Wordiezett
So much average
Loui Blair
It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
Karlee
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Shawn Connelly
If IMDb existed when I was eight years old and the first time I watched this made for TV movie of the week, I would have rated it a 9 or a 10.This story HAD such a profound affect on me, I remembered it and for the past few years, I searched for it on VHS, Usenet, Bittorrents, etc... without success. A week ago I brought this story up in a conversation and it dawned on me to see if Youtube had a trailer or clip available. What did I find? The *entire* movie! I was thrilled! So, thirty years later, I finally watch it again on Youtube. Unfortunately, it failed to captivate me in the same way as it did when I was eight years old. I found the dialog was simplistic and the acting was rather wooden. I was disappointed to find a little bit of racism (intentional or not?) in the script. On a positive note, as a sci-fi'ish disaster story, The Day the Earth Moved, is actually much better than many of the more modern disaster flicks. At least, this story doesn't insult one's intelligence.
davebaker123
A sleeper film that was ignored unfairly, "The Day the Earth Moved" has some good entertainment value. Jackie Cooper stars as the pilot of an aerial photography plane who--along with his photographer--discovers an amazing characteristic about their film. When they realize what they have, they are forced to take drastic measures to save some folks in a small town from harm. The film is definitely television fare, but it does possess an underlying charm which makes it tolerable, and even exciting at some point. Jackie Cooper has been an underrated actor in Hollywood. He has always performed his roles well, and he invariably creates the aura of a jovial personality for his characters.
drystyx
"Style" is what this mini disaster film has going for it.The plot is standard procedure. No one will listen to a few nobodies who warn of impending doom, in this case an Earthquake.The movie plays more like a pilot episode for a decent TV show of down and out types. The difference here is that the characters are people you can care about.And that's just part of what make this work. A few dorks will only care about special effects and budget, which aren't a trademark here. However, this is entertainment for the rest of us.The "style" is in some of the out of the ordinary things that happen. Our hero is virtually kidnapped legally, to help out a down and out town. It is a great piece of writing.The writing of the characters, and the interesting desert scenery make this very interesting. There isn't anything "fantastic" about this, although a few eyebrow raising events.This is what "style" can do for a film.
rstewart-23
Jackie Cooper and Cleavon Little are pilots engaged in aerial photography, who accidentally discover a method of predicting earthquakes. High stresses in the Earth's crust give off a heat which shows up on specially treated photographic paper. Looking at some recently exposed film, Cooper and his ex-wife Stella Stevens realize that the small desert town of Bates, where he recently spent time, is at the centre of a high stress area and will likely be destroyed.I hadn't seen this 'made for TV' movie since I was a kid, until I recently purchased it on videotape. There was a bit of nostalgia associated with this film, as my older brother and I used to watch it on TV during the 1970's as an afternoon matinée. It was a perfect rainy day film. As kids we were naturally fascinated by the idea of predicting an event as complex as an earthquake... made more interesting because the photographic film stock was a fluke, never to be repeated nor could any more be obtained. From this standpoint alone, it makes for an absorbing storyline. Stella Stevens was well known from her role in Jerry Lewis's The Nutty Professor a decade earlier, and Jackie Cooper was still to take on the role of Perry White in the movie Superman. The special effects showing the various earthquake scenes were remarkably decent considering this was a made for TV movie with a limited budget. As a whole, the film's also an interesting snap-shot of 1970's era film-making. Sometimes it's hard to believe those actors are no longer young. Well worth taking a look if you can locate a tape. Please feel free to email with any inquiries.