The Day the Sky Exploded
Encyclopedia
The Day the Sky Exploded is a 1958 Italian science fiction film directed by Paolo Heusch
. It is known as the first italian sci-fi dramatic film.
It starred Paul Hubschmid
and Fiorella Mari, and was also released in France and West Germany. It was also known as Death Comes from Space and Death From Outer Space, recalling the original Italian title.
In the English version of the movie, the sun was not mentioned as the source of the asteroids. From the movie:
In the French version of the movie however, the atomic rocket stage exploded later in Asteroid belt hurtling meteors on a collision course with earth.
were Eddi Arent
and others actors from famous German Edgar Wallace "Krimi" movies. Some German sci-fi movie literature claims the movie director is German Paul Heusch, Paolo being a misspelling of Paul while Heusch is a German family name.
Paolo Heusch
Paolo Heusch was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed ten films between 1958 and 1970...
. It is known as the first italian sci-fi dramatic film.
It starred Paul Hubschmid
Paul Hubschmid
Paul Hubschmid was a Swiss actor. He appeared as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. In some Hollywood films he used the name Paul Christian...
and Fiorella Mari, and was also released in France and West Germany. It was also known as Death Comes from Space and Death From Outer Space, recalling the original Italian title.
Plot
An atomic rocket is launched on a manned moon mission, but one of the engines malfunctions. The rocket's steering is broken. The pilot disengages the capsule and returns to earth. The atomic booster, however, continues on, eventually crashing into and exploding in an asteroid belt. The explosion dislodges many asteroids from their orbits. They coalesce into one giant cluster and are heading for earth. As the cluster approaches earth it causes global scale disasters: tidal waves, wind, fire storms and earthquakes. Mankind's only hope is to arm every missile on earth with a nuclear warhead and fire them all at the cluster. One scientist loses his sanity in the crisis and disables the great computer needed to calculate all the firing data. He is stopped and the data provided. The nations of the world band together and fire the volley. The cluster is destroyed.In the English version of the movie, the sun was not mentioned as the source of the asteroids. From the movie:
In the French version of the movie however, the atomic rocket stage exploded later in Asteroid belt hurtling meteors on a collision course with earth.
Atomic-Age Moral
Nearing the climax of the film, the main character (and rocket pilot) John McLaren says:An Italian or a German-Italian sci-fi movie ?
The Day the Sky Exploded was an Italian-French co-production. however in Germany the movie was often considered as a German-Italian film. In fact the movie has an unusually high number of German actors for an Italian movie. Next to Paul HubschmidPaul Hubschmid
Paul Hubschmid was a Swiss actor. He appeared as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. In some Hollywood films he used the name Paul Christian...
were Eddi Arent
Eddi Arent
Eddi Arent is a German actor, cabaret artist and comedian. He has appeared in nearly 100 films since 1956.He was born in Danzig, Free City of Danzig, today Poland.-Selected filmography:...
and others actors from famous German Edgar Wallace "Krimi" movies. Some German sci-fi movie literature claims the movie director is German Paul Heusch, Paolo being a misspelling of Paul while Heusch is a German family name.
See also
- Moon in fiction
- The Mechanical ManThe Mechanical ManThe Mechanical Man is a 1921 Italian science fiction film directed by André Deed. The original film was about 80 minutes in length. However, only about 26 minutes of footage remains...
, an earlier Italian science fiction feature