At the opening of the story we're in the mountains enjoying a woodsy holiday with the family. Then something happens that kills most people and just leaves a few alive. It would be difficult to write a spoiler for the plot, because there isn't any plot. And this leaves us with not a lot more than thinking, "Would I do that? Is that guy dumb or what?" For instance, the guy loses his car by playing the good Samaritan to a motorist armed with a pistol and they then all have to trudge to the next town. Now, this being the USA we can imagine there must be at least one gun store in town and probably even Walmart has shotguns and rifles and plenty of ammo. The first thing I would have done would be to arm myself and everyone with me to the teeth. But no, is he stupid or what? He doesn't. The acting is decent and the editing OK but the premise, frankly, is rather unbelievable and the plot, well, the less said the better.

Another TV movie that has stayed with me ever since I first saw it, aged about 12, resurfaced recently, prompting this review.Peter Graves, complete with gray hair – I bet he was born with it that color - plays Steve Anders who, as the movie starts, is on vacation with his family in some unspecified California mountains. His daughter (a young Kathleen Quinlan) and son stay with him, along with Clancy (Noble Willingham), a friend, digging for fossils in a cave, while his wife leaves them to return to LA. Not long after, the sun brightens dramatically for a few seconds, which phenomenon is followed by an earthquake.In short order, Clancy, who was the only one of the four on the surface when the sun flared up and told the others about it, falls ill. The family thinks it is radiation poisoning and he dies as they try to get him back to civilization. When they themselves get there, they find towns that are empty, apart from clothes full of a strange powder, mad dogs, and a very few survivors who tell of a disease that wiped out most of humanity within hours.There isn't actually much more to it than that, but I found the story oddly absorbing and the whole treatment pleasingly creepy.Peter Graves turns in a solid performance and the two kids aren't too nauseating, though a little shrill at times. It was also fun to see Noble Willingham, whom I otherwise only know from "The Royale", a better-than-average episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", in something else.Camera work and effects are fine considering when the film was made, the music is adequate, and it doesn't go on too long. All in all, then, well worth seeing.Rating: 7/10.

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.

Thoughtfully considered, well-acted made-for-TV drama stars Peter Graves as a family man on an excavation excursion with his kids in the California mountains who survives a radioactive blast followed by an earthquake; slowly, the family comes to realize the astronomical proportions of the accident when they get back to town and find desolate streets. Writers Lewis John Carlino and Sandor Stern do not trivialize the situation with soap opera; the budget may be slim, but the emotional experiences on hand for Graves and his children (and two others they pick up along the way) are harrowing. Cinematographer Michael D. Margulies does terrific work behind the camera, and the direction is solid except for some stiffness at the beginning and a voice-over narration that was unnecessary. Television movies really came into their own in the 1970s, providing capable TV actors with meatier roles than what was otherwise available to them in the form of popular weekly shows. This is certainly the case with Peter Graves, who retains his laconic, low-key persona but who also excels with some hard-hitting scenes (such as a moment of private grief up in his bedroom); Verna Bloom is also terrific as a mother who has seen her entire family decimated, and young Kathleen Quinlan is outstanding as Graves' warm, maternal daughter (this is a very underrated actress giving an early performance worthy of high praise). Worthwhile, unpretentious fare, a precursor to "Damnation Alley", "The Day After", and many others.