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Film: Day the World Ended
Year: 1955
Director: Roger Corman
Writer: Lou Rusoff
Starring: Richard Denning, Lori Nelson and Adele Jergens
Review:
This was a film that I sought out right after college. The reason would have been that it is a version of a story that I had on DVD in a box set. My guess was that the film was In the Year 2889, which is a direct remake. I saw this one years ago and I’ve also seen other versions of the story. It is interesting to revisit this after the passing of its director, Roger Corman, and as a more seasoned cinephile. This was also a Voyage through the FiVes rewatch.
Synopsis: in a post-apocalyptic world after an atomic war, seven desperate people find themselves in a protected valley in the home of a survivalist and his daughter.
This film informs us that we are starting on the day that the world ends. Nuclear war has broken out and that is what the cause of it is. It then shows us survivors as they’re trying to find refuge. Everyone is converging on a valley that is surrounded by hills. Living there is Jim Madison (Paul Birch) with his daughter, Louise (Lori Nelson). He is a survivalist and has been planning for something like this to happen. It gets revealed that he worked on the atomic bomb team. He has enough supplies for himself, Louise and her fiancé alive. It should last long enough to start farming.
Her fiancé didn’t make it though. Instead, others are converging. There is a couple of Tony Lamont (Mike Conners) and Ruby (Adele Jergens). She was a burlesque dancer and he’s rough around the edges. Another guy is Radek (Paul Dubov) who has radiation burns on his face. He falls, not having the strength to continue. Rick (Richard Denning) shows up and helps him. There is also an older man, Pete (Raymond Hatton) with his donkey named Diablo. They all end up at the house. Jim wants to turn them away, but Louise gives them refuge.
This decision will use up their resources much quicker. Jim takes a liking to Rick, as does Louise. Tony has his eye on Louise and this bothers Ruby. She does befriend the younger woman though. This group settles into a semblance of normalcy as they wait and try to survive this new world.
There are bigger fears though. The first is the rain. Within this valley, they are protected from the radiation. The rain could infect the land and what little food that is available. Radek also shows interesting side effects. This jumps a few weeks into the future and he hasn’t eaten or drank since coming here. Rick follows him, seeing that he’s eating infected meat and leaving the valley. He comes back one night, having been wounded. He warns Rick there is something worse than him outside of their area.
Being confined here drives everyone to being stir crazy. Tony doesn’t like to be told what to do or the fact that Louise is attracted to Rick. Ruby wants to leave the valley, as does Pete. Jim just wants to protect his daughter and hopefully help jumpstart the return of the human race. Louise is terrified by these strange sounds that seem like she’s the only one that can hear them.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that this is an interesting film to come out during the 1950s. Being more versed in cinema, especially the horror genre, this is a low budget take on what would happen if nuclear war hit and left the world as a wasteland. We are seeing it on a microlevel, where these survivors all converge in one house. It knows what its limitations are with the budget and utilized what they could.
Now that I have that set up, let me delve deeper. I’ve alluded to this, but I love the simple set up we have to real fears from the era. Nuclear war is something that was always in the back of everyone’s mind. We have a simple approach to having an isolated house. I love the science that being in this valley with the hills surrounding it, that prevents the radiation from infecting the area. The wind is helping keep it away. The weather though could turn at any time, potentially raining down on them. This traps everyone here if they want to survive and gives a grounded fear.
Them being trapped also creates madness. They’re getting stir crazy. We have Tony and Ruby who are more ‘worldly’. Tony cracks a comment about not being cut out to be a farmer. He’s used to getting his way. These two can’t just sit still, wait out the radiation in hopes that they can rebuild. There is that fear of the unknown, as it may never happen. I get that, I’ve been in that mindset. This creates tension as well.
This doesn't even include yet what the effects of the radiation would be. I like that we have this Radek character as our baseline. We see that his exposure is driving him crazy on a faster basis. Jim reveals things that he knows from testing about animals that were changed. That sets the stage for this creature that is stalking them. There are subtle things with the writing here that clicked for me when Louise could hear it. I love what they’re implying as to who this monster used to be.
Let me then shift over to filmmaking. This looks good. It feels apocalyptic by using this isolated house. It is crazy how easy something like this can be. The cinematography and framing don’t stand out, but captures what they did. This is limited to the effects and they’re cheap. They are practical though which adds charm. I love the look of the monster despite the things I’ve said. Other than that, sound design added to the atmosphere and the music was fine.
I want to then end out with the acting performances. It is interesting that we have Denning, since he was in Creature from the Black Lagoon around this time as well. He has a good look and presence as our lead. Nelson is cute. I don’t love she’s portrayed as the damsel in distress, but that’s the era. Birch works as her father. His plans are being altered and I see myself there. Connors works as a villain. Jergens, Hatton and Dubov do well in rounding out the survivors. The acting isn’t great, but they bring their characters to life.
In conclusion, this is an interesting low budget effort. It utilized a good setting and the isolation there adds to the atmosphere. We have a solid cast of characters that are led by Denning. It is grounded in the fears and then to add that, having them be stalked by something. The cinematography and framing were good. The effects are cheap, but done practical so there is charm there. Not a great film, but definitely explores fun ideas.
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10