Original subtitles

(dramatic orchestral music)

(dramatic orchestral music continues)

(dramatic orchestral music continues)

(grand orchestral music)

(explosion booming)

- [Narrator] What the future will bring, no man can say.

But one fact is certain, mankind stands

at the crucial crossroads of history,

the threshold of a new era, the Atomic Age.

For the people of the US, skilled in the uses

of science and technology, the Atomic Age

is profoundly significant.

Across a continent enormous in its agricultural potential,

Americans have drawn from the earth a rich bounty,

have built great cities, have reared towers into the sky,

have spun intricate networks of highways across the land.

By the application of science, industry has grown

increasingly productive, making possible a good way of life.

With assurance, Americans look with an abiding faith

to the future.

For many, citizen and scientist alike,

atomic energy means the promise of a more abundant life.

But for many another, the atom is a threat,

an evil promise, the paralyzing panic of our time.

Thus to answer the perplexing question of the atom

and its implications, the people have turned their attention

to the forum of public affairs,

have sought to search out realities, to find the facts,

or to listen to the men of science,

like Dr. Jeremiah Morley, famed geologist,

the embattled founder of the now-defunct

Society to Save Civilization.

It was Morley who told a Los Angeles audience that--

- A series of atomic explosions,

either accidental or deliberate,

could set off a chain reaction

to annihilate every man, woman,

and child on the face of the Earth.

It could cause the death of every living thing!

(somber music)

- [Narrator] In a gloomy report,

Morley took a dim view of history.

Recall the tragically repetitious story,

the decline and fall of all past civilizations.

Said Morley, modern civilization could,

by the phenomenon of atomic fission,

be brought to dust and ashes.

For example, if an A-bomb were detonated

at the Empire State Building, the area of total destruction

would cover an area of two miles.

Now, since the A-bomb is already obsolete,

consider the area of total destruction of an H-bomb.

- And science has promised us bombs

1000 times more powerful, poisoning with radioactivity

all the air and water of this Earth.

This could mean not only the end of our own civilization,

but the very possibility of any future civilization.

What are we gonna do about it?

I'll tell you what I'm going to do about it.

I have a plan,

a plan to preserve human life on this planet.

I hope you will join with me in carrying it out.

(audience applauding)

(gentle orchestral music)

- [Narrator] The response to Dr. Morley's appeal

was immediate and enthusiastic.

The Society to Save Civilization was set up.

To its headquarters flocked amateur do-gooders

and professional scientists.

From them, Morley chose a staff of experts:

Dr. Max A. Bauer, eminent geophysicist,

ousted by Hitler from the University of Munich in 1933;

Dr. James Paxton, metallurgical engineer,

twice winner of the McKenna Scientific Award;

Joan Lindsey, medical doctor and ardent feminist,

who, for her research in biochemistry,

was named winner of the annual award

by the American Confederation of Women Scientists;

Dr. George Coleman, authority on soil conservation;

and Andrew Ostengaard, sandhog, explosives expert,

Marine veteran of World War II.

It was this team, qualified each in his own way,

that helped set in motion Morley's audacious project,

a daringly planned program, which he took three months later

to the board of directors of the Carlisle Foundation.

- And so my colleagues and I believe

that humanity can escape annihilation,

can find a temporary haven, a promise of hope

that come what may, life can be sustained

deep within the Earth itself.

Far below the surface we shall seek a natural,

a geological shelter.

We have a team ready for the effort.

All we lack are funds.

Can we get them from your foundation?

- Dr. Morley, I believe it would expedite matters

if I were to ask the questions.

We're laymen, you know.

First of all, isn't the inside of the Earth solid?

- The interior of the Earth is made up of vast caverns

and air pockets, joined by natural avenues,

leading from the surface.

- Natural avenues?

- Tunnels and fissures.

Such a fissure lies within the world's largest

extinct volcano at Mount Neleh.

That is where we intend to start our journey.

- So, these tunnels, how far down to they go?

- Hundreds of miles, perhaps thousands,

to the very core of the Earth.

- But isn't the inside of the Earth,

the very core, a molten, fiery mass?

- To the contrary.

The latest body of theory holds

that the inside of a sphere, such as the Earth,

is cooler than the temperature at its surface.

- And how would you traverse these thousands of miles?

- Dr. Coleman, the prospective drawings, please.

- [Dr. Coleman] This is a cyclotram.

- [Man] A what?

- [Dr. Coleman] It's an amphibious conveyance

based on the principles of ovoidal atmosphere.

- A what?

- Like a submarine, with the mobility of a tractor.

Its head contains a burrowing device,

and its walls can withstand extremes

of temperature and pressure.

- But even with the cyclotram, or the atmosphere

of the whatnot, how do you know you'll be successful

in finding this underground haven?

- We don't know, but we must try.

There is no other alternative, no other cause,

no other hope of keeping the spark of life alive.

- And the cost?

Hmm.

That's a lot of money, Dr. Morley.

But surely you don't expect-- - But we do!

- I know you and your committee mean well-- - Mean well?

Next you'll be calling us starry-eyed idealists.

- Dr. Lindsey, you're out of order.

- The whole world is out of order.

- And I suppose you and your associates can set it right?

- We couldn't have set it wronger if we tried.

- [Narrator] The appropriation was denied.

To carry on his work, Dr. Morley issued repeated appeals

to the members of the organization.

It failed, and so last week, the Society

to Save Civilization was itself extinct.

And what of its leaders?

Of Professor Jeremiah Morley

and his enthusiastic colleagues?

Where were they headed after a year of devotion

to a lost but spectacular cause?

To newsreel reporters, Dr. Morley had only this to say:

- We have no plans.

We have no hope.

(grand orchestral music)

- Better stand by, Frank.

We may want to run that again.

Well, gentlemen, what do you think?

- It's like asking a man what he thinks of his own obituary.

- I thought you'd like to see it, before its release,

in case you had any objections.

- Now he thinks of our objections.

- You've been crucifying us for a year,

Mr. Thompson, in the newspapers you edit,

the magazines you publish, and the syndicates you control.

- And now this newsreel.

- Just a minute, gentlemen.

You seem to have me confused with my father.

He dictates the policies of our publications.

- Like father, like son.

- Nothing, Dr. Bauer, could be more unscientific.

As a matter of fact, my father and I

never see eye to eye on anything.

- So he's the villain of the piece and you are the hero.

- Quite the contrary.

My father has all the virtues of our society.

He makes the money, I spend it.

- That's a large occupation.

- Oh, I have no occupation, I'm strictly-- - You wouldn't.

- That idea of yours, Dr. Morley,

about exploring the inside of the Earth.

You know, I'd like to try that, just for the kicks.

- I'm sure you wouldn't find it very exciting.

- Oh, I don't know.

Gentlemen, I came here tonight with a proposition.

I have some money of my own.

I would like to finance your project.

- Are you serious?

Sit down, my boy.

- There's one stipulation, however.

I go with you.

- And what could you do?

- I'm afraid you don't realize what you'd be up against.

- Going 1000 miles inside the Earth,

just to satisfy a whim?

- Gentlemen, you act as if the fate of humanity

hung upon you granting me this whim.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- [Joan Voiceover] Plans for the expedition

are being completed ahead of schedule,

and Morley is pleased with our progress.

The cyclotram nears completion.

Adequate nutrition in concentrated form has been perfected,

and for an auxiliary water supply,

the snow and H2O condenser will be used.

By the study of our laboratory animals in a new environment,

we expect to gather important scientific data.

At last, the cyclotram is ready

to be loaded aboard the SS Aurora.

(steam horn blowing)

Our destination, the extinct volcano, Mount Neleh,

where the inside of the Earth begins.

This was our base, a lonely desolate beach

at the foot of the extinct volcano.

(wind blowing)

(steam horn blowing)

- Well, let's go.

- What a place to spend our last night on Earth.

- You sound like we'll all be dead in the morning.

- It's a possibility, if we stay here.

(volcano rumbling)

- Andy, take the controls.

Follow the ridge line.

Keep out of the ravines.

Descend at an angle of not more than 33 degrees.

(switches clicking)

(machine whirring)

(levers cranking)

- Something's wrong.

(switches clicking)

(computer whistling)

- Now try it.

(machine whirring)

Sustain 2000 RPM.

Follow our chart plan to R-4.

- Check.

(machine whirring)

- What's our elevation now?

- Approaching 6300 feet.

Angle of descent 19 degrees.

- [Andy] Speed constant, 2100 RPM.

(machine rumbling)

- I wonder how long this iron lung is gonna hold up.

- You can still beg out.

- Nah, you can't get rid of me so easily.

(machine whirring)

- Give me a reading on the forward rotational unit.

- We're up to 9000, climbing at 24 MPH, angle 31 degrees.

- At that rate, we'll make the summit in four hours.

(computer whirring)

Dr. Morley, we are meeting some unstable isotopes.

- Increase the lateral units to 12,000.

(machine whirring)

- Say, this is gettin' rough!

(machine whirring)

- We're approaching position R-4.

- Our computations show an error of less than plus 0.14.

- Good.

We'll reach the summit in 30 minutes.

(machine whirring)

(machine whirring)

(gentle foreboding music)

- Five hours and 27 minutes.

- Excellent.

33 minutes ahead of our estimated schedule.

- We'll make a final check of our position

before we head to the crater.

(gentle foreboding music continues)

- Sure glad the professor picked this volcano

for our expedition.

- Maybe this one could come to life, too.

- No, not a chance.

- Don't bet on it.

(gentle foreboding music continues)

- Concerned.

- There's no reason for us to wait 'til dawn.

We'll proceed into the crater now.

(gentle foreboding music continues)

- Just one last look at the Earth.

- Yeah.

(volcano rumbling)

What a way to remember it.

- Follow the downward spiral.

Keep to the inside ledges.

Speed 1200 RPM.

(machine whirring)

- Brother, it's really black out there.

(machine whirring)

(meter clicking)

- [Joan Voiceover] As we descend ever deeper into the volcano,

I have observed no unusual physical symptoms.

Paxton seems withdrawn, irritable,

but with such an annoyance as Wright Thompson present,

the condition may not be considered abnormal.

- The descending ledges are getting awfully narrow.

We must be at position R-18.

- Yes, we are.

Cut the switches.

(machine whirring)

We'll be doing some hiking now.

Better have some breakfast.

- Rise and shine.

It's morning.

- How can you tell?

- Breakfast is served.

- Breakfast.

Well, I've always said, nothing like starting off

a hard day's work than with a good breakfast.

Eh, Doc?

- How would you know?

- You don't like my kind of guy, do you?

- Not very much.

But I'll make an exception of you.

You, I don't like a lot.

- Coleman, take the controls.

We'll scout the way on foot for you.

Follow on down along the widest ledges.

(gentle foreboding music)

- Watch that, it's loose.

- What's the matter? - I don't like it.

- What did you expect in here,

the Garden of Eden?

- I'm not talking about volcanoes, I mean Wright Thompson.

He doesn't belong here.

- None of us belongs here.

We're doing what has to be done.

- He doesn't feel that responsibility.

He's just a useless piece of excess baggage,

a selfish thrill-seeker.

- But without him, there'd be no expedition.

- Pardon me.

- Kinda deep down there, isn't it?

(gentle foreboding music continues)

Nice and friendly bunch, those scientists.

- Well, what's your trouble?

- Oh, nothing, but don't they ever talk?

- Not unless they got something to say.

That's the way it is with smart people.

- Maybe they're not so smart.

Maybe they don't know what they're doing down here.

- Listen, buster.

Each one of them has taught at more colleges

than you've flunked out of.

- So what are you doing down here among all those brains?

- I manage to make myself useful.

It might be well if you did the same thing.

- Doing what?

- This.

You lead the way for a while.

We've hit bottom, rock bottom.

- Hello, Coleman. Coleman?

Come in.

- [Dr. Coleman] Go ahead.

- We've reached the end of the channel,

established our position.

- Our depth below mean sea level, 2.6 miles.

(pensive music)

- "The Engstrand underground geological expedition

reached this point June 12, 1938,

and was unable to proceed further.

Why anyone who follows us should want to go further

we do not know, but we assume that they have

good reason for doing so.

Good luck."

- If Engstrand were living today, he'd know the reason.

- The world has changed since 1938.

- The world has changed since yesterday.

We better get to work.

(ground rumbling)

- Look!

- That's pressure from the other volcano.

We'll have to work this side.

Paxton!

- Yes, Dr. Morley?

- Start making density readings on that wall over there.

- Yes, sir.

(machine whirring)

- This is it, the point of least resistance.

- Okay, Andy!

- I'm ready.

- We'll all go back to the cyclotram.

(Thompson sighs)

- Fuses one and two set.

(machine whirring)

(explosion booming)

I wonder what we'll be running into.

- There's only one way to find out.

(machine whirring)

- Take it easy.

(drill whirring)

- We've broken through.

(mysterious orchestral music)

- Looks like a tunnel.

So far, so good.

Put on your gas masks just in case.

Coleman, we'll set the pace, you follow along

with the cyclotram.

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

- The air is fresh and clear.

You can take your masks off.

- The pressure seems normal.

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

- I wonder where it leads.

- That's exactly what we're gonna find out.

Lead the way, Andy.

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

(machine whirring)

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

(machine whirring)

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

(water dripping)

- How did it all happen?

- A long time ago, the earth above was covered with water.

- When the sea vanished,

it left red limestone deposits behind.

- Was all this limestone?

- Yes.

And then the water gathered in underground streams

and carved out the soft limestone.

Drop by drop, year by year, the water dissolved the stone.

- Each drop carried a tiny particle of sediment.

That's what formed these columns.

About an inch every 1000 years.

- Well how long did this whole process take?

- About 200 million years.

Hello, Coleman. Coleman?

Bring up the tram, we'll proceed from here.

(machine whirring)

- We're down 100 miles, you better pull up.

Cut the switches.

(switches clicking)

- It's funny, when we first got here

I felt a sort of exaltation.

Now I feel depressed.

I don't know why.

- The oxygen content is adequate.

- I know.

But I too feel suffocated.

Maybe it's the unreality of this place.

- You know, once when I was working in the Holland Tunnel,

I got cut off from my crew for 10 hours.

I felt this way then.

- I think I know what it is.

It's loneliness.

It's the feeling of a person away from people.

I felt it on the top of a mountain in Tibet,

in a jungle, and on the Arabian desert.

It's like the last cord tying you with humanity has been cut.

- It's more than that.

People have dignity only in relation to many other people.

Alone, a man is as useless as any rock out there.

- Oh, you're both talking nonsense.

Nature doesn't influence man, man influences nature.

One man, one strong man, can change nature.

- Oh, you're wrong, Dr. Paxton.

It isn't one man, it's many men working together.

Right, teacher?

- Men together are no more than sheep.

One man standing alone leads the way, and the sheep follow.

- Please, gentlemen-- - Well, I'm embarrassed

for all of you who call yourselves scientists.

Swayed by a self-indulgent young fool.

(water cup crinkling)

I'm going ahead.

I hope that by the time you catch up with me,

the atmosphere will have cleared

the cobwebs from your brains.

- I'd better go with him.

It isn't safe for a man to be alone down here.

- Ah, he's all right.

He's the leader type.

- I'll go with him anyway.

There wouldn't be leaders if there weren't

sheep like me to be led.

(machine whirring)

- I still don't see any sign of Paxton and Coleman.

- Well, keep going.

(alarm beeping)

- Gas?

Gas!

(tense music)

- Paxton and Coleman.

- They forgot their gas masks.

(tense orchestral music)

(mysterious orchestral music)

Dr. Coleman, Paxton!

- There they are!

(mysterious orchestral music)

- Strange...

Digging a grave 110 miles under the earth.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(alarm beeping)

- We must go on.

It's too late to turn back now.

(machine whirring)

(machine whirring)

(meter clicking)

- No thanks.

- Andy?

- Yeah.

- Hmm?

- You know, right now I'd give $1000 for a good hamburger.

(Bauer laughs)

And another $1000 for onions on it.

- Dr. Morley!

Our water supply is ruined.

- Cut the switches.

Polluted by the gas fumes.

- Yeah, somebody left it open.

Back there just before Paxton and Coleman took off.

- I guess I forgot to close it.

- Oh, you-- - Andy!

It was an accident.

- An accident?

We may never find water again.

Now I suppose you'd give $1000 for a glass of that.

- Andy, there's a job to be done.

We've got to find water fast, and in this area.

- Yeah, I know, we got about a chance in 1000 of finding it.

- Look, there's Andy.

(mysterious orchestral music)

Andy!

Andy!

Andy!

- Hello.

- [Joan] You all right?

- So far, so good.

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

No water here!

(Andy sighs)

Thing like this is enough to drive a man stir-crazy.

- It's no use.

240 miles inside the Earth.

- Yeah, and no water.

(bottle rattling) (water rippling faintly)

- Here.

I'd been saving it for the animals.

- Go ahead, enjoy yourself.

It doesn't cost a cent.

- Stop it.

Andy.

This is ridiculous.

We have something larger at stake

than you're personal petty feuding.

Now you two can come with us or stay here

and kill each other.

I'm going up to the cyclotram.

- Never mind.

I'll go get it.

(machine whirring)

(mysterious music)

- There!

- Water.

Listen.

(liquid trickling faintly)

Sounds like running water!

- But where is it coming from?

- It's behind that wall!

- It is running water.

- Well, why don't we go through the wall with the cyclotram?

- No.

Thirstiest brother, there's still such a thing

as too much water.

- It could be an underground sea.

- Andy. Andy, bring a couple of heavy hammers.

- What's up, Professor?

- We think there's water behind that wall.

Try breaking it in.

- Sure.

(liquid trickling faintly)

(hammer banging)

- I brought two hammers, you know.

(hammer banging)

(hammers banging)

(steam hissing)

- [Joan] Come in here, let's take care of that arm.

(door slamming)

- The outside temperature's rising fast,

it's up to 280 degrees now.

- It looks as if it could go on forever.

(air hissing)

- Hold it out there.

- Outer temperature is dropping fast.

- The outside pressure's dropping, too.

- Good.

Condensation will soon take place.

- There.

- You're a pretty good doctor at that.

- You're a pretty good patient at that.

- Thanks.

- Here, slip this on.

(mysterious music)

- It's water.

Look.

Look, everyone, it's water.

(dramatic orchestral music)

(mysterious orchestral music)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Joan, are you all right?

- Well?

What shall we do now?

- All right, I'll say it.

I'll say what's on all of our minds.

- Don't try to read our minds, Thompson.

Just speak for yourself.

- Then I say let's go back.

- And I say go on.

- But look at Joan.

- We've gotten nowhere, deeper and deeper into nowhere.

We've failed.

- Would our failure be any less if we turn back now?

- Our chances of living would be greater.

- If we go on, we're dead.

As dead as Paxton and Coleman.

- That's a chance we have to take.

- The stakes are high, higher than our lives.

They involve the life and death of all mankind.

- That's a great speech, but I won't buy it.

- All right.

Let's put it to a vote.

Thompson? - Go back.

- Andy? - Go on.

- Bauer?

(dramatic orchestral music)

- Go back.

- Go on.

Seems to be a deadlock.

I suppose none of us would like to reconsider?

- Doesn't woman's suffrage count here?

- What do you say, Joan?

- I say go on, and let's not waste any more time about it.

(machine whirring)

How are those burns coming along?

- Good as new.

How are you, Doc?

- Oh, I'll get by.

- Here.

- What's it for?

- Does it have to be for something?

Does everything have to be functional?

It's a good luck ring.

Saved my life in Tibet.

Here, take it.

- Why give it to me?

- Haven't you ever been romanced before?

- Not 900 miles below sea level.

- Then it's about time.

If there were any flowers around here, I'd pick them for you.

- There's a highly scientific theory which states

that if any man and any woman are cast away anywhere,

for any length of time, sooner or later

they'd think they were in love.

That's what's happened to you.

- If that theory has any value, it should apply to you.

Does it?

- No.

- Well, I guess I need a little more time.

We'll talk about it later.

(machine whirring)

Say, how about pulling this jalopy level for a minute,

just long enough for us to get out

of these straitjackets and stretch.

(machine whirring)

How much longer is it gonna be like this?

- Oh, Wright, what difference does it make?

- Plenty.

If it's gonna be like this the rest of the way, why go on?

Why waste time?

- That shouldn't make any difference to you.

You've never done anything but waste time.

- Listen, you meathead.

Just because you're a sandhog that likes to go

grubbing around in the ground...

- And you're mug who goes with his head in the clouds.

- Stop it, both of you.

- I've had enough of this!

What's happened?

- I don't know.

We've struck water.

- We're out of it.

- This might be what we're looking for.

Let's make a landing and explore the area.

(switches clicking)

(machine whirring)

- It's got a high calcium content, but it's drinkable.

- Hey!

Look what I found!

(mysterious music)

- They're cave pearls.

- Cave pearls?

How much they worth?

- Calcium carbonate.

- Calcium carbonate?

Well, how about this?

- Sulfate of lime, plaster of Paris.

- Professor, you take the romance out of everything.

Here you are, Doc, two souvenirs from Hades,

vacation land of the underworld.

- Thank you.

Back home, I'll be the envy of every kid on the block.

- I'm not so sure, Joan.

Take a cave pearl into the sunlight, it turns gray and ugly.

- And the flower?

- It'll crumble to dust.

- Here, Professor, how about these fish?

- It's a rare species.

They're edible, though.

- They have no eyes.

I think I'll stick to pills.

- They lost their eyes 10 million years ago.

- What kind of a place is this?

Flowers that crumble to dust in your hand.

Stones that look like pearls.

Fish without eyes.

Nature's sure a practical joker.

- I suppose you could've done better?

- 10 million years?

I couldn't have done worse.

- [Joan Voiceover] Morley believes this is the shelter

we've been searching for, a valley of shadows

where life can be sustained.

A shelter for humanity.

And yet our morale is very low.

What do we want?

A ray or two of sunshine, a change of seasons?

Starry nights?

In this graveyard, Morley thinks--

- We can build a new life right here.

- You mean this is what we're looking for?

- You'll get used to it.

- Well, who wants to get used to it?

- Why don't we go on, a little further?

- What?

We've come 1100 miles already.

- How can you measure what we've been through in miles?

I say let's go back or go on, but this is no place.

- What is your wish?

- We've come so far, let's go on.

(machine whirring)

(ship thudding)

- Well?

- Which way do we go?

- I suppose we'll have to explore both channels.

- I'll take the right one.

Wright, you take the other.

- Why me?

- I'll tell you why.

- I'm sick of taking your orders.

- That's the trouble with you, Thompson,

that's all you do is take, you never give.

- Without me there wouldn't have been any expedition.

- Well, that's not enough.

It's time you gave something of yourself

and not your pocketbook.

- Andy.

- We might as well get started.

(mysterious orchestral music)

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

(tense orchestral music)

- Help, help, help, help!

Help!

Help!

Help!

Help!

Help!

- Hold on.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

Watch it.

(suspenseful orchestral music continues)

That's it.

Take it easy.

(suspenseful orchestral music continues)

- Andy!

Andy! (breathing heavily)

Andy.

- You're supposed to be taking it easy.

Try to get some rest.

Listen to me, Wright.

You've been like this for days, how long can you keep it up?

- He didn't like me any more than I liked him,

yet he saved my life.

- It doesn't help brooding over it.

- But he died saving my life.

- He did what he believed was right.

- My trouble was I never believed in anything.

- You can start now.

- Morley wants to go back to that valley of the shadows

he liked so much.

- Well, it's better than this.

- But it isn't good enough.

- What do you want to do?

- I too want to go back.

But all the way back.

Now that Andy's dead--

- Now that Andy's dead we've got to go on.

We've got to, until we find what we're after.

If we fail, then we can talk about going back.

- Pull right there.

(machine whirring)

Good.

- This must be a continuation of the other river.

- No, I think it's just the seepage from it.

- Listen.

What's that?

(mysterious orchestral music)

- Look.

- It's like daylight.

(mysterious orchestral music continues)

(grand orchestral music)

It's like a dream after a terrible nightmare.

- I think we've found it.

(water rushing)

- The promised land.

(both laughing)

[Joan Voiceover] We have discovered a vast and radiant

cavern deep within the Earth.

Along the shores of this incredible cave

lies a great underground sea, gathering up the waters

of the Earth, a strange sunless light

is reflected from the phosphorescent dome.

(pensive orchestral music)

The glowing peaks are weathered and sharp,

and the gullies deep.

The wind is soft, and the climate pleasant.

Vapors rise up into the bright dome,

forming luminous clouds.

(pensive orchestral music continues)

The area is rich in chemical resources.

That means power and industry, according to Bauer.

And Wright says a real estate boom is on.

(match clicks)

- Got a match?

- Sure, sure.

(match clicks)

- Hmm.

- How you coming, Professor?

- Uh-huh.

- Still feeding those rabbits?

They eat like pigs.

- Small wonder, they're expecting in a couple of weeks.

- All of the rabbits?

- No silly, just the lady rabbits.

- Tell me more.

- Here, make yourself useful, get some more water.

(Thompson laughs)

Explorations and surveys of the surrounding area continue.

Morley and Thompson have set out toward the southeast

to investigate the land and its potentialities.

(pensive orchestral music)

- This is a strange kind of sand.

- That's no sand, that's volcanic ash.

The ash will make good fertilizer for our crops.

- Crops?

Let's face facts, Morley, this is a desert.

The very word means deserted by life.

And you talk about crops.

- It can be irrigated.

This country has everything: water, soil, air, heat.

- Yeah, you're forgetting one thing, though.

No sunlight.

- Science can adjust that.

Crops can thrive without sunlight.

- Perhaps, but can we?

- What sort of species is it?

- It's the fossil remains of a species of lungfish.

He breathed by means of both lungs and gills.

When he came out of the sea 400 million years ago,

he was the ruler of the animal kingdom.

With his lungs, he was a pioneer in a new way of life.

- How did they become extinct?

- Like some of us on Earth, they seem

to hurry the process of extinction.

- (sighs) Let's get out of here.

(bright orchestral music)

(both laughing)

- What's the matter?

You act like you swallowed a canary for breakfast.

- This is the day, Wright.

- This is what day?

- The day we're expecting the first litter of rabbits.

- Well, who's gonna pass the cigars around?

- You apparently don't realize the importance of it.

- Oh, I'm sorry.

- By observing the rabbits, we've already learned

that they respond to nature basically as we do,

as any mammal does, and from their young born today

we can predict how our own young

will respond in the new world.

- [Joan] Dr. Morley, Bauer.

- Come on.

- You go ahead, I'll get plenty of hot water.

Well, how many boy rabbits and how many girl rabbits, huh?

(somber music)

What's the matter?

Joan, what's the matter?

- They're dead.

They're all born dead.

- I can't understand it.

Why?

Why?

- There must be some cause, some biological reason.

- [Joan Voiceover] We've been searching for causes.

Our investigations have been checked, tests rechecked.

Examination of genetic tissue proves

that all experimental animals born here are sterile.

You know what this means?

- This new world,

a haven for the dead.

- This is the end of the line.

Now we know that the human race

cannot reproduce itself in this underworld region.

- It appears our mission is a failure.

- Then we can't stay here.

- At least one generation could.

- And after that, what?

- The end of humanity.

- That I won't accept.

- Neither can you run away from facts.

(wind blowing)

- (sighs) I've always run away.

Climbing mountains, trying to prove something,

I don't know what.

- I too ran away instead of fighting.

- And now?

- I've run away again.

- And I was always afraid I couldn't compete

in a man's world.

I think I wanna go back and try again.

- Go back to what?

To a world bent on self-destruction?

We can live the rest of our lives here in peace.

- Morley, you're wrong.

This isn't peace.

This is a resting place for the living dead.

I don't believe it's the end of the world.

I don't believe it's the end of mankind.

- You're young, you don't know.

I've lived through the terrors of two great wars.

I've had enough.

(thunder crashing)

(volcano rumbling)

- Take cover!

The cyclotram!

(thunder crashing)

Look!

Look out!

(ground rumbling)

(thunder crashing)

(wind howling)

Bauer, go start the tram.

(thunder crashing)

- Secure the hatch! We'll be swamped!

- Morley!

- Morley!

(wind howling)

Morley!

Come back!

- [Bauer] Secure the hatch!

We'll be swamped!

- [Thompson] Come back!

(thunder crashing)

(machine whirring)

- Take over.

(meter clicking)

- Something's wrong!

- Something's pulling us down.

(meter clicking)

(machine whirring) (meter clicking)

- We're lost.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- We're in a blind alley.

Ever since we've started we've been in a blind alley.

- We can't bury ourselves in the Earth and expect to leave.

Maybe that's the secret.

Morley understood.

- Strange we didn't know it before.

I used to be afraid of death.

- I was afraid of life.

(dramatic orchestral music continues)

(meter clicks)

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(meter clicking)

- Look.

Look!

Look, look!

Look, look!

(suspenseful orchestral music)

That's strange.

How could it be?

- We're above the level of the underground sea.

- We found the channel to the upper ocean.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(bright orchestral music)

Look.

(bright orchestral music continues)

(grand orchestral music)

- The universe is still in harmony.

(gulls cawing)

- There's life on that island, people.

- I feel like I'll live forever.

(bright orchestral music)