Watch: 1933 Doomsday Flick Depicts New York Being Destroyed By Earthquake / Tsunami

A 1933 disaster movie titled Deluge, which was believed to have been lost, depicts the destruction of New York City by a massive earthquake followed by Tsunami.

The original version of the movie was in English, but an Italian-dubbed version was recently uncovered. English sub-titles have been added.

It has been referred to as the first “Doomsday Movie” ever produced.

The special effects, created by model maker Ned Mann, who also worked on Darryl F. Zanuck’s production of Noah’s Ark, required the construction of a huge scale model of the Big Apple, complete with the harbor.

The buildings were made of thin plaster shells, which explains the awkward way in which they appear to crumble and break away like Lego constructions or Jenga towers.

The earthquake scene, set to an ominous, appropriately dissonant score, shows the city reduced to a heap of rubble. The camera tracks panicked residents running through the streets and being buried under falling debris.

The model of New York City covered an entire sound stage, which was especially enclosed to allow the flooding of the set, which takes place after the earthquake sets off a tsunami that inundates the ruins. Arguably the most arresting shot in the disaster sequence is that of the Statue of Liberty seen above the monster waves.

Daily Mail

Video via Steve Quayle: