Panic in Year Zero! (1962)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Whatever drew Ray Milland to direct and star in this piece of junk? Was it the chance to direct? Had his career hit a low point?The real blame goes to the writer. The script is terrifically plodding and predictable, clunking from one incident to the next with no finesse whatsoever. The dialogue--my god, the dialogue!--is completely cringeworthy. Most of the time it's just functional, but on the rare occasion when it tries to rise to something higher, it becomes ridiculously awkward. Dad tells Mom, "I was looking for the worst in others and found it in myself." Whoa, so pseudo-profound.Niney percent of screen time is given to Milland. Ninety-eight percent of the dialogue is given to him. Frankie Avalon and some young actress play Milland's teenage children--she probably has no more than six lines of dialogue. Apart from lots of "OK" and "Sure" Avalon may have eight or ten lines.Many scenes are shot on sets that are about as convincing as an episode of the Twilight Zone or an early episode of Star Trek. You can hear the voices echoing on the sound stage. The bushes and rocks are only rough approximations of the real things. The lighting is pure studio lighting, without even a pretense of being outdoors.Finally, the music is awful. I know it was the fashion around that time to use a kind of very intrusive jazzy score--like in In the Heat of the Night. But it puts up a wall between you and the action, its blatant artificiality a constant reminder of how false and patched-up the whole production is.For a summer drive-in movie, it might be worth the 25 cents, if it came with a second feature and some good cartoons. But why reviewers here have such good things to say about it, amazes me. It's the worst movie I've seen in a little while.

WARNING - this review contains details which may be considered by some to "spoil" a movie, which, in my opinion, is already so BAD that it is BEYOND spoiling! Apparently, I chose a rather unconventional approach to viewing this film; rather than to shut one eye, squint thru the other and do my absolute best to "enjoy" it, regardless of all the glaring inconsistencies - or perhaps seek to superimpose a Post-Katrina America commentary on it all (as many "reviewers" have done), I simply watched it with my normal objective outlook, taking the story at face value. And that story failed miserably! Starting with the big, cloudy, barely-discernible (supposed) "explosion"... we don't ever learn what it truly WAS - or the cause behind it (as in "who" or "why") - but just seeing the thing is good enough for Ray Milland to pack up his family and head for the hills before "the bad people" can get on the move. What comes next is unbelievably silly to the point of being laughable - because terminally-grouchy Mister Milland begins taking steps to BECOME one of those "bad people" - eagerly getting involved in theft, assault, armed robbery, manslaughter (or murder, you decide)... all in the name of "preserving civilization". Sure, okay. It is perfectly acceptable to be a violent thug as long as HE is the one doing it! I won't get into the details of all the ensuing foolishness, since other reviewers have gone out of their way to make excuses for all of the illogical claptrap which follows. Long, tedious and ludicrous story short - if you are able to find this plot "interesting" enough to sit through it to the bitter end, then you probably won't even mind that the "hero" of the tale NEVER finds out what actually happened in the outside world; whether or not the entire continent was obliterated by nuclear holocaust, or if there had been an invading army (and a ground war which could still be raging)... no, he has NO idea what he will be returning to. And that is supposed to be a good enough reason for the viewer, as well. Because what it all boils down to is that this family went off and hid in the hills to behave like savages for a while, and now it suddenly has become a Happy Ending.Wow - what A GREAT movie! (NOT)

Hard-nosed family man Ray Milland (as Harry Baldwin) and his sympathetic wife Jean Hagen (as Ann) get the camper ready for a vacation from their suburban Los Angeles home. Dutiful and muscular son Frankie Avalon (as Rick) is going along, as is pretty blonde daughter Mary Mitchel (as Karen). The family of four are out of the city when they hear a rumble and see a flash of light. It's not an earthquake… It's not thunder and lightning… It's… THE A-BOMB! Getting out of the car, they see the mushroom cloud form over Los Angeles, which has been destroyed in a nuclear attack. Other annihilated cities include New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, London, Paris and Rome. There is no radiation sickness for Mr. Milland, his family and others because, "They come from the hills." Certainly, the wind must have been helping. The survivors learn government officials have declared it the "Year Zero" for all remaining...This ludicrous story makes you wonder if America is worth saving. Almost immediately after the attack, US survivors become selfish and uncivilized hoodlums. They loot, kill and rape at the drop of a hat. Our "heroic" leading man, Milland is hardly better than the worst murderer – witness, for example, his deadly highway stunt. Incredibly, Milland ends the day by thanking God for his success. It must be said that during real disasters, Americans do not act as they do in this film. It's possible some are good people, but the movie highlights everyone's worst behavior. A jazzed-up soundtrack makes you wonder if filmmakers expect you to take this as fun. Milland also directed. An attempt to give his character a moral core fails, and the other family members are characterized poorly. They are joined by Joan Freeman (as Marilyn Hayes), a sex-slave they free. Introduced in her underwear, she later arouses interest in Mr. Avalon.*** Panic in Year Zero! (7/5/62) Ray Milland ~ Ray Milland, Frankie Avalon, Jean Hagen, Mary Mitchel

This was a pretty good film. I was expecting the usual AIP B stuff, but old Ray surprised me here; probably because he directed it. His character was convincingly intense, as he tries to save his family from the dangers of civilization on the brink of chaos. The wife could have benefited from a breakdown, and then recovery, as she showed moxie, but it was misdirected. Not much to say about the daughter; her character was pretty much non-existent, getting no development, except for the implied rape scene, which you just knew was going to happen. Frankie Avalon's character, as the son, was ripe for development when you saw that he liked shooting the guns, but alas, he didn't get much development either. His hair looked great however, throughout the whole movie. The girl that they rescued was the most interesting character besides Ray. The scene where they first encountered her was darkly marvelous. Also, the scene where Ray tells her to "Get dressed, and get out!"was a little over the top, but very much in keeping with Ray's intense character. All in all, it was much better than I expected. I wish TCM would show more "B" movies that have established stars that are in vehicles that aren't always great. That's interesting to me. Watching the same old, great movies is like listening to "classic rock" radio stations where they play the same old songs over, and over when there are some great "B" sides that never get played on the same record.