In the Year 2889 (1967) Movie Script
American International Television
But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night,
in which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise.
And the elements shall melt
with fervent heat.
The Earth also,
and the works that are therein,
shall be burned up.
IN THE YEAR 2889
The geiger counter here in the studio
reads 632 Renchens. That's six times more than enough to kill a man.
Down through the ages, the prophets
have forewarned us that in one day
thousands of years of
accomplishments could be
wiped away by the destructive hand of power.
Now that day has come.
All communication with the outside world has stopped,
just 15 hours after the first nuclear bomb fell on Formosa.
The whole world has been silenced,
annihilated by nuclear bombs.
Three billion people murdered by a thousand nuclear bombs and the lethal fallout.
Maybe there's no one left to hear my voice,
no living human being to record the end of the world.
Now, this is Ted Johnson for K.B.G.E. - Radio.
He didn't come, Dad. Larry didn't come.
He's lost. They're all lost.
Not a sign of life:
New York, Paris, Moscow... All's quiet now.
Look, Joanna! It's holding at 47!
Why, we may be saved! Just as I planned it.
I'm not sure I want to, Dad...
not without Larry.
I'm sorry, honey. I'm afraid he didn't make it.
But there's always hope. Come, let's go inside.
I planned it right, Joanna.
Our house out here, miles from any city. The cliffs.
The updrafts of air to fight back the radiation.
And provisions for the three of us for months.
There's only two of us now, Dad.
Honey...
I couldn't very well order Larry to come out here and stay with us, even though you are engaged to him.
There's someone at the door, Dad. It's Larry, he's made it!
- Wait! Don't open that door until you're sure it's Larry!
- It is Larry! He's hurt!
- He'll contaminate us!
- Larry! Larry!
- Don't! Don't open that door. We can't take the chance!
- Let me go!
I've got to open that door!
Wait! Don't touch him!
He's red-hot with radioactivity!
It's not Larry!
- We've got to help him, whoever he is.
- Wait.
We'd better check the geiger counter.
740 Renchens? And he's still breathing!
Why, he should be dead!
But he's still breathing! Nobody can take that much and still live.
Don't touch him. He's my responsibility.
- Who are you?
- I'm Steve Marlin.
He's my brother.
Better keep away from him.
Granger?
It's OK, it's OK.
God, he's still alive.
- Don't know why, but he's still alive!
- He must be dying.
The counter showed 740 Renchens.
Where are the bedrooms?
- Upstairs. Come with me.
- No.
They can't stay here!
- Yes, they can, Dad.
- But they're contaminated.
It's too late for them. But not us.
I'll get you some water and clean clothes.
- Get out of here or I'll kill you.
- Don't shoot! There's a girl out here.
Throw your weapon on the floor.
I warn you.
- This gun's loaded!
- OK, OK!
Stop it, Dad! Don't!
Move on into the room, here. Come in where I can see you.
- Are you all right?
- Yeah, I guess so.
- Is... is it OK if we stay?
- Of course you can't stay!
- I've got provisions for only three people.
- Mac, we're staying, so forget the sob story.
Please, mister, help us.
You can't stay here! It isn't the way I planned it. I have provisions for three people only.
I'm Joanna Ramsey. Please, bring your suitcase upstairs and I'll get you some fresh water.
Wait!
I didn't mean nothin'.
I was just looking to see if anyone was alive in the house.
What's your name?
I'm Tim Henderson. I'm a rancher. I live up on the cliff.
- Sorry I roughed you up.
- Sure.
Come on!... How'd I knock you down?
- Come on up the house.
- No!
He can't stay!
Oh, let the worthless old coot stay. We're all gonna die anyway.
It looks like we're stuck with each other, so let's understand the rules.
Now, I'm the ranking officer, I mean, person. I'm in command.
If we're votin', I vote for me.
- Oh, don't be funny. This is serious!
- Shut up, Jada.
My second-in-command will be Steve.
This counter is registering 47 Renchens
of radioactivity now.
50 is considered dangerous. 500, fatal.
But that depends on the individual. Different people have different absorption rates and capacities.
We may live, and we may not.
There's a lot we don't know about it.
Some of us may be dying now.
- Well, how long before we can leave this museum?
- Yeah.
I've got some things working for me in L.A., big things. So how long before we can get out of here?
There is no Los Angeles.
No Los Angeles? You're kidding.
I don't believe you.
There are no radio signals, long or shortwave, from any city in the world.
She's right.
The six of us in this house may be the beginning of a new era.
A new civilization.
Seven. My brother's still alive.
But not for long, I'm afraid.
But be that as it may, I've spent ten years getting ready for this day.
I'll brief you as to why we're still alive.
This is my house, with its own generators and food supply.
These cliffs, surrounding the house on three sides,
are full of lead-bearing ore that acts as a barrier against radioactivity.
The lake here on the fourth side is heated from an underground heat source,
probably an old volcano
or maybe a crack in the Earth's crust.
Anyway, the warm air from the lake's waters creates an updraft.
And it's strong enough, I might add,
to carry radioactive contamination out of the valley.
As long as it doesn't rain. If the rains come too soon,
we'll all be contaminated and die.
That is, if we don't let other forces destroy us before that time.
What other forces?
Never mind that now.
But make no mistake about it: You're not welcome here.
This was planned for just three people. That's how much food we have.
If we divide that among the six of us, we'll soon have empty stomachs and rebellion.
I have the keys to the storeroom.
I, and I alone, will say when and how much food we eat.
Any argument about that, and I'll settle it with this.
Oh, you're a big man, packin' that gun.
Just don't you let go of it.
I don't intend to.
Where are you going with that?
- My brother.
- Save the food.
Your brother's a casualty, face it.
Take it to him.
Dad, I've never seen you like this before.
We can't become animals. We're still human, and we've got to act like it!
That's just what I'm afraid of. We're all human.
Granger? How ya doin'?
I'm not gonna die.
I thought I was, but I'm not. I know I'm not, now.
Well, it's a miracle. You soaked up 700 Renchens.
I don't understand it, but I'm glad.
- Here. Try something to eat.
- I don't want that.
I need fresh meat. Raw meat.
Well, I'll put your order in with the chef.
I don't know, but... I think it'll do me good.
- Well, why don't you wash up and get into some clean clothes, huh?
- No. No water.
Just let me rest.
I'll be OK just the way I am.
You didn't tell me how you two happened to be near this valley yesterday.
Uh, we're not exactly on the main highway.
We were camped on the other side of the lake.
That's not too far off the highway.
We were on our way to California. I thought it'd be a kick to sleep out.
Yeah. Then her old car wouldn't start, and we were stranded.
You two married?
She's an old friend of the family.
Look, kid, you can be a friend of my family anytime you want.
Jada's a performer, a dancer.
I'm her manager.
I... I guess it was stuck.
Now you know why she can't work with a fan.
Nice looking guy. Your brother?
My fiance.
He was supposed to be here yesterday.
You were gonna marry him.
I'm sorry. Really sorry.
What's the matter?
Strange...
I felt like I heard someone calling.
But not really calling.
Just something strange.
Come on, snap out of it.
Let's go to your father's storeroom and see if we can find some canned beef for my brother, huh?
Steve, come with me. I want to check the radioactivity outside.
Go ahead, Steve. I'll get the canned beef.
How we doing, John?
It's at 49. That's up 2 since last night.
It's as if some magic force is holding those clouds up out of this valley.
- That's the warm air from the lake. Creates an updraft.
- Yes, I know.
- Oh yes, I told you this morning.
- I've known about this valley for a long time.
The lake, too. Read about it in college, in Geology.
- Oh, you a geologist?
- Mm-hmm.
I worked for an oil company about 100 miles south of here.
Then you just didn't stumble in here yesterday by accident?
No, my brother and I headed here the minute we heard about the bombings.
Smart thinking on your part.
Do you know
the real force of the atom has never been fully calculated?
Well, I think it reached its fulfillment yesterday.
Yes, but only as we know it affects our present form of life...
or life as we knew it, before this nuclear inferno covered the Earth.
You think some other form of life could have survived?
I'm only saying that its true force has never been fully understood.
You're confusing me now, John.
- Do you remember the H-bomb test at Matsuo some years ago?
- Sure.
I captained one of those ships.
5 days after the blast, I towed the animal ship out of target zero.
The outside world never had a true account of that test.
What are you trying to say, John?
Coyote. In the daytime.
Hm. Must be a lot of game in this valley now.
Contaminated game. Fighting for life, just the way we are.
What's the matter, Granger?
There's live game outside.
I can tell.
Yes, we heard a coyote during the day.
I can feel it. And I need meat.
Granger, that game's contaminated. If you ate that, you'd die.
You would die,
but not me.
I can't eat that canned junk. I've gotta have some meat!
Fresh, do you hear?
That's all you're gonna get for a long time.
That's what you think.
That's just what you think.
Three weeks. Thought we'd all be dead by now.
Even Granger got out of bed yesterday.
Steve...
- I know he's your brother, but...
- But what?
Well, he... he gives me a funny feeling.
Logically, he should have been dead long ago, but...
There's no such thing as logic anymore.
What's so illogical about my brother?
You know as well as I do, he hasn't taken food or water in three weeks.
Not since he's been here.
He says he doesn't need food.
And last night, he slipped out of the house and didn't come back until dawn.
The radiation must have affected his mind.
He's a mutation, Steve. Face it.
He's a freak of this new atomic world of ours.
I'm going outside.
For a walk.
Well, uh, don't go too far. Stay inside of the house.
Why?
Because I say so, that's why.
- Aren't you tired, Grange? You need more sleep.
- I'm not tired.
I'm not afraid of anything out there.
In fact, I like it.
Would you like to go with me?
Oh, no, I have things to do.
I think he's dangerous.
No, I don't think so.
He should be destroyed.
Destroyed? My brother?
Yes. For our safety.
You can't do that, John! Well, not just because he's my brother, but don't you see...
it's important to us that he live.
I don't see why.
I'm not sure yet.
We have to study him.
If it doesn't rain in the next few weeks, I think we're gonna live.
Somehow I knew we wouldn't die. My father always seemed so positive.
You know, after the bombs came, I didn't much care if I lived or died.
Don't talk like that.
It's true, Joanna.
But these past few weeks with you...
Now I feel I've got a big reason to live.
Me too, Steve.
Joanna...
What's wrong?
Did I misunderstand?
Didn't you hear it?
Hear what?
Something out there...
That strange feeling, sound, something...
Stronger than the last time I felt it!
It's just some harmless animal in the bushes, that's all.
No, Steve! It's more!
Let's go back in the house. Please.
These bones are still moist!
Look at the footprints!
They're Granger's.
You think he ate that rabbit?
He must have. He spends most of his nights prowling around in these woods.
49 Renchens.
You think a man could eat that poisoned meat and live?
No. No human could.
It defies all the laws of man and God.
There may be a new set of laws, John.
Laws for post-nuclear life we know nothing about.
Out with it, Steve. Say what you mean.
Well, I'm only guessing, but, we know that even small amounts of radiation can produce change.
Now if, for some reason, a man could survive complete saturation,
a thousand generations of change could take place in a matter of weeks.
The Matsuo test.
What do you mean?
Nothing. Go on with your theory.
I'm afraid there are more Grangers out here. And even worse than him.
All of us have survived more cumulative exposure than we ever thought possible.
You mean we all might become like your brother? Stalking these woods at night? Eating raw meat?
It's possible.
- Any bright theories as to what to do in this situation?
- No.
You know, when my brother couldn't find the answer to something, he looked it up in the Bible.
He believed that it held the answers to everything.
"For I am with thee to save thee and deliver thee, sayeth the Lord."
"I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked."
"I will redeem thee out of the land of the terrible."
Look, I had enough of that Bible when I was a kid.
Well, it's easy to see it had no effect on you, Mickey.
I'm gonna go look for Granger.
What was that?
Maybe you'd better tell us what the Bible says about rain.
In our situation, we'd better pray that it doesn't rain.
Not for weeks, anyway.
Because if it does rain in this valley,
it'll be coming down through clouds saturated with nuclear death.
Maybe we'll be safe,
like Noah and the Ark.
Right now, there's about 40 Renchens of activity in this room.
If it rains, that will move up into the hundreds of Renchens in a matter of hours.
And we'll all be dead. Or,
like Granger. If we're unlucky.
But,
maybe the updrafts from the lake will hold the clouds back.
They will, Dad. We've been lucky so far.
We're gonna live. I just feel it.
I hope you're right, sweetheart.
And if the weather does clear, starting tomorrow, we'll have to go on half rations.
How much is half of nothing?
I've stored some seeds and grain. And I have books and materials
on every craft necessary to sustain life.
Mickey Brown: farmer and craftsman.
Oh, another thing...
We're about out of fresh water. But
there's a spring-fed pool not so far from the cliffs.
Hey, Joanna, maybe we could take a swim in the pool.
Well, if Dad says it's all right.
Oh, it's safe. I checked it today.
And starting tomorrow, we can all take turns bathing there.
Well, I'm telling you one thing.
I've taken more baths in the past two months
than I have in all my born days together.
Maybe that's why you're still alive, Tim.
- Grange?
- Don't let it touch me!
- Don't let the rain touch me!
- It's OK, Grange, the clouds aren't gonna come in the valley!
You're lying to me! It's gonna rain!
Come on. Come on. Come on back to the house.
Gonna touch me!
Grange, come on back to the house!
- This place is spooky even in sunshine.
- It feels great, though.
So quiet.
I'd give anything to hear that downtown traffic again.
I didn't realize how isolated it would be from the house.
You are good looking.
Clean-cut, and that bit.
That's something new for Mickey.
Mickey?
Oh, he's all eyes for you.
He isn't even giving me the time of day anymore.
I'm not interested in Mickey.
Well, you'd better not be.
Otherwise, well...
I'd have to make a play for Steve!
That would be unfair competition for you.
Yes, I... I see what you mean.
Mickey always comes back to mama.
Hey, what's the matter, kid?
Somebody's watching us, I can feel it!
I didn't hear anything!
Something's moving over there in the bushes!
It's probably one of the fellas. It's probably old Timothy.
Hey, Timothy!
Hurry up. Let's get out of here!
Granger's not the only one hunting game.
And, after they've finished off the game, we'll be next!
This place is cursed.
Steve, we've got to get rid of your brother.
John! He's the only way to find out what we're up against! Don't you see that?
The animals on the ship. The Matsuo test.
They forewarned of something like this.
- You know, you keep mentioning that. You gonna keep up the mystery, or you gonna tell me about it?
- Tonight.
Back at the house, I'll show you, after the others have gone to bed. I have the evidence.
What you looking at?
You said I didn't see anything at the pool. You said it was just my imagination.
That's right. You just became upset.
Steve, somebody was looking at me, tried to talk to me.
What'd he say?
Nothing you'd understand.
Nothing I'd understand, for that matter.
Well, you won't go swimming alone in the pool anymore. I'll stand guard.
My skin was tingling, my pulse was pounding...
You're still upset. Come on, let's go back to the house.
Do you believe in mental telepathy?
I'm afraid I'm reading your thoughts, if that's what you mean.
What am I thinking?
It's not the same way you were thinking about me a few days ago.
I'm sorry, Steve.
I just feel like I'd like to be alone right now.
I'm sorry too, Joanna.
Mickey! Don't scare me like that.
I just wanna talk to you, that's all. You know, I bet I haven't said a dozen words to you since I got here.
Hey, look, what's so bad about me? I don't drink, I don't smoke...
And once I even gave some money to a drunken bum. My old man!
Come on. Don't give me that hard-to-get stuff, come on!
Don't! You belong to Jada.
I belong to me! Get it?
Me!
Hey buddy!
Oh, it's you, Miss Jada. Care for a taste of some of the best whiskey in these mountains?
It is whiskey! Hey, where'd you get it?
Made it myself, that's where. I make it by the barrels back at my place.
That is awful, Tim!
The first taste is never good, Miss Jada.
It's that long, second one that puts hair on your chest!
Better?
Grange!
You won't believe this, but I just saw Granger walk up the mountain trail through that fog, and it didn't faze him.
Do you remember anything about the Matsuo bomb test?
Yeah, there were some vague rumors right after that, weren't there?
There's something I have to show you.
As I told you, my job was to tow the animal ship out of Target Zero.
I got the first look at those animals.
- The newspapers said they were all destroyed.
- The newspapers lied.
Three of those animals lived through it.
Lived through an H-bomb?
There was a law against taking photographs.
But no law against sketching what we'd seen.
There were over a thousand animals on that ship.
- That was a chipmunk.
- This was alive?
Yes. It lived for three days.
Our third survivor was a monkey.
Its skin looked like rubber,
but it felt more like metal.
Armor-plated.
Nature's answer to complete nuclear radiation.
Why, that's a million years of evolution with one bomb!
- You say they lived for three days?
- When we got back to the inspection ship, they were dead.
- Well, if we could figure out what killed them, it may help us.
- We never knew.
After we washed them down, we went down to inspect.
They were normal, except for their appearance.
But they refused food and water.
- New species.
- Yes.
They were the forerunners of whatever it is we have out there.
Sometimes I have a feeling of doom.
Well, I know this much:
There are two forms of life fighting for survival in this valley, and only one can win.
John, it's got to be us.
You know, I started this thing
just to stay alive.
But you've given me a deep feeling of responsibility toward the welfare of mankind.
Our kind.
I think I'll turn in now. Goodnight, John.
Yes. I'll tell the girls the first thing in the morning.
- The girls?
- Yes.
They should bear children as soon as possible.
Steve!
That's enough!
Now, Mickey, we've had enough of you.
Get your things and get out of this house!
You wouldn't do that to an animal, Dad.
- He stays.
- Are you all right, love?
Get out of my life!
Mickey!
A sea captain can perform the marriage ceremony in case of an emergency.
Joanna, I want you to marry Steve. I want you to have... children.
There'll be no wedding, Dad, and no children.
You have a responsibility to the future.
- What would Mother say? - Your mother?
- And Larry, what would he say?
They're both dead.
I'm the only one who knows.
Knows? Knows what?
- Have you been listening to me?
- Yes, Dad.
I'll marry Steve in a week.
If he's still alive. And I am.
What are you doing, love?
This little gadget's
gonna open that storeroom for me.
Can you imagine us having a kid?
'Course, we won't tell him his mother was a...
exotic dancer.
I wonder what's wrong with Joanna?
She goes around in her own little world now.
She slipped off her rocker.
- Maybe we all are.
- Not me, baby.
You still go for her, don't you?
You're just plain dirt to her, but you still want her!
All I want is a key to open that storeroom!
All this time you've been saying it was you and me!
But you meant her! You liar!
OK, OK. So I lied a little.
A little!
The only friend you ever had in this world was me!
The only one who ever loved you was me! Me, me!
Now listen, you cheap hood!
A present from the hood... lover!
Now beat it!
I wanna finish this key.
We can't go up there for at least two more months.
And we're running out of supplies.
Only enough for about two more weeks.
Don't touch him, he's hot.
Food.
They wouldn't give me any.
"They?" There's more of you up there?
Stronger...
- Much... stronger.
- How many? How many more?
Uhh... stronger... uuhh...
Food!
He won't be needing food now, poor devil.
Look at the head. The strange bone structure.
It's like those animals at Matsuo.
And the same mutated skin the animals had.
And... there's more like him up there! Stronger!
Stage 2, this one. Stage 3, stronger. Stage 4, maybe invulnerable.
How about Stage 1? Who's that?
That's Granger. My brother is Stage 1.
There's no doubt about it.
They're coming closer to the house every night.
We'll have to take turns standing guard, Steve.
I'd use Mickey, but we can't trust him with a gun in his hand. I know his kind...
spawned in bilgewater.
Timothy, sometimes you're a lifesaver.
Jada, we're like two peas in a pod.
Sometimes, we're feelin' low as a have-no-well,
- but give us a whack of this stuff...
- Yeah! Give us a whack of this!
...and we're high as a silk hat on Sunday!
Come on, ya big lug!
Hey... quit it! Quit pouring so fast!
Come with Jada, Timothy baby!
I wanna pay you back for
all that ever-lovin' kindness!
Request permission to come aboard, Captain!
Permission granted, sailor.
And when I come out, they start to whistle and shout "Take it off!"
And once I got my motor running,
all you could hear was their breathing!
That near scared me to death!
One time,
I, like, ran off stage!
But Mickey baby,
he just kicked my little backside and...! On I went!
Now wasn't that sweet of Mickey baby?
One of these days I'm gonna return that favor.
Now, here it comes!
This is where I start to peel!
Kick me under that blue spot, daddy, 'cause I'm comin' on for the clincher!
N-no! Don't break my jug, please!
That was the last drop I had!
Good! Then we'll have no more of this disgusting behavior.
Right?
"Sailor"?
There's one like you in every crowd!
Now I'll never make it!
But I, uh...
Well? What have you got to say about it?
Personally, I hate the stuff.
Have a nice nap?
Caught me. I must have dozed off.
Say, have you seen Tim? He's not in the house anyplace.
He's probably sleeping it off in the woods somewhere.
You know, I'm really worried about that old coot. You shouldn't have broken his jug.
You're right. I had no idea he was an alcoholic.
Well, if he doesn't show up by daybreak, I'll go out and find him.
I'll go with you. It was my mistake.
You don't suppose he tried to get back up over those cliffs, do you?
Well, he better not. If he does, it'll be the end of him.
Goodnight.
Easy, Timothy...
It's... just a little rabbit.
My god!
Tim!
Tim, don't! Don't go into that fog!
Don't go into that fog! You'll be killed sure!
John!
Steve!
- What happened?
- Oh, I've sprained my ankle.
- Where's Tim?
- Back up over the cliff.
He went back to his whiskey still.
Did you go after him?
Through that vapor?
How long were you up there?
A minute. Hour. What difference does it make?
Steve, I've had the course.
Well, come on. We'll get you washed up.
Don't tell Joanna. I've just got a sprained ankle, understand?
Sure, John. Come on. Let's get back to the house.
He's dead.
Believe me, Steve, it's better this way.
Poor Granger.
Now my whole family's gone.
No, Steve. You and Joanna are the new family now.
Perhaps for the whole human race.
Look at those punctures!
It's like... like three steel claws!
Steel claws...
It's like the hand of the monkey in your drawings!
Matsuo.
- Steve!
- What is it, Joanna?
- In there! In the bushes!
- Where? What is it?
Someone was calling to me!
It's just your imagination! I wasn't 40 feet away from you and I didn't hear a thing!
Oh, please, Steve, take me home! Please!
Joanna insists this thing tried to talk to her.
How about the way it looked?
She said it looked like an ape.
The sketches of Matsuo. The monkey!
But this thing is man-sized.
That means it's a man, not an ape.
How do we fight it? How do we kill it?
You're the one who said we'd come up with an answer.
But how? It eats contaminated flesh, breathes contaminated air...
The things that kill a man, it thrives on.
What's the point? You're driving at something.
Just that in order to kill it, we must first understand it.
Now, we know it has fears. It was close enough to Joanna to attack her, but it wouldn't follow her into the pool.
Don't scream. I mean it!
What do you want?
I never had time for your kind of woman. You're something new in my life.
No... No!
Girl, you won't hate me when there's just the two of us, there'd be no point to it, get what I mean?
Mickey! Let the kid alone!
Joanna, go back to the house.
I have a few words for this child molester here!
You don't know when you're through, do ya?
You said the two of us,
- but all along, you meant her!
- Yeah, that's right. Now you know.
You and your dimestore stuff.
You're cheap! A cheapie!
I didn't know how cheap you are 'til I met her!
She hates your guts!
You're cheap to her! She'd rather kill herself first!
Come on.
Let's not fight like a couple of kids.
- Let's go take a moonlight swim, huh?
- Beat it!
I don't want any part of you.
Well.
You decided to come back to Jada.
What's the gun for, Cap'n?
Where's Jada?
Well, we had a little beef. She didn't come back.
Stayed outside to cool off, I guess.
OK, Mickey. I got something to settle with you.
Tomorrow, maybe. I'm beat right now.
- You go next to Joanna again and I'm gonna kill you.
- Kill me!
I haven't had a laugh all day.
Why he was spared by the bombs, I'll never know.
He'll kill you, Steve.
Get him first. Now!
Here, take this!
Just sneak up on Mickey and empty it into him, huh?
John, you know me better than that.
It's the same feeling that made you go up that mountain for Tim.
But there's so much at stake.
At least carry a gun. Here,
get one. Out of the storeroom.
Get it now. And be ready to use it.
Hey, how long before a guy can get out of here?
As far as I'm concerned, you can leave now.
You know, this reminds me of that kids' song. Ten Little Indians.
...That got knocked off one at a time.
Same way with us. First there were seven.
Now there's... Now there's...
"3 little 2 little 1 little Indians..."
And then there was none.
Try that again.
Please. Try that again.
Not me, Cap'n.
I know when to cool it. Like right now.
Joanna!
Joanna!
- I heard her screaming, but she's not in her room!
- I have a strange feeling. She's in danger, Steve.
That thing...
- The thing out there has got my baby!
- I'm going after her. - Wait!
There's a special Luger. In the storeroom.
With a 30-round magazine. Get it.
Steve - put your revolver under my pillow. You won't need it.
If there's no other way, use that Luger on Joanna.
Joanna!
Now! That's better, Cap'n.
If there's two men and only one gun, I like to have it.
Looks like your ship's falling apart, don't it?
Well, you've been no help.
You wouldn't find Jada.
You wouldn't help Steve look for Joanna. Oh, you're lower than scum.
I'm a coward.
I only fight when I have to. And on my own conditions.
And one of 'em is that I know what I'm fighting.
Joanna!
"3 little 2 little 1 little Indian..." You know, you're a sucker.
I know you went after ol' Tim, into that fog.
Killed yourself for that worthless old coot.
So, that's why you're acting so brave.
- That's why you're moving in.
- Moving in?
I'm taking over.
The works, the house. Your daughter.
If she gets back.
I'd make a better old man for her kids than Steve would. They'd be tough, like me.
Looks like it will rain after all.
Still think that rain will kill us all?
You'll know soon enough.
Joanna!
Here, Steve! Over here!
The water! It's afraid of the water!
Well, there's your rain, Cap'n! But good!
How long do you think we'll live now?
Well, here. Get me a sample of the rainwater and I'll test it.
Why, it doesn't register!
That's pure water!
Well, what do you know.
Just plain old rainwater!
That's it!
Water! It's afraid of water!
Joanna and Steve may be safe!
What's afraid, Cap'n?
- You crackin' up on me?
- Don't you see, you idiot?
That thing out there, that atomic fiend. It's afraid of pure water.
That's why it wouldn't go in the pool!
What are you thinking in that sick mind of yours?
Simple.
I'm gonna shoot Steve, right between the eyes.
In God's name, why?
Well, I thought you knew, smart man.
I want Joanna.
I don't hear it anymore.
Hear what?
The weird sound.
It tried to speak to me.
Steve?
It was Larry. What killed him?
He was created to live in a contaminated atmosphere.
Guess the rain must be pure.
He couldn't stand it.
I guess that means that all the other people like Larry will be killed by the rain, too.
Then there is a future.
Yes, Joanna.
Mickey!
The Beginning
But the day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night,
in which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise.
And the elements shall melt
with fervent heat.
The Earth also,
and the works that are therein,
shall be burned up.
IN THE YEAR 2889
The geiger counter here in the studio
reads 632 Renchens. That's six times more than enough to kill a man.
Down through the ages, the prophets
have forewarned us that in one day
thousands of years of
accomplishments could be
wiped away by the destructive hand of power.
Now that day has come.
All communication with the outside world has stopped,
just 15 hours after the first nuclear bomb fell on Formosa.
The whole world has been silenced,
annihilated by nuclear bombs.
Three billion people murdered by a thousand nuclear bombs and the lethal fallout.
Maybe there's no one left to hear my voice,
no living human being to record the end of the world.
Now, this is Ted Johnson for K.B.G.E. - Radio.
He didn't come, Dad. Larry didn't come.
He's lost. They're all lost.
Not a sign of life:
New York, Paris, Moscow... All's quiet now.
Look, Joanna! It's holding at 47!
Why, we may be saved! Just as I planned it.
I'm not sure I want to, Dad...
not without Larry.
I'm sorry, honey. I'm afraid he didn't make it.
But there's always hope. Come, let's go inside.
I planned it right, Joanna.
Our house out here, miles from any city. The cliffs.
The updrafts of air to fight back the radiation.
And provisions for the three of us for months.
There's only two of us now, Dad.
Honey...
I couldn't very well order Larry to come out here and stay with us, even though you are engaged to him.
There's someone at the door, Dad. It's Larry, he's made it!
- Wait! Don't open that door until you're sure it's Larry!
- It is Larry! He's hurt!
- He'll contaminate us!
- Larry! Larry!
- Don't! Don't open that door. We can't take the chance!
- Let me go!
I've got to open that door!
Wait! Don't touch him!
He's red-hot with radioactivity!
It's not Larry!
- We've got to help him, whoever he is.
- Wait.
We'd better check the geiger counter.
740 Renchens? And he's still breathing!
Why, he should be dead!
But he's still breathing! Nobody can take that much and still live.
Don't touch him. He's my responsibility.
- Who are you?
- I'm Steve Marlin.
He's my brother.
Better keep away from him.
Granger?
It's OK, it's OK.
God, he's still alive.
- Don't know why, but he's still alive!
- He must be dying.
The counter showed 740 Renchens.
Where are the bedrooms?
- Upstairs. Come with me.
- No.
They can't stay here!
- Yes, they can, Dad.
- But they're contaminated.
It's too late for them. But not us.
I'll get you some water and clean clothes.
- Get out of here or I'll kill you.
- Don't shoot! There's a girl out here.
Throw your weapon on the floor.
I warn you.
- This gun's loaded!
- OK, OK!
Stop it, Dad! Don't!
Move on into the room, here. Come in where I can see you.
- Are you all right?
- Yeah, I guess so.
- Is... is it OK if we stay?
- Of course you can't stay!
- I've got provisions for only three people.
- Mac, we're staying, so forget the sob story.
Please, mister, help us.
You can't stay here! It isn't the way I planned it. I have provisions for three people only.
I'm Joanna Ramsey. Please, bring your suitcase upstairs and I'll get you some fresh water.
Wait!
I didn't mean nothin'.
I was just looking to see if anyone was alive in the house.
What's your name?
I'm Tim Henderson. I'm a rancher. I live up on the cliff.
- Sorry I roughed you up.
- Sure.
Come on!... How'd I knock you down?
- Come on up the house.
- No!
He can't stay!
Oh, let the worthless old coot stay. We're all gonna die anyway.
It looks like we're stuck with each other, so let's understand the rules.
Now, I'm the ranking officer, I mean, person. I'm in command.
If we're votin', I vote for me.
- Oh, don't be funny. This is serious!
- Shut up, Jada.
My second-in-command will be Steve.
This counter is registering 47 Renchens
of radioactivity now.
50 is considered dangerous. 500, fatal.
But that depends on the individual. Different people have different absorption rates and capacities.
We may live, and we may not.
There's a lot we don't know about it.
Some of us may be dying now.
- Well, how long before we can leave this museum?
- Yeah.
I've got some things working for me in L.A., big things. So how long before we can get out of here?
There is no Los Angeles.
No Los Angeles? You're kidding.
I don't believe you.
There are no radio signals, long or shortwave, from any city in the world.
She's right.
The six of us in this house may be the beginning of a new era.
A new civilization.
Seven. My brother's still alive.
But not for long, I'm afraid.
But be that as it may, I've spent ten years getting ready for this day.
I'll brief you as to why we're still alive.
This is my house, with its own generators and food supply.
These cliffs, surrounding the house on three sides,
are full of lead-bearing ore that acts as a barrier against radioactivity.
The lake here on the fourth side is heated from an underground heat source,
probably an old volcano
or maybe a crack in the Earth's crust.
Anyway, the warm air from the lake's waters creates an updraft.
And it's strong enough, I might add,
to carry radioactive contamination out of the valley.
As long as it doesn't rain. If the rains come too soon,
we'll all be contaminated and die.
That is, if we don't let other forces destroy us before that time.
What other forces?
Never mind that now.
But make no mistake about it: You're not welcome here.
This was planned for just three people. That's how much food we have.
If we divide that among the six of us, we'll soon have empty stomachs and rebellion.
I have the keys to the storeroom.
I, and I alone, will say when and how much food we eat.
Any argument about that, and I'll settle it with this.
Oh, you're a big man, packin' that gun.
Just don't you let go of it.
I don't intend to.
Where are you going with that?
- My brother.
- Save the food.
Your brother's a casualty, face it.
Take it to him.
Dad, I've never seen you like this before.
We can't become animals. We're still human, and we've got to act like it!
That's just what I'm afraid of. We're all human.
Granger? How ya doin'?
I'm not gonna die.
I thought I was, but I'm not. I know I'm not, now.
Well, it's a miracle. You soaked up 700 Renchens.
I don't understand it, but I'm glad.
- Here. Try something to eat.
- I don't want that.
I need fresh meat. Raw meat.
Well, I'll put your order in with the chef.
I don't know, but... I think it'll do me good.
- Well, why don't you wash up and get into some clean clothes, huh?
- No. No water.
Just let me rest.
I'll be OK just the way I am.
You didn't tell me how you two happened to be near this valley yesterday.
Uh, we're not exactly on the main highway.
We were camped on the other side of the lake.
That's not too far off the highway.
We were on our way to California. I thought it'd be a kick to sleep out.
Yeah. Then her old car wouldn't start, and we were stranded.
You two married?
She's an old friend of the family.
Look, kid, you can be a friend of my family anytime you want.
Jada's a performer, a dancer.
I'm her manager.
I... I guess it was stuck.
Now you know why she can't work with a fan.
Nice looking guy. Your brother?
My fiance.
He was supposed to be here yesterday.
You were gonna marry him.
I'm sorry. Really sorry.
What's the matter?
Strange...
I felt like I heard someone calling.
But not really calling.
Just something strange.
Come on, snap out of it.
Let's go to your father's storeroom and see if we can find some canned beef for my brother, huh?
Steve, come with me. I want to check the radioactivity outside.
Go ahead, Steve. I'll get the canned beef.
How we doing, John?
It's at 49. That's up 2 since last night.
It's as if some magic force is holding those clouds up out of this valley.
- That's the warm air from the lake. Creates an updraft.
- Yes, I know.
- Oh yes, I told you this morning.
- I've known about this valley for a long time.
The lake, too. Read about it in college, in Geology.
- Oh, you a geologist?
- Mm-hmm.
I worked for an oil company about 100 miles south of here.
Then you just didn't stumble in here yesterday by accident?
No, my brother and I headed here the minute we heard about the bombings.
Smart thinking on your part.
Do you know
the real force of the atom has never been fully calculated?
Well, I think it reached its fulfillment yesterday.
Yes, but only as we know it affects our present form of life...
or life as we knew it, before this nuclear inferno covered the Earth.
You think some other form of life could have survived?
I'm only saying that its true force has never been fully understood.
You're confusing me now, John.
- Do you remember the H-bomb test at Matsuo some years ago?
- Sure.
I captained one of those ships.
5 days after the blast, I towed the animal ship out of target zero.
The outside world never had a true account of that test.
What are you trying to say, John?
Coyote. In the daytime.
Hm. Must be a lot of game in this valley now.
Contaminated game. Fighting for life, just the way we are.
What's the matter, Granger?
There's live game outside.
I can tell.
Yes, we heard a coyote during the day.
I can feel it. And I need meat.
Granger, that game's contaminated. If you ate that, you'd die.
You would die,
but not me.
I can't eat that canned junk. I've gotta have some meat!
Fresh, do you hear?
That's all you're gonna get for a long time.
That's what you think.
That's just what you think.
Three weeks. Thought we'd all be dead by now.
Even Granger got out of bed yesterday.
Steve...
- I know he's your brother, but...
- But what?
Well, he... he gives me a funny feeling.
Logically, he should have been dead long ago, but...
There's no such thing as logic anymore.
What's so illogical about my brother?
You know as well as I do, he hasn't taken food or water in three weeks.
Not since he's been here.
He says he doesn't need food.
And last night, he slipped out of the house and didn't come back until dawn.
The radiation must have affected his mind.
He's a mutation, Steve. Face it.
He's a freak of this new atomic world of ours.
I'm going outside.
For a walk.
Well, uh, don't go too far. Stay inside of the house.
Why?
Because I say so, that's why.
- Aren't you tired, Grange? You need more sleep.
- I'm not tired.
I'm not afraid of anything out there.
In fact, I like it.
Would you like to go with me?
Oh, no, I have things to do.
I think he's dangerous.
No, I don't think so.
He should be destroyed.
Destroyed? My brother?
Yes. For our safety.
You can't do that, John! Well, not just because he's my brother, but don't you see...
it's important to us that he live.
I don't see why.
I'm not sure yet.
We have to study him.
If it doesn't rain in the next few weeks, I think we're gonna live.
Somehow I knew we wouldn't die. My father always seemed so positive.
You know, after the bombs came, I didn't much care if I lived or died.
Don't talk like that.
It's true, Joanna.
But these past few weeks with you...
Now I feel I've got a big reason to live.
Me too, Steve.
Joanna...
What's wrong?
Did I misunderstand?
Didn't you hear it?
Hear what?
Something out there...
That strange feeling, sound, something...
Stronger than the last time I felt it!
It's just some harmless animal in the bushes, that's all.
No, Steve! It's more!
Let's go back in the house. Please.
These bones are still moist!
Look at the footprints!
They're Granger's.
You think he ate that rabbit?
He must have. He spends most of his nights prowling around in these woods.
49 Renchens.
You think a man could eat that poisoned meat and live?
No. No human could.
It defies all the laws of man and God.
There may be a new set of laws, John.
Laws for post-nuclear life we know nothing about.
Out with it, Steve. Say what you mean.
Well, I'm only guessing, but, we know that even small amounts of radiation can produce change.
Now if, for some reason, a man could survive complete saturation,
a thousand generations of change could take place in a matter of weeks.
The Matsuo test.
What do you mean?
Nothing. Go on with your theory.
I'm afraid there are more Grangers out here. And even worse than him.
All of us have survived more cumulative exposure than we ever thought possible.
You mean we all might become like your brother? Stalking these woods at night? Eating raw meat?
It's possible.
- Any bright theories as to what to do in this situation?
- No.
You know, when my brother couldn't find the answer to something, he looked it up in the Bible.
He believed that it held the answers to everything.
"For I am with thee to save thee and deliver thee, sayeth the Lord."
"I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked."
"I will redeem thee out of the land of the terrible."
Look, I had enough of that Bible when I was a kid.
Well, it's easy to see it had no effect on you, Mickey.
I'm gonna go look for Granger.
What was that?
Maybe you'd better tell us what the Bible says about rain.
In our situation, we'd better pray that it doesn't rain.
Not for weeks, anyway.
Because if it does rain in this valley,
it'll be coming down through clouds saturated with nuclear death.
Maybe we'll be safe,
like Noah and the Ark.
Right now, there's about 40 Renchens of activity in this room.
If it rains, that will move up into the hundreds of Renchens in a matter of hours.
And we'll all be dead. Or,
like Granger. If we're unlucky.
But,
maybe the updrafts from the lake will hold the clouds back.
They will, Dad. We've been lucky so far.
We're gonna live. I just feel it.
I hope you're right, sweetheart.
And if the weather does clear, starting tomorrow, we'll have to go on half rations.
How much is half of nothing?
I've stored some seeds and grain. And I have books and materials
on every craft necessary to sustain life.
Mickey Brown: farmer and craftsman.
Oh, another thing...
We're about out of fresh water. But
there's a spring-fed pool not so far from the cliffs.
Hey, Joanna, maybe we could take a swim in the pool.
Well, if Dad says it's all right.
Oh, it's safe. I checked it today.
And starting tomorrow, we can all take turns bathing there.
Well, I'm telling you one thing.
I've taken more baths in the past two months
than I have in all my born days together.
Maybe that's why you're still alive, Tim.
- Grange?
- Don't let it touch me!
- Don't let the rain touch me!
- It's OK, Grange, the clouds aren't gonna come in the valley!
You're lying to me! It's gonna rain!
Come on. Come on. Come on back to the house.
Gonna touch me!
Grange, come on back to the house!
- This place is spooky even in sunshine.
- It feels great, though.
So quiet.
I'd give anything to hear that downtown traffic again.
I didn't realize how isolated it would be from the house.
You are good looking.
Clean-cut, and that bit.
That's something new for Mickey.
Mickey?
Oh, he's all eyes for you.
He isn't even giving me the time of day anymore.
I'm not interested in Mickey.
Well, you'd better not be.
Otherwise, well...
I'd have to make a play for Steve!
That would be unfair competition for you.
Yes, I... I see what you mean.
Mickey always comes back to mama.
Hey, what's the matter, kid?
Somebody's watching us, I can feel it!
I didn't hear anything!
Something's moving over there in the bushes!
It's probably one of the fellas. It's probably old Timothy.
Hey, Timothy!
Hurry up. Let's get out of here!
Granger's not the only one hunting game.
And, after they've finished off the game, we'll be next!
This place is cursed.
Steve, we've got to get rid of your brother.
John! He's the only way to find out what we're up against! Don't you see that?
The animals on the ship. The Matsuo test.
They forewarned of something like this.
- You know, you keep mentioning that. You gonna keep up the mystery, or you gonna tell me about it?
- Tonight.
Back at the house, I'll show you, after the others have gone to bed. I have the evidence.
What you looking at?
You said I didn't see anything at the pool. You said it was just my imagination.
That's right. You just became upset.
Steve, somebody was looking at me, tried to talk to me.
What'd he say?
Nothing you'd understand.
Nothing I'd understand, for that matter.
Well, you won't go swimming alone in the pool anymore. I'll stand guard.
My skin was tingling, my pulse was pounding...
You're still upset. Come on, let's go back to the house.
Do you believe in mental telepathy?
I'm afraid I'm reading your thoughts, if that's what you mean.
What am I thinking?
It's not the same way you were thinking about me a few days ago.
I'm sorry, Steve.
I just feel like I'd like to be alone right now.
I'm sorry too, Joanna.
Mickey! Don't scare me like that.
I just wanna talk to you, that's all. You know, I bet I haven't said a dozen words to you since I got here.
Hey, look, what's so bad about me? I don't drink, I don't smoke...
And once I even gave some money to a drunken bum. My old man!
Come on. Don't give me that hard-to-get stuff, come on!
Don't! You belong to Jada.
I belong to me! Get it?
Me!
Hey buddy!
Oh, it's you, Miss Jada. Care for a taste of some of the best whiskey in these mountains?
It is whiskey! Hey, where'd you get it?
Made it myself, that's where. I make it by the barrels back at my place.
That is awful, Tim!
The first taste is never good, Miss Jada.
It's that long, second one that puts hair on your chest!
Better?
Grange!
You won't believe this, but I just saw Granger walk up the mountain trail through that fog, and it didn't faze him.
Do you remember anything about the Matsuo bomb test?
Yeah, there were some vague rumors right after that, weren't there?
There's something I have to show you.
As I told you, my job was to tow the animal ship out of Target Zero.
I got the first look at those animals.
- The newspapers said they were all destroyed.
- The newspapers lied.
Three of those animals lived through it.
Lived through an H-bomb?
There was a law against taking photographs.
But no law against sketching what we'd seen.
There were over a thousand animals on that ship.
- That was a chipmunk.
- This was alive?
Yes. It lived for three days.
Our third survivor was a monkey.
Its skin looked like rubber,
but it felt more like metal.
Armor-plated.
Nature's answer to complete nuclear radiation.
Why, that's a million years of evolution with one bomb!
- You say they lived for three days?
- When we got back to the inspection ship, they were dead.
- Well, if we could figure out what killed them, it may help us.
- We never knew.
After we washed them down, we went down to inspect.
They were normal, except for their appearance.
But they refused food and water.
- New species.
- Yes.
They were the forerunners of whatever it is we have out there.
Sometimes I have a feeling of doom.
Well, I know this much:
There are two forms of life fighting for survival in this valley, and only one can win.
John, it's got to be us.
You know, I started this thing
just to stay alive.
But you've given me a deep feeling of responsibility toward the welfare of mankind.
Our kind.
I think I'll turn in now. Goodnight, John.
Yes. I'll tell the girls the first thing in the morning.
- The girls?
- Yes.
They should bear children as soon as possible.
Steve!
That's enough!
Now, Mickey, we've had enough of you.
Get your things and get out of this house!
You wouldn't do that to an animal, Dad.
- He stays.
- Are you all right, love?
Get out of my life!
Mickey!
A sea captain can perform the marriage ceremony in case of an emergency.
Joanna, I want you to marry Steve. I want you to have... children.
There'll be no wedding, Dad, and no children.
You have a responsibility to the future.
- What would Mother say? - Your mother?
- And Larry, what would he say?
They're both dead.
I'm the only one who knows.
Knows? Knows what?
- Have you been listening to me?
- Yes, Dad.
I'll marry Steve in a week.
If he's still alive. And I am.
What are you doing, love?
This little gadget's
gonna open that storeroom for me.
Can you imagine us having a kid?
'Course, we won't tell him his mother was a...
exotic dancer.
I wonder what's wrong with Joanna?
She goes around in her own little world now.
She slipped off her rocker.
- Maybe we all are.
- Not me, baby.
You still go for her, don't you?
You're just plain dirt to her, but you still want her!
All I want is a key to open that storeroom!
All this time you've been saying it was you and me!
But you meant her! You liar!
OK, OK. So I lied a little.
A little!
The only friend you ever had in this world was me!
The only one who ever loved you was me! Me, me!
Now listen, you cheap hood!
A present from the hood... lover!
Now beat it!
I wanna finish this key.
We can't go up there for at least two more months.
And we're running out of supplies.
Only enough for about two more weeks.
Don't touch him, he's hot.
Food.
They wouldn't give me any.
"They?" There's more of you up there?
Stronger...
- Much... stronger.
- How many? How many more?
Uhh... stronger... uuhh...
Food!
He won't be needing food now, poor devil.
Look at the head. The strange bone structure.
It's like those animals at Matsuo.
And the same mutated skin the animals had.
And... there's more like him up there! Stronger!
Stage 2, this one. Stage 3, stronger. Stage 4, maybe invulnerable.
How about Stage 1? Who's that?
That's Granger. My brother is Stage 1.
There's no doubt about it.
They're coming closer to the house every night.
We'll have to take turns standing guard, Steve.
I'd use Mickey, but we can't trust him with a gun in his hand. I know his kind...
spawned in bilgewater.
Timothy, sometimes you're a lifesaver.
Jada, we're like two peas in a pod.
Sometimes, we're feelin' low as a have-no-well,
- but give us a whack of this stuff...
- Yeah! Give us a whack of this!
...and we're high as a silk hat on Sunday!
Come on, ya big lug!
Hey... quit it! Quit pouring so fast!
Come with Jada, Timothy baby!
I wanna pay you back for
all that ever-lovin' kindness!
Request permission to come aboard, Captain!
Permission granted, sailor.
And when I come out, they start to whistle and shout "Take it off!"
And once I got my motor running,
all you could hear was their breathing!
That near scared me to death!
One time,
I, like, ran off stage!
But Mickey baby,
he just kicked my little backside and...! On I went!
Now wasn't that sweet of Mickey baby?
One of these days I'm gonna return that favor.
Now, here it comes!
This is where I start to peel!
Kick me under that blue spot, daddy, 'cause I'm comin' on for the clincher!
N-no! Don't break my jug, please!
That was the last drop I had!
Good! Then we'll have no more of this disgusting behavior.
Right?
"Sailor"?
There's one like you in every crowd!
Now I'll never make it!
But I, uh...
Well? What have you got to say about it?
Personally, I hate the stuff.
Have a nice nap?
Caught me. I must have dozed off.
Say, have you seen Tim? He's not in the house anyplace.
He's probably sleeping it off in the woods somewhere.
You know, I'm really worried about that old coot. You shouldn't have broken his jug.
You're right. I had no idea he was an alcoholic.
Well, if he doesn't show up by daybreak, I'll go out and find him.
I'll go with you. It was my mistake.
You don't suppose he tried to get back up over those cliffs, do you?
Well, he better not. If he does, it'll be the end of him.
Goodnight.
Easy, Timothy...
It's... just a little rabbit.
My god!
Tim!
Tim, don't! Don't go into that fog!
Don't go into that fog! You'll be killed sure!
John!
Steve!
- What happened?
- Oh, I've sprained my ankle.
- Where's Tim?
- Back up over the cliff.
He went back to his whiskey still.
Did you go after him?
Through that vapor?
How long were you up there?
A minute. Hour. What difference does it make?
Steve, I've had the course.
Well, come on. We'll get you washed up.
Don't tell Joanna. I've just got a sprained ankle, understand?
Sure, John. Come on. Let's get back to the house.
He's dead.
Believe me, Steve, it's better this way.
Poor Granger.
Now my whole family's gone.
No, Steve. You and Joanna are the new family now.
Perhaps for the whole human race.
Look at those punctures!
It's like... like three steel claws!
Steel claws...
It's like the hand of the monkey in your drawings!
Matsuo.
- Steve!
- What is it, Joanna?
- In there! In the bushes!
- Where? What is it?
Someone was calling to me!
It's just your imagination! I wasn't 40 feet away from you and I didn't hear a thing!
Oh, please, Steve, take me home! Please!
Joanna insists this thing tried to talk to her.
How about the way it looked?
She said it looked like an ape.
The sketches of Matsuo. The monkey!
But this thing is man-sized.
That means it's a man, not an ape.
How do we fight it? How do we kill it?
You're the one who said we'd come up with an answer.
But how? It eats contaminated flesh, breathes contaminated air...
The things that kill a man, it thrives on.
What's the point? You're driving at something.
Just that in order to kill it, we must first understand it.
Now, we know it has fears. It was close enough to Joanna to attack her, but it wouldn't follow her into the pool.
Don't scream. I mean it!
What do you want?
I never had time for your kind of woman. You're something new in my life.
No... No!
Girl, you won't hate me when there's just the two of us, there'd be no point to it, get what I mean?
Mickey! Let the kid alone!
Joanna, go back to the house.
I have a few words for this child molester here!
You don't know when you're through, do ya?
You said the two of us,
- but all along, you meant her!
- Yeah, that's right. Now you know.
You and your dimestore stuff.
You're cheap! A cheapie!
I didn't know how cheap you are 'til I met her!
She hates your guts!
You're cheap to her! She'd rather kill herself first!
Come on.
Let's not fight like a couple of kids.
- Let's go take a moonlight swim, huh?
- Beat it!
I don't want any part of you.
Well.
You decided to come back to Jada.
What's the gun for, Cap'n?
Where's Jada?
Well, we had a little beef. She didn't come back.
Stayed outside to cool off, I guess.
OK, Mickey. I got something to settle with you.
Tomorrow, maybe. I'm beat right now.
- You go next to Joanna again and I'm gonna kill you.
- Kill me!
I haven't had a laugh all day.
Why he was spared by the bombs, I'll never know.
He'll kill you, Steve.
Get him first. Now!
Here, take this!
Just sneak up on Mickey and empty it into him, huh?
John, you know me better than that.
It's the same feeling that made you go up that mountain for Tim.
But there's so much at stake.
At least carry a gun. Here,
get one. Out of the storeroom.
Get it now. And be ready to use it.
Hey, how long before a guy can get out of here?
As far as I'm concerned, you can leave now.
You know, this reminds me of that kids' song. Ten Little Indians.
...That got knocked off one at a time.
Same way with us. First there were seven.
Now there's... Now there's...
"3 little 2 little 1 little Indians..."
And then there was none.
Try that again.
Please. Try that again.
Not me, Cap'n.
I know when to cool it. Like right now.
Joanna!
Joanna!
- I heard her screaming, but she's not in her room!
- I have a strange feeling. She's in danger, Steve.
That thing...
- The thing out there has got my baby!
- I'm going after her. - Wait!
There's a special Luger. In the storeroom.
With a 30-round magazine. Get it.
Steve - put your revolver under my pillow. You won't need it.
If there's no other way, use that Luger on Joanna.
Joanna!
Now! That's better, Cap'n.
If there's two men and only one gun, I like to have it.
Looks like your ship's falling apart, don't it?
Well, you've been no help.
You wouldn't find Jada.
You wouldn't help Steve look for Joanna. Oh, you're lower than scum.
I'm a coward.
I only fight when I have to. And on my own conditions.
And one of 'em is that I know what I'm fighting.
Joanna!
"3 little 2 little 1 little Indian..." You know, you're a sucker.
I know you went after ol' Tim, into that fog.
Killed yourself for that worthless old coot.
So, that's why you're acting so brave.
- That's why you're moving in.
- Moving in?
I'm taking over.
The works, the house. Your daughter.
If she gets back.
I'd make a better old man for her kids than Steve would. They'd be tough, like me.
Looks like it will rain after all.
Still think that rain will kill us all?
You'll know soon enough.
Joanna!
Here, Steve! Over here!
The water! It's afraid of the water!
Well, there's your rain, Cap'n! But good!
How long do you think we'll live now?
Well, here. Get me a sample of the rainwater and I'll test it.
Why, it doesn't register!
That's pure water!
Well, what do you know.
Just plain old rainwater!
That's it!
Water! It's afraid of water!
Joanna and Steve may be safe!
What's afraid, Cap'n?
- You crackin' up on me?
- Don't you see, you idiot?
That thing out there, that atomic fiend. It's afraid of pure water.
That's why it wouldn't go in the pool!
What are you thinking in that sick mind of yours?
Simple.
I'm gonna shoot Steve, right between the eyes.
In God's name, why?
Well, I thought you knew, smart man.
I want Joanna.
I don't hear it anymore.
Hear what?
The weird sound.
It tried to speak to me.
Steve?
It was Larry. What killed him?
He was created to live in a contaminated atmosphere.
Guess the rain must be pure.
He couldn't stand it.
I guess that means that all the other people like Larry will be killed by the rain, too.
Then there is a future.
Yes, Joanna.
Mickey!
The Beginning