Review of When Worlds Collide

When Worlds Collide was George Pal's second sci-fi film after the success of his previous Destination Moon. It's also one of the earliest depictions of "the end-of-the-world" scenario since it was based on a 1932 novel. While the premise was interesting and there were some cool effects for a '50s Technicolor movie, there's the formula "girl has to choose between two men" that seemed par for the course in many of these genre flicks. The best performance was that of John Hoyt as the billionaire who finances the rocket move after the government turns scientist Larry Keating down. Richard Derr and Barbara Rush are the adequately compelling leads. Besides Keating who was the fourth Harry Morton on Burns and Allen, other familiar faces from later TV series include Hayden Rorke from I Dream of Jeanne (though it took a while before I recognized him since he wore a beard here) and Frank Cady from Petticoat Junction and Green Acres (though again he wasn't easily spotted without his mustache or gravelly voice). If you're a sci-fi fan of Pal, this film is worth a look. Just don't expect too much in the way of logic.