It was produced by George Pal, directed by Rudolph Maté, and stars Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, and John Hoyt.

Pilot David Randall flies top-secret photographs from South African astronomer Dr. Emery Bronson to Dr. Cole Hendron in the United States.

Hendron warns the United Nations that the end of the world is little more than eight months away, with a close pass first by Zyra, before Bellus destroys the Earth nineteen days later.

Stanton demands the right to select the passengers in exchange for his money, but Hendron insists that he is not qualified to make those choices; all he can do is buy a seat on the ark.

Joyce tells her father she is attracted to Randall, so he finds an excuse to keep him around, much to the annoyance of her boyfriend, medical doctor Tony Drake.

As the day of doom approaches, 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.

Hendron adds the young woman to the passenger list, over Stanton's objections, and takes the precaution of having the chosen women board the ark while the men wait outside.

When George Pal began his adaptation years later, he initially wanted to make a more lavish production with a larger budget, but he wound up being forced to scale back his plans.

The sketch has visible artificial structures in the distance to the left and right as David Randall and Joyce Hendron leave the ark, suggesting an alien civilization.

[15] UCLA's differential analyzer is shown briefly near the beginning of the film; it "verifies" the initial hand calculations confirming the coming destruction of the Earth.

[8] Producer George Pal considered making a sequel based on the second novel, After Worlds Collide, but the box office failure of his Conquest of Space (1955) made that impossible.

[16] He reported that "Except for a rustle of applause to salute a perfect pancake landing, the drowsy audience at the Globe, where the film opened yesterday, showed slight interest.

[17] Emory University physics professor Sidney Perkowitz notes that When Worlds Collide is the first in a long list of films where "science wielded by a heroic scientist confronts a catastrophe".

[18] Librarian and filmographer Charles P. Mitchell was critical of the "... scientific gaffes that dilute the storyline" and a "failure to provide consistent first-class effects".