Thanks for the welcome, ksjumpmd.
Been peeking in off & on for a while, but decided to jump in on this one since this survival movie was so fresh in my mind. Kind of odd finding that old movie, hadn't seen anything about it or even thought aboubt it in years. Just happened to be on the back side of the "Last Man on Earth" DVD that I just bought for my son (he's into zombie movies right now). I think that thing that I liked most about it was Ray Milland's role as the Dad.

He reminded me of my Dad & other men of that era, normal everyday guys but they were all vets of WWII. Having lived through actual combat gave them something & Milland, in real life reputed to one of the finest marksmen the British Army ever produced, managed to bring this something to his role. His character starts out as a normal middle class Joe taking his family on a fishing trip, but when the hammer falls, he slips into a very military mindset with what seems to be ease & familarity.