| Director | Frank Perry |
|---|---|
| Genre | drama film, thriller film |
| Runtime | 82 min |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | $320,000 |
One morning, teachers at a secluded countryside elementary school are asked to accompany the pupils to their homes after a nuclear attack warning alarm sounds and the staff are unable to determine whether or not the alarm was false. One teacher, Mrs. Andrews, and the children under her care walk through the countryside, with a slowly building sense of doom about what they believe to be the upcoming nuclear holocaust. Several of the children reach their homes; one girl, JoAnn, cowers under a bed after her parents refuse to take the threat seriously; a boy, Luke, leads his dementia-ridden grandmother to take cover in their basement; another girl, Sarah, runs off in a panic after finding her house empty.
When several of the children finally gain access to a bomb shelter, they do not allow Sarah to join them, claiming there is not enough room. Sarah frantically searches for shelter and hides inside an old abandoned refrigerator; she is not seen again and her fate is never explained. A boy named Steve leaves the shelter to try and find her, and as he runs along outside the sound of a jet is suddenly heard overhead and one shown flying high in the sky. Steve cowers in the shadow of planes passing in the sky above and repeatedly yells "Stop!" as the camera moves closer to his face, goes out of focus and then fades to black, marking the end of the movie.