Panic in Year Zero! (1962)

A family of four leaves Los Angeles for a camping trip just before a nuclear bomb destroys the city. As lawlessness prevails, the father must fight to keep his family alive.

Director:

Ray Milland

Writers:

Jay Simms (screenplay), John Morton (screenplay),

Stars:

Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, Frankie Avalon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Milland	...	Harry Baldwin
Jean Hagen	...	Ann Baldwin
Frankie Avalon	...	Rick Baldwin
Mary Mitchel	...	Karen Baldwin
Joan Freeman	...	Marilyn Hayes
Richard Bakalyan	...	Carl
Rex Holman	...	Mickey
Richard Garland	...	Ed Johnson - Hardware Store Owner
Willis Bouchey	...	Dr. Powell Strong (as Willis Buchet)
Neil Nephew	...	Andy
O.Z. Whitehead	...	Hogan - Grocery Store Owner
Russ Bender	...	Harkness
Andrea Lane	...	Waitress
Scott Peters
Shary Marshall	...	Bobbie Johnson

Storyline

While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland) and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he sets about the business of surviving in a world where, he knows, the old ideals of humanity will be first casualties. Not one to give up, he holds up a store for supplies and hides the family in a cave.

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Plot Keywords:

lawlessness | nuclear attack | fishing trip | cave | nuclear bomb | 

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Taglines:

An orgy of looting and lust!

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 July 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Panic in Year Zero

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio Center - 4024 Radford Avenue, Studio City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Santa Clara Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The trailer used in the film was a 1962 Kenskill model 17 1/2, built in Sun Valley, California (in the San Fernando Valley).

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Goofs

When the Baldwins drive away from Johnson's store after taking the guns, klieg lights are visibly reflected on the windows of their trailer.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ann Baldwin: Thanks for the help.
Harry Baldwin: Oh, I'm sorry, Ann... Sorry.

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Connections

Referenced in Matinee (1993)

User Reviews

Go into it expecting little, and you'll get a lot.

American International pics are pretty consistent lesser-grade pleasures. If you have a taste for them, there is a vast library of reasonably entertaining AIP movies out there. And occasionally they even outdo themselves. Panic in Year Zero is one of those better than average movies. Working with a typically low AIP budget, Milland, as director, concentrated on getting really fine performances out of the actors and telling his post-atomic war story by focusing on one family trying to find safety in isolation. Overall, it worked well and makes this a film worth seeing.