Panic in Year Zero!

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Panic in Year Zero!
Directed by	Ray Milland
Produced by	Arnold Houghland Lou Rusoff
Written by	Ward Moore (stories Lot and Lot's Daughter - uncredited) John Morton Jay Simms
Starring	Ray Milland Jean Hagen Frankie Avalon
Music by	Les Baxter
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Running time	93 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

Panic in Year Zero! is a 1962 science fiction film directed by and starring Ray Milland.

[edit] Plot

Soon after Harry Baldwin (Ray Milland) and his wife, Ann (Jean Hagen), leave Los Angeles for a fishing trip with their son and daughter, the city is devastated by a nuclear attack. As the disaster ignites panic throughout the city, the family heads for their vacation spot to escape the cold lawlessness around them. But they can't escape the three young hoodlums who terrorize them and kidnap and rape their daughter.

With guns in hand, the Baldwin family fights back, freeing their daughter while killing two members of the gang.

[edit] Critical reaction

The film today receives mixed reviews. Most reviews are critical of the cheap production values of the film but praise the tension actor/director Milland creates.

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 was for budding flower people; Panic In Year Zero! could have been made as a sales booster for the gun industry." [1]