then shorts out the motors that move the door.

Heartsick, Rampian and Maggie race for the elevator to take it topside--but then a boulder smashes into the elevator cab, stopping it about halfway up. Desperately the two climb through the trap door and up the elevator shaft, and then climb uphill away from the bore hole as fast as they can.

Finally the two cracks meet at the bore hole, and a gigantic disk of crust lifts up into space, to join the Moon in orbit. After which the earthquake activity stops, and small animals come out of hiding as Rampian and Maggie comfort one another, happy to be alive in a world that can still sustain them.

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