Panic in Year Zero!

A real surprise for the time it was made: well thought out, and frighteningly logical as well as dramatic. Other surprises: Milland directing himself in a rather harsh role, and Frankie Avalon playing Milland's son... hey, I know he was in (too many) movies, but who would've thought the guy could actually act?

I can't forget this film due to it's honesty and simplicity in dealing with a man who protects his family at any cost. Milland and cast are absolutely superb.Milland also directed. Suspense with no surcease from beginning to end. I believe that any man would do just as Milland's character did. This is truly a classic and much better than some so called "A" films.

A family struggles to survive the anarchy in a world devastated by nuclear war. This is a believable story by the standards of the time it was produced; the possibility of a nuclear winter had not yet been considered. There are no bands of mutants roaming around eating the survivors, just ordinary criminal types. Yes, I'm afraid that circumstances like that do bring such people out of the woodworks. Ray Milland's character makes intelligent, and sometimes hard, decisions to ensure his family's survival.

Ray Milland stars in and also directed this end-of-the-world melodrama for American International Pictures concerning an ordinary Southern California family who head for the hills after Los Angeles is one of many cities in the US hit by a nuclear missile (the film is very shy in saying who our enemy is, possibly European or Asian!). Detailing the family's quest for isolation from the looters and trigger-happy crazies, Milland obviously had to cut some corners--and the middle portion of the picture is filled with second-unit shots and obvious studio set-ups. Still, points are cogently made about the need for survival under the most civilized of circumstances, and Milland handles his cast efficiently enough. A well-dramatized Doomsday story, though one which may seem overly-familiar now in the wake of similar movies and TV shows. **1/2 from ****

Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland), his wife Ann (Jean Hagen), son Rick (Frankie Avalon) and daughter Karen (Mary Mitchell) leave L.A. for a camping trip out in the country. They see nuclear blasts hitting the city. While Ann wants to go back to find her mother, Harry foresee a coming chaos and set off with ruthless survival instincts. It's a well-made B-movie. The biggest takeaway is Harry's callous ruthlessness. He both foresees and bring about the lost of civility. The movie doesn't make him a heroic lead. It is dark, exploitative, and melodramatic. It works.

Ray Milland as Harry Baldwin does all he can to keep his family safe from the harsh realities of Nuclear Warfare and mankind at its worst. Living in Los Angeles, this film gives us a pattern to survive such an attack if we are just as lucky as the Baldwin family because they are a safe distance from the heart of the city. People become "dogs" and will attack, steal and murder just to stay alive and that is the basis of the whole film "survival from people." Hiding in the mountains is really the only place for safety if one can find a cave like the Baldwins did. There are many scenes to remember but the one that always comes to my mind happens as the Baldwin's camper must find a way to pass a crowded highway and Mr. Baldwin's solution represents everything that he is trying to save his family from. What a contradiction from him. In this age of nuclear possibilities this film is a must see.

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.