The Days the world went mad

Duration: 52

Year Published: 1968

Creator: Time-Life

Format: 16mm

Color: B&W

Sound: sound

Description: The causes and effects of earthquakes, tidal waves or tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, tornadoes and hurricanes are examined in this film which incorporates footage from around the world with eyewitness testimony. Included in this compendium of natural disaster are: newsreel footage of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, home movies of the 1964 Alaskan earthquake taken by a sailor on a jetty, and spectacular scenes of various volcanoes in full spit. A cab driver recounts his near brush with death during a hurricane in Florida and Sicilian farmers recall an eruption by Etna which caused the trees to yell and scream. Experts, including Dr. Charles Richter of the California Institute of Technology, discuss the magnitude of past meteorological upheavals as well as precautionary measures. The film ends with the suggestion that the crater made by a meteor might be mistaken for a nuclear attack, raising the chilling prospect of someone pushing the wrong button.