What early to mid 70s (probably made for TV) sci-fi movie am I half-remembering?

June 9, 2012 5:35 AM

What early to mid 70s (probably made for TV) sci-fi movie am I half-remembering?

Any combination of these half-remembered details could be wrong, but I recall seeing part of what I suspect was a made for TV Sci-fi movie around 1974-1976 where most of the human race has died off I'm guessing from nuclear war, but our protagonists were in a cave or something and survived. The leader of the group of survivors reminded me of a Leslie Nielsen/George Peppard type (but probably played non-campily). I think most of the characters might have worn white jumpsuits. The parts I think I remember more clearly: the dead had been turned to piles of ashes, and I think there was at least one attack by hostile dogs.

Looking at Nielsen's work in the IMDB, it might've been a segment from "The Evil Touch," but if so, which one? And in regards to Peppard, I saw "Damnation Alley," a few years back, and it didn't ring any bells at the time.

posted by kimota to media & arts (11 answers total)

Was it Gene Roddenberry's Genesis II?
posted by THAT William Mize at 5:43 AM on June 9, 2012

Or, from slightly later, The Night of the Comet.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:49 AM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

Where Have All the People Gone
posted by LinnTate at 5:49 AM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]

A Boy and His Dog (1975)
posted by dgeiser13 at 6:20 AM on June 9, 2012

Parts of it sound like the original Andromeda Strain movie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andromeda_Strain_(film)

ESP the white jumpsuits
posted by randomkeystrike at 6:28 AM on June 9, 2012

> ESP the white jumpsuits

Yes, I think the OP may be overlapping some elements from different movies/TV shows.
posted by dgeiser13 at 6:43 AM on June 9, 2012

Agreed--I thought of the Andromeda Strain first, too--both the jumpsuits and the desiccated blood (as a stand-in for the dead being piles of ashes, though that's a central feature of Night of the Comet).
posted by Admiral Haddock at 7:04 AM on June 9, 2012

I strongly suspect it's "Where Have All The People Gone." I'm trying to confirm. Thanks!
posted by kimota at 8:03 AM on June 9, 2012

It was definitely Where Have All the People Gone?. It starred Peter Graves. I don't remember white jumpsuits, but people were turned to ash by solar flares.

It's on DVD (UPC 741914-030164) in a double-feature with Embryo.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 8:05 AM on June 9, 2012

Yes! That's it! Thanks again!

I was six and a half when this was on! Another decades-long quest completed with the power of ask.MeFi!
posted by kimota at 8:07 AM on June 9, 2012

It's on youtube, if that's your bag.
posted by One Hand Slowclapping at 9:50 AM on June 9, 2012 [1 favorite]