Where Have All the People Gone

I was eight years old when I saw this movie (actually I saw it once again about a year after I first saw it). Anyway, I have NEVER forgotten it. The image of the clothes laying inside a car was one scene that ALWAYS stuck with me. BUT, I never knew the name of the movie. And for years I lived with this movie in my head never knowing it's name. Until about five years ago, a friend and I were talking about weird movies when I happened to mention this one. I told him about the clothes and that it starred Peter Graves. He said very nonchalantly.."oh..'Where Have All the People Gone'". OH-MY-GOD. I couldn't believe he remembered it too. This was one of the eeriest, scariest and realistic movies I've ever seen. The sense of the survivors desolation was palpable. The feeling of dread it instilled in me was incredible. Why don't they put out a whole bunch of these great 70's TV movies out on DVD? There's a huge market for this. Great to see so many people remember it like I did. If you liked the Twilight Zone, you'll like this one.

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.

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.

I was 11 years old when I saw "Where Have All The People Gone?" and it really left an impression on me. Other reviewers of this film here on IMDb seem to be sharing the same feeling; we were young and were privileged to see films like this one on TV at a time when they were just a bit more edgy. It's comforting to know there are others out there my age who seemed to appreciate these more cerebral films at such a young age! Other examples that have stayed with me were 1974's "Dying Room Only" with Cloris Leachman, and 1970's "The Neon Ceiling." These were very serious and even frightening scenarios, and even schlock films like 1973's "Horror At 37,000 Feet" and 1974's "Killdozer" were edgy, truly unique, and highly entertaining.

The idea of everyone in the world turning into dust from a bizarre solar flare type incident except a handful of survivors here and there really scared me. Like "Last Man On Earth," and "The Omega Man" before it and even "Night Of The Comet" and "The Quiet Earth" much later, it's a theme that will intrigue and never let go.

Peter Graves was a great choice for this film, and it was nice seeing Kathleen Quinlan too. You could just feel their dread as they went through a city and saw nothing but clothes on the ground where people used to be (particularly seeing a playground with children's clothes scattered about), and having to deal with dogs that seemed to be unaffected by the phenomenon, all running wild in the streets and quite vicious.

They just don't make 'em like this anymore. They can try, and with state of the art digital effects to boot, but it just seems you can't beat these early 1970's TV films that relied more on dramatic content, creativity, and substance rather than flashy effects. It seems many of us are all hoping to find "Where Have All The People Gone?" on home video and it would be a smart idea for whoever controls the rights for it to consider releasing it! It's a piece of nostalgia that still holds up today and just takes me back to a time when I really looked forward to something on TV.

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!