Another 1951 sci-fi movie (and one I like):
The film is based on the 1933 science fiction novel of the same name.
Pilot David Randall flies top-secret photographs from South African astronomer Dr. Emery Bronson to Dr. Cole Hendron in the United States. Hendron, with the assistance of his daughter Joyce, confirms their worst fears: Bronson has discovered that a rogue star named Bellus is on a collision course with Earth.
Hendron warns the United Nations that the end of the world is little more than eight months away. He pleads for the construction of "arks" to transport a lucky few to Zyra, the sole planet orbiting Bellus, in the faint hope that the human race can be saved from extinction. Other scientists scoff at his claims, and his proposal is rejected by the delegates.
Hendron receives help from wealthy humanitarians, who arrange for a lease on a former proving ground to build an ark. To finance the construction, Hendron meets wheelchair-bound business magnate Sidney Stanton. Stanton demands the right to select the passengers in exchange for financing, but Hendron insists that he is not qualified to make those choices; all he can buy is a seat aboard the ark. Stanton eventually capitulates.
Joyce, attracted to Randall, persuades her father to keep him around, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend, Dr. Tony Drake. As Bellus nears, governments prepare for the inevitable. Groups in other nations begin to build their own spaceships. Martial law is declared, and residents in coastal regions are evacuated to inland cities.
Zyra makes a close approach first, causing massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis that wreak havoc around the world. Several people are killed at the ark's construction camp, including Dr. Bronson. Afterward, Drake and Randall travel by helicopter to drop off supplies to people in the surrounding area. When Randall gets off to rescue a little boy stranded on a rooftop in a flooded area, Drake flies away, but reconsiders and returns.
As the day of doom approaches, the spaceship is loaded with food, medicine, microfilmed books, equipment, and animals. The passengers are selected by lottery, though Hendron reserves seats for himself, Stanton, Joyce, Drake, pilot Dr. George Frey, and Randall, for his daughter's sake. He also includes the young boy who was rescued, raising the number of passengers to 45. Randall, feeling he lacks any necessary skills, pretends to draw a lottery number, but Hendron knows better. For Joyce's sake, Drake tells Randall that Frey has a "heart condition" that may render him unable to survive the blackout during liftoff, convincing Randall he is needed as the co-pilot.
The cynical Stanton, knowing human nature, fears what the desperate lottery losers might do, so he has stockpiled weapons. When a young man turns in his winning number because his sweetheart was not selected, Stanton's much-abused assistant, Ferris, claims the number at gunpoint, only to be shot dead by Stanton. As a precaution, the selected women board the ship, while the chosen men wait outside.
Shortly before blastoff, many of the lottery losers riot, seizing Stanton's weapons to try to force their way aboard. Hendron triggers the launch prematurely while he and Stanton are still outside so the ship will consume less fuel on the journey. With an effort born of ultimate desperation, Stanton stands up and walks in a futile attempt to board the departing spaceship.
The crew are rendered unconscious by the g-force of acceleration and do not witness Earth's destruction. When Randall comes to and sees Dr. Frey already awake and piloting the ship, he realizes he has been deceived.
As the spaceship enters Zyra's atmosphere, the fuel runs out; Randall takes control and glides it to a safe landing. The crew disembark and find Zyra to be habitable. David Randall and Joyce Hendron walk hand-in-hand down the ramp as a new day dawns.
Cast
Richard Derr as David Randall
Barbara Rush as Joyce Hendron
Larry Keating as Dr. Cole Hendron
John Hoyt as Sydney Stanton
Peter Hansen as Dr. Tony Drake
Hayden Rorke as Dr. Emery Bronson
Frank Cady as Harold Ferris
Rachel Ames as Julie Cummings (as Judith Ames)
Stephen Chase as Dr. George Frye
James Seay as Donovan (uncredited)
Kirk Alyn as Rioter bringing guns (uncredited)
Stuart Whitman as Rioter by bank (uncredited)
John Ridgely as Chief Customs Inspector (uncredited)
Paul Frees as Narrator/U.S. President (uncredited)
Art Gilmore as Paul (uncredited)
(Derr and Hoyt would later have guest appearances on Star Trek.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Worlds_Collide_(1951_film)
