One Hour to Zero

This film is one of the poorer films made by the. CFF. It just hold together. There is a total lack of suspense the child actors are really poor and Dudley Sutton is thrown in as the hapless comedy villain.

Steve (Toby Bridge) and best friend Paul (Andrew Ashby) have a falling out when troublesome Steve gets into bother with the police for vandalising a telephone box.

Steve runs away to the Welsh hills after getting shouted at by his father Sam (John Forgeham.) Paul follows him and talk him to come back home.

Only when Steve and Paul return the streets are isolated. There is no one at home or anywhere else.

The only person they see is Mike Ellis (Dudley Sutton) a thief.

The reason the local power station has an issue where safety has been compromised. Sam who works at the station is trying to stop the meltdown.

This Children's Film Foundation production lacks both thrills and eeriness. It was strange how Paul was left home alone as his parents went on holiday without him.

Then Paul's father berates the police for not being able to locate his son. That was laughably bad.

A young boy argues with his father and hides in a nearby slate mine, but when he returns to his village, all the Welsh people have mysteriously disappeared, replaced by men with posh English accents. 40 years ahead of its time in this respect.

Lovely views of a 1970s Trawsfynydd nuclear power station, plonked in the middle of the Welsh countryside.

Interesting to see how little of wilder North Wales has changed, so at least they didn't travel all that way to film for nothing.

Generally not one of the better Children' Film Foundation efforts, but at least the scenery is easier on the eyes than the usual near-slum back streets of London seen in some of these films.