Panic in Year Zero
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Panic in Year Zero
Via the radio, they learn that many other big cities have been hit also. But, surrounding smaller communities have all survived so there's still plenty of people around. The family quickly encounters problems like price gouging and thugs. As the father predicted, many of the elements of civilization are breaking down. The mother, however, is much slower in grasping what all this means; she believes that people will be about the same and is shocked that her husband also seems to be reverting to thuggish behavior. The father's plan is to get supplies and follow through with going to the camping site, where the group will tough it out.
Milland also directed this and it's a workman-like, no-nonsense approach. He strove for a realistic atmosphere and there are no mutants like in The Day the World Ended (1955); This is Not a Test was also released the same year, a similar plot, but Panic in Year Zero has a bigger scope. In some ways, it's a smaller version of On the Beach (1959). However, there are no problems with radioactivity, as in that film; all the problems in this one have to do with human nature, the human animal and so forth. Radioactivity is only mentioned at the very end, as an afterthought.
Milland, as the main lead and patriarch, assumes the mantle of semi-ruthless leadership; his goals revolve around survival for his family and this, in his mind, is not accomplished by being a nice guy. However, though such an approach is effective, Milland also shows that he went overboard in at least one instance; a potential friend and ally - a hardware store owner named Johnson - is rebuffed by Milland's character and it does not end well. Milland later (finally) expresses self-reproach after he's killed - murdered actually - a couple of young thugs.
Milland's character has some strange and offbeat facets revolving around the game of survival. Throughout, it's hinted that his character anticipates almost too well - as if he'd been going through this scenario in his head for many years before this and is now finally enacting the reality after rehearsing it many times. That's why the film almost comes off as an instruction manual to other families who may encounter such a reality; it's a reflection of what was on the minds of many citizens back then - especially the ones who built shelters for themselves. The ending is curiously upbeat.
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