''Panic in Year Zero!'' is a 1962 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

survival Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things ...

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

from

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

. It was produced by Arnold Houghland and Lou Rusoff, directed by

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. He is often remembered for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in Billy Wilder's ''The Lost Weekend'' (1945), which wo ...

, who also stars with Jean Hagen,

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American singer, actor and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including Record ...

, Mary Mitchel, and Joan Freeman. The original music score was composed by Les Baxter. The screenplay was written by John Morton and Jay Simms. The film was released by AIP in 1962 as a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

with '' Tales of Terror''.

Plot

Harry Baldwin, his wife Ann, their son Rick, and daughter Karen leave suburban

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at sunrise to go on a

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

trip to the southern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

wilderness, bringing with them a small camping trailer. After a couple of hours on the road, Harry and Ann are startled by a series of unusually bright lights in the sky, accompanied by a radio station going to static. Tuning through stations, they hear a sporadic news report broadcast on

CONELRAD CONELRAD (''Control of Electromagnetic Radiation'') was a method of emergency broadcasting to the public of the United States in the event of enemy attack during the Cold War. It was intended to allow continuous broadcast of civil defense informa ...

that hint at the start of an atomic war, confirmed when the Baldwins see a large

mushroom cloud A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke, and usually condensed water vapour resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently e ...

from a

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...

rising over Los Angeles, now many miles away. The family attempt to return home and rescue Ann's mother, but Harry soon realizes that the roads will be clogged by panicked people, and what is left of the city will be saturated in atomic fallout. Stopping at a small diner to get food and find out what is happening, Harry hears that Los Angeles was hit by two hydrogen bombs: one over downtown Los Angeles, the other at the

Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "Amer ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

were also targets. With this news, deciding that his family's survival must come first, Harry decides to continue to their secluded vacation spot in the mountains, abandoning Ann's mother, and weather the crisis from there. The Baldwins stop to buy supplies at a small town off the main road, which has not yet been inundated by refugees from Los Angeles. Harry attempts to purchase tools and guns from hardware store owner Ed Johnson with a personal check. However, Johnson believes only Los Angeles has been hit, and the government remains intact, so he insists on following state law and withholding the guns for 24 hours while Harry's checks are verified. Harry absconds with the weapons by attacking Johnson with Rick's help, but he tells Johnson that he will eventually return and pay for them in full. Soon after, Harry stops at a gas station for fuel and finds that the attendant is engaging in

price gouging Price gouging is the practice of increasing the prices of goods, services, or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair by some. This commonly applies to price increases of basic necessities after natural disaste ...

. Unable to pay for all the fuel he wants, Harry attacks the attendant, leaves what cash he can for the fuel he has taken, and the family continue down the road. Later, the family encounter three threatening young hoodlums, Carl, Mickey, and Andy, but manage to fend them off. After a harrowing journey, the Baldwins reach their destination. Realizing their trailer offers no protection from radioactive fallout, they take the contents of the trailer, and find shelter in a cave where they settle in and wait for civil order to be restored. On their portable radio, they listen to war news and learn that what remains of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

has declared this to be "Year Zero". Harry and Rick discover that Ed Johnson and his wife have coincidentally set up camp nearby, but not for long: the three hoodlums arrive, and murder Ed Johnson and his wife. While doing laundry, Ann drops a blouse in a stream, alerting Mickey and Andy to the Baldwins' presence. They accost and rape Karen, but Ann scares them off with a rifle. Harry and Rick begin a search for the rapists, and find them at a farm house, where Harry kills both of them. The Baldwins also discover a teenage girl, Marilyn, kept in a locked room as a sex slave. When questioned, she explains that she lived at the house with her parents before they were murdered by the three hoodlums. Marilyn is freed and brought to the cave, where she is cared for by Ann and accepted into the Baldwin family. Sometime later, Marilyn accompanies Rick while he chops wood outside the camp. Carl, the third hoodlum, sneaks up behind Marilyn and forces her to drop her rifle. He questions her about what happened to his buddies. Rick throws a piece of wood at Carl, allowing Marilyn to slip out of his grasp. She grabs the rifle and kills Carl. During the confrontation, Carl shoots Rick in the leg. The Baldwins leave their camp to find a doctor named Strong, whom Marilyn knows in the nearby town of Paxton, California. On the drive there, the group hears that "the enemy" has requested a truce and "Year Zero" is ending. Doctor Strong stabilizes Rick, but he warns that the young man will die without a blood transfusion. The closest place that can handle the procedure is an Army hospital more than 100 miles (160 km) away. En route to the hospital, the Baldwins are stopped by an Army patrol. After a tense conversation, they are allowed to continue. The soldiers watch the Baldwins leave and note that the family is among the "good ones" who escaped

radiation sickness Acute radiation syndrome (ARS), also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning, is a collection of health effects that are caused by being exposed to high amounts of ionizing radiation in a short period of time. Symptoms can start wit ...

by being in the mountains when the atomic bombs exploded. As the Baldwins drive on, an end title card states: "There must be no end – only a new beginning".

Cast

as Harry Baldwin * Jean Hagen as Ann Baldwin *

as Rick Baldwin, son * Mary Mitchel as Karen Baldwin, daughter * Joan Freeman as Marilyn Hayes *

Richard Bakalyan Richard Bakalyan (January 29, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor who started his career playing juvenile delinquents in his first several films. Early life Richard Bakalyan was born on January 29, 1931, in Watertown, Massachuset ...

as Carl * Rex Holman as Mickey * Neil Nephew as Andy *

Richard Garland Charles Richard Garland Jr. (July 7, 1927 – May 24, 1969) was an American film, stage and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing constable Clay Horton in the American children's adventure television series '' Lassie'' from 19 ...

as Ed Johnson, hardware store owner * Shary Marshall as Bobbie Johnson *

Willis Bouchey Willis Ben Bouchey (May 24, 1907 - September 27, 1977) was an American character actor. Bouchey may be best known for his movie appearances in '' The Horse Soldiers'', '' The Long Gray Line'', '' Sergeant Rutledge'', '' Two Rode Together'', ...

as Dr. Powell Strong * O.Z. Whitehead as Hogan, grocery store owner * Russ Bender as Harkness * Byron Morrow as Evacuee from Newhall * Hugh Sanders as Evacuee from Chatsworth

Production

The film was originally known as ''Survival''. Samuel Z. Arkoff of AIP said Avalon and Milland were teamed together because "they both have particular types of followers and the combination adds up to an attraction." Filming started 22 February 1962.

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

later said about the film, "the subject was exciting, but the technicians who worked on the film, who were my technicians, told me that Ray had been somewhat overwhelmed. He wasn’t organized enough to act and direct at the same time. He lost time on a three-week schedule, and forgot his scenes."

Reception

Frankie Avalon later said, "The film came out to real good reviews." American International Pictures sent the star around the country to promote it. He went on to say, "We did a tour of theaters in Los Angeles, and it made its money back just in Los Angeles alone." This success led to Avalon making a number of films with AIP.

Critical

Michael Atkinson, the film critic for ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', liked the film and wrote in 2005, "This forgotten, saber-toothed 1962 AIP cheapie might be the most expressive on-the-ground nightmare of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

era, providing a template not only for countless social-breakdown genre flicks (most particularly, Michael Haneke's '' Time of the Wolf'') but also for authentic crisis—shades of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

haunt its DVD margins...the movie is nevertheless an anxious, detail-rich essay on moral collapse." Glenn Erickson writes, in his ''DVD Savant'' review, "''Panic In Year Zero!'' scrupulously avoids any scenes requiring more than minimalist production values yet still delivers on its promise, allowing audience imagination to expand upon the narrow scope of what's actually on the screen. It sure seemed shocking in 1962, and easily trumped other more pacifistic efforts. ''

The Day the Earth Caught Fire ''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' is a 1961 British science-fiction disaster film directed by Val Guest and starring Edward Judd, Leo McKern, and Janet Munro. It is one of the classic apocalyptic films of its era. The film opened at the Odeon Ma ...

'' was for budding flower people; ''Panic In Year Zero!'' could have been made as a sales booster for the gun industry." ''Filmink'' called it "one of Avalon's most thought-provoking films (especially if you don't see the filmmakers as endorsing Milland's actions). It is probably his best dramatic film role."

References

Bibliography

* Warren, Bill. ''Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties'' (note: covers films up through 1962), 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009, .

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Panic In Year Zero! 1962 films 1960s science fiction films 1960s survival films American International Pictures films American disaster films American black-and-white films Films about nuclear war and weapons Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by Ray Milland Films scored by Les Baxter CinemaScope films Films set in California Films shot in California American post-apocalyptic films Films about World War III 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language science fiction films English-language adventure films