''The End of the World'' ( da, Verdens Undergang) is a 1916 Danish science fiction drama film directed by

August Blom August Blom (26 December 1869 – 10 January 1947) was a Danish film director, producer, and pioneer of silent films during the "golden age" of Danish filmmaking from 1910 to 1914. Career Blom began his acting career in 1893 in Kolding, and was ...

and written by Otto Rung, starring

Olaf Fønss Olaf Holger Axel Fønss (17 October 1882 – 11 March 1949) was a Danish actor, director, producer, film censor and one of Denmark and Germany's biggest stars of the silent film era. Career Fønss' leading role in the 1913 Danish classic ...

and

Ebba Thomsen Ebba Thomsen (3 May 1887 – 18 December 1973) was a Denmark, Danish actress during the Cinema of Denmark, golden era of silent films in Denmark. Thomsen was best known for her roles as the elegant leading lady opposite the Danish matinee idol Va ...

. The film depicts a worldwide catastrophe when an errant

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...

passes by Earth and causes natural disasters and social unrest. Blom and his crew created special effects for the comet disaster using showers of fiery sparks and shrouds of smoke. The film attracted a huge audience because of fears generated during the passing of

Halley's comet Halley's Comet or Comet Halley, officially designated 1P/Halley, is a short-period comet visible from Earth every 75–79 years. Halley is the only known short-period comet that is regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth, and thus the o ...

six years earlier, as well as the ongoing turbulence and unrest of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The film is also known as ''The Flaming Sword''. It was restored by the Danish Film Institute and released on DVD in 2006.

Cast

as Frank Stoll - Mine Owner *

Carl Lauritzen Carl Lauritzen (4 April 1879 – 18 April 1940), was a Denmark, Danish actor. He appeared in 15 films between 1912 in film, 1912 and 1920 in film, 1920. External links

* 1879 births 1940 deaths Danish male film actors Danish male si ...

as Mineformand / Mine Forman West *

as Dina West * Johanne Fritz-Petersen as Edith West *

Thorleif Lund Thorleif Brinck Lund (7 June 1880 – 30 June 1956) was a Norwegian stage and film actor of the silent film era. Early life Thorleif Lund was born in Stavanger, Norway to parents Hans Geelmuyden Lund and Bertella Karen Lauritza Bertelsen in 1880 ...

as Minearbejder / Worker Flint *

Alf Blütecher Alf Blütecher (7 February 1880 – 5 March 1959) was a Norwegian actor. He appeared in more than eighty films from 1913 to 1930. Selected filmography References External links * 1880 births 1959 deaths People from Tokke Norwegian mal ...

as Styrmand / Ship's Mate Reymers *

Frederik Jacobsen Frederik Jacobsen (12 September 1876 – 4 September 1922), was a Danish actor. He appeared in 27 films between 1911 and 1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaip� ...

as Den vandrende Prædikant / The Wandering Preacher * K. Zimmerman as Professor Wissmann * Moritz Beilawski * Erik Holberg

References

External links

*
''The End of the World''
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

* 1916 films 1910s science fiction drama films Apocalyptic films Danish black-and-white films Danish silent films Danish science fiction drama films Fiction about comets Films directed by August Blom Films about impact events 1916 drama films Comets in film Silent drama films Silent science fiction films {{Denmark-silent-film-stub