Panic in the Year Zero!- A Post-Apocalyptic Film from Before it was Fashionable.

          A family of four is out enjoying a pleasant summer camping trip outside of Los Angeles when KABOOM, a nuclear device is detonated in the city. It isn’t specifically stated who dropped the bomb, but as this was a Cold War era film the natural assumption to make is that the Russians were the antagonists. Radio broadcasts suggest that this is just the beginning of a full scale thermonuclear exchange and everything the family has ever known will soon be ash and dust.

          They are stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to face several moral dilemmas. The unstated question being explored in this film is what is “right”? To what extent should a person compromise their ideas of morality and civility to survive? Are these just fantasy concepts that modern America allows us to indulge or are they necessary for a person to retain their soul and rise above the level of a beast?

          All those are explored here as the family must face scrounging for supplies, the dilemma of stealing from an old man for what the need, the standard vicious thugs who decided the end of civilization is party time, kidnapping and rape, and the exclusively of medical care. When one of them needs a blood transfusion and the nearest medical facility is 100 miles away, an incredibly long distance in the new wasteland, how does one deal with it?

          This is film was independently produced, as can be evidenced here by the low budget and lack of many characters. It varies from many of the atomic nightmare films of it era in that it doesn’t feature a giant radioactive monster of some kind and deals with the idea of survival of an urban American in a realistic way. The fear, their anxieties come from the uncertain future and lack of survival skills, not that they will eaten by a mammoth praying mantis.

          This type of film was not exactly unique. There was On the Beach in 1959, Last Woman on Earth in 1960, Five in 1951, and The World, the Flesh, and the Devil in 1959. All of these dealt with similar themes and reasonably consistent premises.  It was an easy scenario for indie filmmakers to produce and shoot. Take some equipment and head out into the desert. No need for permits or expensive scenery. It wasn’t until the 70’s with The Road Warrior that the genre began to take on more horror and action orientated themes, requiring a lot more time and effort.

          What sets Panic in the Year Zero! apart is the level of acting skill displayed in them. With most of the other films the acting is competent (the exception here being On the Beach which has amazing performances) this film stands out in the casting of Ray Miland. His starring roles had begun to thin by this time due to his premature baldness, so he took whatever lead positions he could find. His ability to emote had not dimmed however and presents the moral dilemmas in this script with style and panache.

          The entire film is below. Enjoy and Caveat Emptor.

                                                            Full Film

                                                       Movie Trailer
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The Ruling Class: A Unique Film With a Brutal Message

          Based upon the play by Peter Barnes, this is a dark comedy, with jarring musical interludes, that centers around the protagonist of Jack Arnold Alexander Tancred Gurney, the 14^th Earl of Gurney who believes he is the God. The star, Peter O’Toole described it as a “comedy with tragic relief.” The film asks fundamental questions about privilege, humanity, and man's natural gravitation to the baser emotions. As Napoleon stated, "Men are more easily governed through their vices than their virtues."

          It is a savage look at the British class system and especially those at the top, or the “privileged assholes and crazy twats” as the leftist butler, played by Arthur Lowe, calls them. At several poignant moments throughout the film, the cast will suddenly break from straight-faced dialogue into a full-blown, song and dance numbers. In one case, a variation of `Connect 'dem Bones’ (called “Disconnect ‘dem Bones’) is ushered up to punctuate a scene with O'Toole lecturing the local gentry about the need for capital punishment.

Peter O'Toole in The Ruling Class

          After his father accidently hangs himself during a session of autoerotic asphyxiation, Jack returns from a mental institution to take up his role as the Earl and assuming his place in the House of Lords. He proclaims himself to everyone that he is the God of Love and sleeps hanging on a crucifix. His scheming family works hard to alternatively cure him and subvert him.  They hire a doctor to make him sane, but then trick him into marrying a local actress (and mistress of his Uncle) in order to produce an heir in case Jack’s condition cannot be reversed. As the child’s birth becomes imminent the doctor brings in another inmate from his asylum who also believes he is God- the AC/DC God, the Electric Christ. After a truly bizarre squaring off between the two, Jack seems to be cured, but it is revealed that his madness has simply shifted perspective and he takes his revenge on them all.

          The film was only made due to O’Toole’s obsession with it. Upon first seeing the play performed he went out and bought the film rights. According to director Peter Mendek, he had approached O’Toole several times about producing the film, without luck.  Eventually the project got started one night after he and O'Toole were returning from the theatre, which "meant stopping at every pub between Soho and Hampstead, and it didn't matter if it was after closing hour because he would knock on the door and just say 'Peter's here,' and every door opened for him”. Later on, at O'Toole's apartment, the drunk actor phoned his manager and said, "I'm with the crazy Hungarian and I know I'm drunk but I give you 24 hours to set this movie up." The next day, Medak received a call from United Artists and a deal was put together to shoot The Ruling Class. 

          This was such a passion project for O’Toole that he agreed to work for free. He was later compensated by having a large salary for appearing in the same studio’s musical Man of La Mancha, an adaptation of Don Quixote. Also Alistar Sims (famous for his portrayal of Ebenezer Scrooge in the 1951 version of A Christmas Carol) cast himself in the film. He rang up O’Toole out of the blue and told him, “Of course I’ll help you by taking the part”. It might seem presumptuous but Sims had the acting chops to play the part, so O’Toole agreed and cast him as the doddering old Bishop in the family,

          This is a unique film filled with great characters performed by some of the best actors in British cinema at the time, Peter O’Toole was nominated for Best Actor by the Oscars. Viciously funny with a twisted ending, no one walks away with a neutral opinion. It is a love it or hate it production.

              The full film is presented below. Enjoy and Caveat Emptor.  

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For more fun try Across the Wounded Galaxy by Rex Hurst