Movie of the Week

 

 (imdb)

WHERE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE GONE? -1974-This is an ABC movie of the week presentation. Steven Anders (Peter Graves; a year after MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE ended) and his kids Debbie (Kathleen Quinlan) & Alex (George O'Hanlon Jr.) are on vacation, exploring some caves. After his wife leaves to attend to her job, they go to explore a cave. There's an intense flash of light and an earthquake. Everything seems OK but the friend who was with them dies of what seems to be radiation poisoning. They high tail it back to town but the place is devoid of people. In another town, they find the shell-shocked Jenny (Verna Bloom; in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER the year before) and an angry dog. Later they are held up and stranded when a gun toting motorist steals their car. They come upon a farm and meet Michael (Michael James-Wixted), a young boy whose parents were killed. They travel by a horse drawn buckboard and run into some more canine trouble. When it's discovered wife/mom is dead everything almost falls apart. When Jenny is saved from suicide Ander's survival speech gives them all hew hope. 

What exactly happened isn't explained precisely. Maybe a solar flare caused some kind of epidemic. 

Director John Llewelyn Moxey (from Argentina) began his film career as an editor and second unit director. In 1960, he directed Christopher Lee in THE CITY OF THE DEAD (aka HORROR HOTEL). He did lots of BBC TV productions and in 1966 again directed Lee in CIRCUS OF FEAR. Later he relocated to the US where he worked largely in TV and directed the standout TV horror movie THE NIGHT STALKER (1972).

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