Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

Panic in Year Zero!

  • 19621962
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Frankie Avalon, Ray Milland, Richard Bakalyan, Neil Burstyn, Joan Freeman, Jean Hagen, Rex Holman, and Mary Mitchel in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
A family leaves L.A. for a camping trip - just before a nuclear bomb destroys the city. As the city descends into chaos, the father must fight to keep his family alive.
Play trailer2:24
1 Video
51 Photos
  • Action
  • Horror
  • Sci-Fi

A family leaves L.A. for a camping trip - just before a nuclear bomb destroys the city. As the city descends into chaos, the father must fight to keep his family alive.A family leaves L.A. for a camping trip - just before a nuclear bomb destroys the city. As the city descends into chaos, the father must fight to keep his family alive.A family leaves L.A. for a camping trip - just before a nuclear bomb destroys the city. As the city descends into chaos, the father must fight to keep his family alive.

IMDb RATING
6.6/10
4.1K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ray Milland
  • Writers
    • Jay Simms(screenplay)
    • John Morton(screenplay)
    • Ward Moore(short stories "Lot" and "Lot's Daughter")
  • Stars
    • Ray Milland
    • Jean Hagen
    • Frankie Avalon
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ray Milland
  • Writers
    • Jay Simms(screenplay)
    • John Morton(screenplay)
    • Ward Moore(short stories "Lot" and "Lot's Daughter")
  • Stars
    • Ray Milland
    • Jean Hagen
    • Frankie Avalon
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 79User reviews
    • 47Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:24
    Trailer

    Photos51

    Frankie Avalon in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Frankie Avalon and Ray Milland in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Frankie Avalon, Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, and Mary Mitchel in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Frankie Avalon, Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, and Mary Mitchel in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Joan Freeman in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Richard Bakalyan, Neil Burstyn, and Rex Holman in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Frankie Avalon, Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, and Mary Mitchel in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Richard Bakalyan and Joan Freeman in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Ray Milland in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Ray Milland in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Frankie Avalon, Ray Milland, Jean Hagen, and Mary Mitchel in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Ray Milland in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ray Milland
    Ray Milland
    • Harry Baldwinas Harry Baldwin
    Jean Hagen
    Jean Hagen
    • Ann Baldwinas Ann Baldwin
    Frankie Avalon
    Frankie Avalon
    • Rick Baldwinas Rick Baldwin
    Mary Mitchel
    Mary Mitchel
    • Karen Baldwinas Karen Baldwin
    Joan Freeman
    Joan Freeman
    • Marilyn Hayesas Marilyn Hayes
    Richard Garland
    Richard Garland
    • Ed Johnson - Hardware Store Owneras Ed Johnson - Hardware Store Owner
    Richard Bakalyan
    Richard Bakalyan
    • Carlas Carl
    Rex Holman
    Rex Holman
    • Mickeyas Mickey
    Neil Burstyn
    Neil Burstyn
    • Andyas Andy
    • (as Neil Nephew)
    Willis Bouchey
    Willis Bouchey
    • Dr. Powell Strongas Dr. Powell Strong
    O.Z. Whitehead
    O.Z. Whitehead
    • Hogan - Grocery Store Owneras Hogan - Grocery Store Owner
    Russ Bender
    Russ Bender
    • Harknessas Harkness
    Byron Morrow
    Byron Morrow
    • Evacuee from Newhallas Evacuee from Newhall
    Hugh Sanders
    Hugh Sanders
    • Beckeras Becker
    Shary Marshall
    Shary Marshall
    • Bobbie Johnsonas Bobbie Johnson
    Chet Brandenburg
    Chet Brandenburg
    • Roadside Diner Customeras Roadside Diner Customer
    • (uncredited)
    Ralph Clanton
    • Radio Announceras Radio Announcer
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Kelton Crawford
    • Looteras Looter
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Ray Milland
    • Writers
      • Jay Simms(screenplay) (story)
      • John Morton(screenplay)
      • Ward Moore(short stories "Lot" and "Lot's Daughter") (uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
    6.6
    X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
    Five
    6.3
    Five
    The Last Man on Earth
    6.7
    The Last Man on Earth
    This Is Not a Test
    5.3
    This Is Not a Test
    Invasion of the Triffids
    6.1
    Invasion of the Triffids
    The Day the Earth Caught Fire
    7.2
    The Day the Earth Caught Fire
    Not of This Earth
    6.2
    Not of This Earth
    The Safecracker
    6.0
    The Safecracker
    The 27th Day
    6.2
    The 27th Day
    The Premature Burial
    6.5
    The Premature Burial
    Phase IV
    6.5
    Phase IV
    The World, the Flesh and the Devil
    6.8
    The World, the Flesh and the Devil

    Storyline

    Edit
    While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland) and his family hear an immense explosion and realise the awful truth; Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Mayhem and madness 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 its first casualties. Not one to give up, Harry doors things to make sure his family has a chance at surviving. —alfiehitchie
    • nuclear attack
    • post apocalypse
    • nuclear bomb
    • lawlessness
    • cave
    • 105 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • 'A'-Day... When Civilization Came To An End!
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Horror
      • Sci-Fi
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • Approved
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The Saddle Peak Lodge featured in the movie is an actual restaurant still open today. Located in Calabasas, CA.
    • Goofs
      The buck didn't stop here: Rick (Frankie Avalon) shoots a buck and carries it on his back up to where his father (Ray Milland) is standing. Rick lets the buck drop off his back, and it hits the ground and rolls behind him, until it disappears off screen. Camera angle switches to a close-up of Rick and his father talking. Then there's a wider camera shot as both father and son turn to look at the buck, but the buck is now lying on the ground almost right next to Rick.
    • Quotes

      Ann Baldwin: I know I should be grateful we're still alive, but... I love you, Harry, but not more than a future without hope. I've got to have hope to go on. I've got to know there are other people like us, like our children. People who are better than just animals!

    • Crazy credits
      Other than the title, all credits are at the end of the movie.
    • Connections
      Featured in Aweful Movies with Deadly Earnest: Panic in the Year Zero (1969)

    User reviews79

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    May look campy: Perhaps more real than we realize...
    This is a genuinely enjoyable example of a "post-nuclear holocaust survival

    film." It may seem a bit campy by modern standards, but is actually well thought- out and acted. The early 60's were an era in which it seemed possible to

    contemplate a nuclear war that broke down civilization's normal function

    withOUT reducing the entire countryside to rubble. A man takes his family out into the country to escape the chaos, still clinging to the hope that normalcy and order will soon return. His wife is horrified at his newfound ruthlessness, and the kids seem willing to go with the new rules of the jungle.

    Ray Milland was at one time an acclaimed actor, but his academy award for

    "Lost Weekend" seems to have cursed his career. Now regarded as a "serious"

    actor, suited only for "down" roles, he wasn't given much chance to work in the more "up" big-studio roles of the fifties. By the time he wound up at AIP, he was little more than a "has-been" to the public. But he retained real talent, as his directing and starring in this and other Sci-fi pictures of the period shows. When given a free hand, as in "Panic In Year Zero!" he took on challenges others

    would have shied away from and showed that he still had a lot to offer. Sadly, big time directors continued to ignore him and the end of his life was defined by roles in "Frogs" and "The Thing With Two Heads" - films far worse than anything with Corman's name on them.

    "Panic in Year Zero!" displays the basic conflict of compromise: Ray's character must compromise his beliefs and code of behavior in order to preserve what he cares for. His constant conflict with his wife displays the conflict between

    differing ideas of what needs to be preserved - to her, saving the family by acts of savagery is unacceptable, and the only way to preserve civilization is to apply its rules in every situation. The ending seems to redeem Ray, but the fact is that the questions raised are answered by each viewer in the course of the film in his or her own way. Events in the film are not one-sided, and Ray's relation to the hardware store owner calls into question his position and correctness: perhaps by allying himself earlier with other decent people trying to survive, Ray could have saved his family from some of what it endures.

    As we now re-acclimate ourselves to an era in which the possibility of "limited" nuclear attack (from national or independent terrorist groups) seems more likely than Mutual Assured Destruction, it is possible that films such as "Panic in Year Zero!" offer us important ethical problems. Problems we hope never to have to solve in real life, but which the screen offers a means to wrestle with in a safe environment.
    helpful•47
    11
    • Vornoff-3
    • Jun 14, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 5, 1962 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • End of the World
    • Filming locations
      • Saddle Peak Lodge - 419 Cold Canyon Drive, Calabasas, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Roger Corman Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $225,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 33 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The End’, starring Tilda Swinton, among €5.5m Eurimages funding
    Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The End’, starring Tilda Swinton, among €5.5m Eurimages funding
    Mar 30ScreenDaily
    ‘Double Walker’ Review
    ‘Double Walker’ Review
    Dec 9Nerdly

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Frankie Avalon, Ray Milland, Richard Bakalyan, Neil Burstyn, Joan Freeman, Jean Hagen, Rex Holman, and Mary Mitchel in Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Panic in Year Zero! (1962) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The 10 Most Anticipated Marvel and DC Movies
    See the full list
    Image caption not available
    2:14
    The Most Anticipated Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    Watch the video

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.