Re-released in 1965 as "The End of the World" but only appeared as such in a few theaters, mostly in the Los Angeles area (Source: The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures). Was released under the original title thereafter.

This film inspired the Steely Dan song 'King of the World' on their second album 'Countdown to Ecstacy.' Donald Fagen of the band referred to this in an interview.

The Saddle Peak Lodge featured in the movie is an actual restaurant still open today. Located in Calabasas, CA.

Filmed in two weeks.

Ray Milland's car in this movie is a 1962 Mercury Monterey.

The Baldwin family's travel trailer used in the film was a 1962 Kenskill model 17 1/2, built in Sun Valley, California (in the San Fernando Valley). Kenskill manufactured travel trailers from 1946 to the mid 1970s. A larger company, Kenskill had made 18,000 travel trailers by 1959. Their trailers were designed to be stood up in and offer plenty of head room.

When the family is in the car at the beginning of the film and suspect something is happening, they cannot pick up any "CONELRAD" stations on the car's radio. CONELRAD (COntrol of ELectromagnetic RAdiation), established in 1951, was the first nationwide system for emergency broadcasts in the United States. All radios made between 1953 and 1963 were required to have marks on the AM dial at 640 and 1240 MHz where citizens were expected to tune to obtain civil defense information. CONELRAD was succeeded by the Emergency Broadcast System in 1963 (which did not use dedicated frequencies) and it, in turn, was replaced by the Emergency Alert System in 1997.

Initially released as part of a double feature with Tales of Terror (1962).

One of cinemas earliest post-apocalyptic films, following the earlier released film, Five (1951).