Where Have All the People Gone (1974)

One of the best films i have seen

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

For a made for TV movie it had the ability to carry the theme-fear factor. Like most of the made for TV movies I expected it to rerun-but I never saw any times advertised later in TV Guide, THE weekly reference of programming. I just happened on it tonight searching Wikipedia and IMDb to see if I could find what the name of this movie that has haunted my memories for so many decades (1974 to 2011). This would be a great remake candidate with today's CGI effects. I especially recall the end. Wish SyFy would run this and a few more of the old movies like THE PEOPLE 1972. Such a cool premise-I still have hold over fears of a flash that takes out everyone-like NIGHT OF THE COMET 1984 and this movie Where Have All the People Gone. It's August 18th 2011 and I still think about it. I was 19 when the TV movies played October 1974. It would have made a great series from the pilot.

And it was an effective TV movie, because I remember it 36 years later. I wonder if it's available on DVD somewhere. I wonder if it would stand up. What worked was the creepiness of a killer sun, especially to a small child. Also what worked was the idea of finding bodies lying around, though I won't spoil what the condition of the bodies were. Also, while I can't remember the acting, exactly, I see the quality of the lead female and the solidness on TV of Peter Graves. I don't know why this movie stuck with me, but I think 80% of it is the fact that I was 5 years old and the title sounds like a line from the child rhyme, "Here's the church and here's the steeple...."

I saw this movie on television about a month before my 9th birthday in 1974, and until a few months ago I was still trying to remember the name of it. For a long time I remembered the scenes where the people have turned to dust and, for some reason, confused it with the Andromeda Strain. Then I saw that movie one weekend in the early 80s and realized that wasn't it, so my quest continued. Finally, last fall I was looking through the guide one night and saw Where Have All the People Gone listed, and the description sounded interesting so I Tivo'd it. It wasn't until weeks later when I started watching it that I realized it was the movie I had been trying to find for all those years! Seems to be a common thread... lots of us saw this as a kid, and then spent years trying to remember the title and find the movie again.Anyway, this is no great cinema, but it is definitely an enjoyable flick and it has held up well over the years. So often I have watched something as an adult that I remember fondly from childhood and will be disappointed that it doesn't live up to the memory, but this movie certainly stands the test of time. As remake crazy as Hollywood is these days, I am really surprised that this hasn't been given a new treatment. Done right, an updated version of this movie could be very good.

Like so many of you I too have decades-old memories of this haunting movie I saw as a child. However, I never knew the title and have been searching for it on the internet by a vague recollection of scenes. Just by luck I woke up early this morning, and while browsing the satellite guide on the TV, read the description and couldn't believe it! I had to stay awake and see if this was the movie I saw in the early 70's. It was all I hoped for and more. First of all, it was in color. I thought it was a black and white movie. But other than that, the main theme was the same: A father and his children are camping in the mountains when a bright light explodes in the sky. They pack up and race home to check on their wife and mother. On the way they discover people are turning to dust in their sleeping bags. The reason some survive while the rest do not is due to a genetic difference. I didn't remember what happened along the way, so this was a complete surprise. And they do finally make it home, as I remembered. But I remembered a B&W film, with more people in a kind of traffic jam trying to get down the mountain. Am I confusing this movie with another from my childhood? Or could this be a re-make? Either way, a 30+ year mystery is solved! And I am overjoyed to find so many others who relate to this movie as I do. And yes, there is another movie where people turn to dust- "The Day Mars Invaded Earth". But it's not half as good! Thanks to all of you for sharing your memories as well.