omething perplexing is happening in the world of science. Tony Drake's
clique of top businessmen is abuzz with rumors of mysterious
discoveries and secret pacts among scientists. Because he's dating Eve
Hendron, daughter of astrophysicist Cole Hendron, Tony's friends are sure
he's in the know.
Dr. Hendron soon announces that two stray planets, Bronson Alpha and Bronson
Beta, will pass close to Earth, causing unprecedented tidal waves and
earthquakes. Eve tells Tony what's not being said yet: The Bronson
bodies will continue around the sun, and when they meet Earth again, Bronson
Alpha will smash into it. Humanity's only hope is a rocket that will take a
group of survivors to the
smaller Bronson Beta as it assumes Earth's orbit. She also tells Tony what
seems worse news to him: Though they love each other deeply, they can never
marry--the necessities of perpetuating the species on a new world will put
an end to marriage.
Before long the Bronson bodies are visible in the sky, causing worldwide panic and
dismay. Coastal cities are evacuated even as tide waters flood the streets.
Meanwhile, Hendron assembles a thousand scientists, engineers, and
specialists in Michigan to build a rocketship.
The Bronson bodies pass, wreaking massive devastation. Flyer Dave Ransdell
volunteers to explore what's left of Earth. He barely comes back alive, and his news is dark:
Humanity has largely reverted to savagery. But the remaining rocket problem
is solved: Ransdell discovered a heat-resistant metal exposed by
earthquakes that can be used for shielding.
Hendron's followers work feverishly to complete the ship, unaware
that a huge, violent mob is assembling around their camp, one of the last
outposts of civilization in a doomed world.
New dawn, new ways
The 1951 film When World Collide should have been called something else, because it has little
to do with this book. The film is Dave's story of wooing fickle Joyce away
from pallid Tony. The book is Tony's story, and it's much more interesting:
A red-blooded athlete and businessman, this Tony Drake must overcome his
powerful love and jealousy for Eve because the new world will force them to
give up their monogamous relationship. The higher purpose of saving humanity must
supersede his feelings, however strong, and Tony must grow in order to accept
this. The Tony Drake in chapter one, cigarette case in hand, is not the same
man who steps out onto Bronson Beta, and his journey is an intriguing and
involving one.
The film also represses any emotional response to the world's ending and
rejects the retrogression of society that's vividly portrayed in the book. Here,
the human response to the destruction of Earth--though cynical--is real,
credible, and visceral. The first news brings sensation, which quickly
evaporates until the planets loom in the sky, causing panic alongside
hurried efforts at survival. Scientists band together to accomplish in
secret what the roiling masses will not. Singular individuals such as Tony
rise to the challenge. The net message is still positive, but humanity's dark
side is not ignored.
However, When World Collide is not politically correct by today's standards. For example,
Tony's Japanese valet is "inscrutable," and Eve is the only female character. But
this book should be judged on its ability to speak powerfully to the human
condition, which it does as well now as it did when it was first published in 1933.
