The Night the World Exploded

"Super-Quake Tilts Earth!"

Jun 1 1957 Approved 1h 4m
Sci-Fi

With his assistant, Laura Hutchinson, Dr. David Conway develops a device to advance the fledgling science of earthquake prediction. After forecasting a large trembleor that will rock California within twenty-four hours, Conway cannot persuade the Governor to act. When the prediction proves true and further tests indicate that there are more quakes to come, Conway and Laura seek to perfect their device. Subsequent tests deep within Carlsbad Caverns discover an unknown element—E-112—that is responsible for the earthquakes and threatens to destroy the globe if it ever reaches the surface. The team determines that with only four weeks until Armageddon, the race is on to neutralize the killer element before it takes a devastating toll.

Plot

Dr. Conway has perfected a machine which he believes will predict earthquakes, and has determined that one will strike California within 24 hours. He and his patron, Dr. Morton, attempt to convince the Governor but he cannot bring himself to declare an emergency when there is no proof the machine works - which, within 24 hours, it is proven to do. More significantly, Conway is getting readings which indicate a series of additional, pending quakes around the world, which also begin to occur; and more still seem to be on the way. With his assistant "Hutch", to whose love for him he seems oblivious, Conway takes his equipment to the deepest point of Carlsbad Caverns, in hopes that being closer to the center of the earth will help discern the cause of the earthquake epidemic. It does, when they inadvertently discover a new element which lies dormant in watery pools deep within the earth but, when in contact with air, becomes violently explosive. Forces unknown appear to be pushing this element surface-ward around the globe, and a computer analysis determines that enough will be exposed to explode the entire world within a little more than 28 days...

Written by

Jack Natteford, Luci Ward

Directed by

Fred F. Sears

Cast

Kathryn Grant, William Leslie, Tristram Coffin

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Clover Productions

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Trailers
1958 The Night The World Exploded Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
880
Average Rating
5.3 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA