After directing two westerns, Roger Corman turned into territories where he is best known of - science fiction and monster movies. 'Day the World Ended' is typical Corman's vehicle. After an atomic war destroys human civilization, a small group of people trying to survive in the house prepared for nuclear holocaust by former Navy commander. The group of people must face many threats and problems - how the radioactive contamination affects them and when will it dissipate, there is also a monster loose in the valley, and of course the most important, the relationships between people who all want to stay alive as long as possible, while the supplies of clean food and water decline.The film starts with nuclear blast, and we are already thrown into a post apocalyptic world where these seven people might be the only survivors. All the action takes place in one house and in the valley surrounding it, so no need to get excited about seeing ruined city landscapes. There are plenty pseudoscience and some outright laughable moments, but all this is compensated by pretty good acting and hauntingly claustrophobic atmosphere through most part of the film (until the finale reveals the monster who we only saw through shadows and moving leaves) that is pretty close to the eerie feeling in 'Night of the Living Dead'. While we only get the subtle glimpses of the monster, the thing is not that bad and I actually kept the fingers crossed that it could stay that way. Of course, I know it's Roger Corman's movie, and finally we have to see the hideous (in the movie's context and in awful costume's context) beast in it's laughable glory so the main hero could have heroic battle with it.With all that 'Day the World Ended' remains one of the best and most haunting early Corman monster movie, and for a hardcore fan - it is a treat.

Fun Roger Corman flick about a small group of people who survived a nuclear war only to be in danger from a monster. The survivors are a geologist (Richard Denning), a guy with a Moe Howard haircut who suffered radiation burns (Paul Dubov), a hotheaded hoodlum (Mike Connors) and his stripper girlfriend (Adele Jergens), an old prospector (Raymond Hatton), and a father (Paul Birch) and his daughter (Lori Nelson). They spend most of the movie hanging around Birch's house talking, fighting, and lusting after Nelson, but it's not as boring as it sounds. The characters are pretty one-note but the actors are able to keep them interesting enough. The monster is courtesy of Paul Blaisdell. It's a pretty kooky-looking creature. This is a low budget movie so don't expect much from the effects or production values. But there's a charm to it, as with many of Corman's early films, that I find hard to resist.

A pretty decent Roger Corman offering about a group of people who find themselves amid a mountain range that is full of lead after a nuclear holocaust. They include a survivalist and his daughter, a young man knowledgeable in science (handsome Richard Denning), a gangster (played by Mike Connors) and his stripper girlfriend, an old prospector and his donkey, and a poor guy who was caught in the radiation. The dynamics are interesting as food and water run low and they become aware that there are some frightening creatures massing over the rim. It's hard to work together when Connors is constantly on the lookout for a gun he can get his hands on. He also has designs on the young daughter and becomes impatient with his girlfriend. There is some poorly developed science here but, of course, we have to have monsters. Corman doesn't disappoint. Not a bad movie.

If you were to pick folks to hopefully populate the world again as the new Adams and Eves the group from Day The World Ended would not be selected as a typical gene pool. But they are an interesting crew to entertain us for 79 minutes in a typical Roger Corman low budget film.This futuristic look after the Apocalypse was shot on a shoestring and it shows, but Corman was a master at stretching things. A valley where Paul Birch and his daughter Lori Nelson have their ranch seems to have escaped the holocaust and some folks have arrived there for shelter that include an escaped convict Michael Connors and his moll stripper Adele Jergens, geologist Richard Denning, old prospector Raymond Hatton, and a strange man who has a taste for the radiated flesh of the dead animals around played by Paul Dubov.Birch has a lot of supplies stored away probably he would be considered a survivalist today, but this is not a crew to think of the larger picture. Both Connors and Denning make a play for Nelson and Jergens is feeling rather frustrated. And there are some nasty mutant beings hanging around, but strangely not entering the valley.Day The World Ended is a bit better than some of the low budget science fiction from the Fifties. The characters if not original are indeed entertaining. Roger Corman could stretch a dollar better than most.