Review of Day the World Ended

After a devastating nuclear war (in 1970), a disparate group of survivors find themselves threatened by mutations. Roger Croman's earliest science fiction film is an entertaining, low-budget B-movie and was one of the first to depict life after the apocalypse. The 'science' in the fiction borders on ludicrous, especially the discussions of evolution and the convenient logic that something that thrives on corruption would be killed by purity, but serves to rationalise the presence of the 'monster' that studio expected (otherwise the film would be very similar to the boring 'Five' (1951)). The film opens with an ominous narration (voiced by Chet Huntley, soon to become a star newscaster on NBC's 'Huntley-Brinkley Report') describing the ruination of the world, and the cuts to Jim Maddison's (Paul Birch) home, which is located in a gully the serves as a natural fallout shelter where the entire film takes place. The cast is fine for an inexpensive genre-film and the beaked, horned, scaly three-eyed 'mutation' is one of Paul Blaisdell's more amusing creations (note the tiny pair of extra arms growing out of creature's shoulders). Typical of a Corman film, 'The Day World Ended' is pretty good for what it is and netted the studio a substantial profit. Pointlessly remade as the ultra-cheap 16mm 'In the Year 2889' (1969) by Larry Buchanan as part of A. I. P.'s deal to provide bargain-basement content for TV syndication.