Where Have All the People Gone

I have been looking for the title of this movie for nearly 30 years! I saw it as a nine year old back when it first aired. I remember being creeped out to no end. In my teen years I got into scifi and somewhere in my head I always remembered watching this movie - perhaps one of the best apocalyptic films ever made, even if it was for TV. I couldn't remember the name, and no one I asked seemed to recall it - so went high school, college, even grad school... no one could help me find the title. Then, the Internet, a late night search on Google, and thanks to TV Tome and IMDb, I have the title. Now to get a copy! People have commented that it reminds them of the Trek episode... nah, this film is far more effective. It reminds me of The Quiet Earth, but the scenes where the clothes are found is eerie and outstretches TQE, imho.

Thank you all! My 30 year quest is over! Yippee!!!!!

I remember seeing this movie on TV when I was about 7 or 8 years old. This is a movie that will stick with you for life! I wish that I could find it on VHS somewhere. TV movies were something special back then. Maybe it was just my age but movies like Where Have All the People Gone, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Omega Man, Crowhaven Farm, Gargoyles, Bad Ronald and Trilogy of Terror stick out in my mind as the coolest movies ever made!

Fondly remembered by all who saw it back in the 70's, this end-of-the-world flick packs a punch. I caught the last forty minutes about a year ago on an independent channel--which temporarily replaced another station that was being primed for a Spanish-language channel takeover. Could this made-for-tv movie have been inspired by the Star Trek episode titled "The Omega Glory"? There are striking similarities: most notably the state of the doomed crews' bodies. In the movie, however, the disease is caused by solar flares. You don't need elaborate and costly effects to convey the desperation and fear in the survivors' milieu. The situation itself is enough. Peter Graves sheds his B-movie threads and delivers a heroic performance as the father who leads by example and care, never loosing sight of their goal to hook up with their loved ones. The director, John Llewellyn Moxey, has deservedly earned his cult status. His television resume is impressive: The Night Stalker, The Last Child, Genesis II, Home for the Holidays, as well as the pilots for Kung Fu and Charlie's Angels.

Judging by the other user comments I'm not the only one who saw this movie only once and still can't forget it. I was probably about five when I saw this and I can still vividly recall scenes from the movie. (It seems like a lot of us who have commented on this movie saw it at an impressionable age; I wonder if that's why it has stayed with us all for so long?)

I would love to find this thing on tape or catch it on television some night. Bring back some of those wonderful willies that so easily came in the 70's thanks to movies like Chill Factor, Trilogy of Terror, Gargoyles and countless others.

Four people have gone camping and while three members of a family are inside a cave looking around, a bright light appears outside followed by an earthquake. The other person, "Jim Clancy" (Noble Willingham) just happened to be outside when it happened and not long afterward he gets sick and dies. Totally on their own, the father, "Steven Anders" (Peter Graves) decides to take his teenage son, "David" (George O'Hanlan Jr.) and his daughter, "Deborah" (Kathleen Quinlan) back to Malibu in search of their mother who left the campsite earlier in the day headed for home. On the way back they find that what happened to them wasn't an isolated incident as entire towns are totally deserted and empty. Everybody is gone. Anyway, rather than answer the question of "what happened to everybody" I will leave it to the viewer to see for themselves. I will say however, that even after watching the film in its entirety I still thought there were one or two unanswered questions. Additionally, one particular drawback was the fact that it was narrated in the past tense by one of the family members, which took some of the mystery out of it in my opinion. But even so the film managed to maintain suspense for the most part. I especially liked Peter Graves' calm and collected demeanor throughout the movie as it added a solid character to the film. In short, for a low-budget made-for-television movie this one wasn't too bad and I give it an average rating.