Now, this seemed to me like an interesting and worthwhile viewing experiment! Giant, preposterous and heavily flamboyant disaster movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. They are not always the most qualitative or intelligent movies but they surely provide great entertainment and several "wow-did-you-see-that?" moments. My favorite disaster epics naturally emerged in the 1970s, like the "Airport"-series, "The Towering Inferno", "Earthquake", "Avalanche", "Rollercoaster" and many, many others. At the same time, however, I'm also a great admirer of made-for-TV drama/thriller movies from that same 70s decade – and more specifically the ABC Movie of the Week collection – just because they are completely opposite to disaster movies. The shoestring budget didn't allow for hi-tech special effects, spectacular stunts or exotic locations and thus TV- movies must rely on their solid screenplays, atmosphere, sense of realism and performances. Like the title implies, "The Day the Earth Moved" is an amalgam of both extremes: a disaster movie on a shoestring TV-budget! How do you possibly stage something as devastating as an earthquake when there isn't a lot of money to build scale models or sets? You find this answer in this tame but nevertheless slick and often ingenious overlooked little film. 95% of the film is talking and seemingly irrelevant information about a cast of characters you don't really feel connected with, and then when the earth does finally start moving, they just land at an already half-demolished ghost town and destroy whatever ramshackle cabin was still standing.
I have to admit, however, that the plot of "The Day the Earth Moved" is original, creative and oddly compelling; - even though it requires quite a large portion of suspension of disbelief. Two struggling aerial photographers coincidentally discover that a defective match of their film material accurately predicts where earthquakes will occur within a time frame of 24 hours. It takes a while for them to figure that out and don't expect a proper explanation, but they have to take action as their photos indicate that the small and nearly forsaken town of Bates – in the middle of Nevada – is going to get struck. Particularly pilot Steve is desperate to rescue Bates, since he spent a few days of community service there and became fond of a young local girl. "The Day the Earth Moved" benefices most from the character development and the curious story behind the little town of Bates. Similar to the fictional Perfection in "Tremors", Bates is a town with only a handful of residents that remained stuck in isolation. The town used to be visited by people heading in or out of Las Vegas and lived off a local tourist attraction called "Santa's Summer Village", but since the construction of a new and modern highway there haven't been any tourists for several years. This would be an uninteresting side aspect if this was a major studio disaster blockbuster, but seeing it's a TV-movie it gives the film more depth and character. Of course the few remaining residents still don't believe the alarming news about the earthquake and are reluctant to leave, so when the ground starts trembling there are still a few intense and adrenaline-rushing moments to enjoy. Don't go into "The Day the Earth Moved" expecting a wild and exhilarating action movie, otherwise you'll be sorely disappointed. If you watch the film with an open mind, though, there's a fair chance you'll be increasingly charmed by the odd plot, the absorbing atmosphere, the likable characters and the grand finale.
