I was 10 when I saw this on TV and I always remember how plausible the solar flare angle was. There was a massive flare in the 1850's that lit up telegraph wires around the world. If such a flare were to hit earth today it would wipe out modern electronics for at least a couple of years. Which is why NASA has a sentinel satellite parked 1,000,000 miles outside of earth orbit to monitor for flares.The Malibu beach scenery was great too and I always drive up the route shown at the end of the movie- courtesy of the plainly marked road signs- when I am in the Pepperdine area.This movie is right up there with Soylent Green, Omega Man, Stowaway to the Moon and other such cheesy 70's classics.

Technical I think it was a nice movie even though old and no special effects it worked fine.Plotwise and later in the story I was simply lost as I could not make myself believe it anymore. I know it is a movie and not real life. But the deaths were just too silly.The start is great and gives a good promise about the rest of the movie. I was exited to see what would happen.I think they acted realistic hysterical and under pressure in the start of the movie after the big light glimpse. And it gave good excitement the way one of them had something described as radiation sickness. I was at this time exited guessing what could really have happened. And here I soon got my first letdown.SPOILERS start: But after dying they turned to white powder. Ehh were they delayed incinerated by the flash? No unfortunately even worse. It was a virus that made them white powder. And a virus that hit all over the world at the same time.Had they just let people be dead bodies, then everything would have worked great. And then let us know the virus had gradually spread instead of appearing worldwide at once, then I would have loved the movie. A bit like the old BBC series Survivors (I think it is).

Palentologist Steve Anders is with his son and daughter in a cave in California when they feel earth tremors . Fearing an earthquake they run to the surface find their guide ill and the radios unable to work . Their worries escalate as they speculate a catastrophe may have hit planet Earth I saw this many years ago and despite being an American TVM made on a very limited budget it did stick in my mind and judging from the comments on this page it did make a big impression on everyone who saw it . Okay granted it doesn't push back the boundaries of the post apocalyptic genre but does what it does very well and it's nice for a change tro watch this type of story in 2013 without zombies making an appearance along the line somewhere Veteran TVM director John Llewellen Moxey manages to build up an air of suspense and mystery and it's a TVM that has ambitions to be cinematic and the scene where the Anders wander through a deserted town does have an eerie atmosphere little seen in American post apocalyptic fiction of this type . Moxey also makes impressive use of ironic sound effects as the Anders travel through a deserted city and past an empty school If there's a major problem to WHERE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE GONE ? it's the unsatisfying ending . You can the TV network having one eye on a continuing series and worried that if this TVM is self contained then that won't happen therefore we get an ending that doesn't work as being either open ended or conclusive which is a bit of a shame and ends on an unsatisfactorily flat note

For a made for TV movie it had the ability to carry the theme-fear factor. Like most of the made for TV movies I expected it to rerun-but I never saw any times advertised later in TV Guide, THE weekly reference of programming. I just happened on it tonight searching Wikipedia and IMDb to see if I could find what the name of this movie that has haunted my memories for so many decades (1974 to 2011). This would be a great remake candidate with today's CGI effects. I especially recall the end. Wish SyFy would run this and a few more of the old movies like THE PEOPLE 1972. Such a cool premise-I still have hold over fears of a flash that takes out everyone-like NIGHT OF THE COMET 1984 and this movie Where Have All the People Gone. It's August 18th 2011 and I still think about it. I was 19 when the TV movies played October 1974. It would have made a great series from the pilot.