End of the World (1977 film)

American Science Fiction film directed by John Hayes

End of the World

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| John Hayes
Written by| Frank Ray Perilli
Produced by| Charles Band
Richard Band
Starring| Christopher Lee
Sue Lyon
Kirk Scott
Lew Ayres
Macdonald Carey
Dean Jagger
Cinematography| John Huneck
Edited by| John Hayes
Music by| Andrew Belling
Distributed by| Charles Band Productions

Release date

* October 12, 1977 (1977-10-12) (United States)

Running time

| 88 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

End of the World is a 1977 American science fiction film directed by John Hayes.[1]

## Plot

[edit]

NASA Professor Andrew Boran is a research scientist who discovers strange radio signals in outer space that appear to originate from Earth. The signals seem to predict natural disasters that are occurring around the globe.

When he and his wife Sylvia decide to investigate the source of the signals, they end up being held captive in a convent that has been infiltrated by aliens. These invaders, from the planet Utopia, plan to destroy the world with the natural disasters. They have replicated the original inhabitants of the convent and now pose as the Father and the nuns.

While posing as the human Father Pergado, the alien leader Zindar explains Earth is a hotbed of disease that cannot be permitted to continue polluting the galaxy.

Boran and Sylvia decide in the end not to stop the destruction of Earth and instead return to Utopia with Zindar. To make the return safely, Zindar holds Sylvia hostage and demands that Boran steal a Variance Crystal from the lab so that they can escape the destruction of Earth.[2] Earth then explodes.

## Cast

[edit]

* Christopher Lee as Father Pergado / Zindar
* Sue Lyon as Sylvia Boran
* Kirk Scott as Professor Andrew Boran
* Dean Jagger as Ray Collins
* Lew Ayres as Commander Joseph Beckerman
* Macdonald Carey as John Davis
* Liz Ross as Sister Patrizia
* Jon van Ness as Mr. Sanchez

## Reception

[edit]

Creature Feature found it to be cheap and plodding, giving it 1.5 out of 5 stars.[3] TV Guide gave the movie 1 of 5 stars. Moria found the movie dull and legendarily bad, only worth viewing to see the early work of Charles Band,[4] and gave the movie 1/2 of a star. It further said Lee gave a very good performance, much better than the movie deserved.

## Production

[edit]

The movie was produced by Z movie impresario Charles Band.[4] Lee claimed subsequently that the producers misled him about the cast in order to secure his participation:

> I was told quite categorically by the producer that they had Arthur Kennedy, Richard Basehart, José Ferrer, John Carradine\--I was told categorically that these people were signed to do this film. All fine actors. That was totally untrue.

— Christopher Lee, The films of Christopher Lee, [5]

## Release

[edit]

Released on DVD in 2005.[6]

## References

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1. ^ End of the World at IMDb
2. ^ "End Of The World | TV Guide". TVGuide.com.
3. ^ Stanley, J. (2000) Creature Feature: 3rd edition
4. ^ a b "End of the World (1977)". November 14, 2013.
5. ^ Pohle, Robert W.; Hart, Douglas C.; Lee, Christopher (1983). The films of Christopher Lee. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press. p. 181\. ISBN 978-0-8108-1573-5.
6. ^ "End of the World". March 8, 2005 - via Amazon.

## External links

[edit]

* End of the World at IMDb
* End of the World is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive