{ "id": "eptchm6gcx", "slug": "damnation-alley", "title": "Damnation Alley", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1970s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000: Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "path": [ { "id": "geo.us", "label": "United States", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946", "label": "United States · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Damnation Alley (1977), also released as Survival Run, is a Jack Smight post-apocalyptic sci-fi film starring Jan-Michael Vincent and George Peppard, adapted loosely from Roger Zelazny's 1969 novel, featuring the Landmaster vehicle and Sound 360 audio, and a box-office failure overshadowed by Star Wars.", "snippet": "Damnation Alley (1977), also released as Survival Run, is a Jack Smight post-apocalyptic sci-fi film starring Jan-Michael Vincent and George Peppard, adapted loosely from Roger Zelazny's 1969 novel, featuring the Landmaster vehicle and Sound 360 audio, and a box-office failure overshadowed by Star Wars.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the", "markdown": "# Damnation Alley\n\n**Damnation Alley** is a 1977 American post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Jack Smight, loosely adapted from [Roger Zelazny](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-zelazny)'s 1969 novel of the same name. It follows a small group of Air Force survivors of [World War III](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-war-iii) who drive cross-country in an armored all-terrain vehicle toward [Albany, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/albany-new-york), the only American city spared in the attack.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) • [2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/damnation-alley/umc.cmc.t2j2hxemns9otq4wyub134io) Released by Twentieth Century-Fox five months after *Star Wars*, it was a critical and commercial failure, but its twelve-wheel Landmaster vehicle became the film's defining image and a lasting cult touchstone.[3](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/04/20/news/cult-movie-damnation-alley-eclipsed-by-a-certain-other-sci-fi-flick-in-77-1306657/) • [4](https://www.blackgate.com/2015/03/03/vintage-treasures-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | United States, 21 October 1977 (Los Angeles opening); Japan opening in early October 1977, a couple of weeks earlier[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) |\n| Director and writers | Jack Smight; screenplay by Alan Sharp and Lukas Heller, from the 1969 novel by Roger Zelazny[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) |\n| Principal cast | Jan-Michael Vincent (Tanner), George Peppard (Maj. Eugene Denton), Dominique Sanda (Janice), Paul Winfield (Keegan), Jackie Earle Haley (Billy)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075909/fullcredits/) |\n| The Landmaster | Twelve-wheel vehicle, 35 feet long, 12 feet tall, 21,800 pounds, powered by a 391 Ford Truck Industrial Engine; only one was fabricated although two appear in the film[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) |\n| Sound system | Fox's new \"Sound 360\" six-speaker surround system; the release was delayed while 300 to 400 theaters were outfitted with it[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) |\n| Runtime and rating | 91 minutes, rated PG, filmed in Panavision; alternate title *Survival Run*[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nAt the 123rd Strategic Missiles Wing of Tipton Air Force Base in California, Lt. Tanner and Major Denton are on shift at missile control stations deep underground when World War III begins.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) The nuclear detonations knock the Earth off its axis, creating an unstable ecosystem of massive storms and mutated creatures.[6](https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/84913/McClellan%20SE%202021.pdf?sequence=1) The survivors, including Sgt. Keegan, commandeer the Landmaster and set out across the wasteland for Albany, New York, from which a radio signal has been received, picking up additional survivors along the way, among them a young woman in Las Vegas and an incorrigible teenager.[2](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/damnation-alley/umc.cmc.t2j2hxemns9otq4wyub134io) • [7](https://www.netflixmovies.com/damnation-alley-1977) They battle mutant insects, including armor-plated carnivorous cockroaches, feral bands of survivors, and violent electrical storms.[8](https://www.sci-fi-central.com/Database/SF/03/S4/index.php?TitleLanguage=Spa) The film ends with the protagonists finding an intact suburban settlement and the Earth's axis restabilising.[6](https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/84913/McClellan%20SE%202021.pdf?sequence=1)\n\n## Production\n\nShooting began the week of 21 June 1976 outside Borrego Springs, California, moved to [Flagstaff, Arizona](https://www.edgepedia.org/flagstaff-arizona), and wrapped in Montana on 13 August 1976.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) [Missile launch facility](https://www.edgepedia.org/missile-launch-facility) scenes were filmed at the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, Arizona.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075909/)\n\n**The Landmaster.** The futuristic twelve-wheel vehicle was based on a patented invention by Vehicle Systems Development Corporation. It measured thirty-five feet long and twelve feet tall, weighed 21,800 pounds, and used a 391 Ford Truck Industrial Engine. Although two Landmasters appear in the early part of the film, only one was fabricated.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) It survived a 25-foot jump during testing with no damage. After filming, the vehicle sat outside customizer Dean Jeffries's shop for over 25 years, was restored by a Sacramento collector in 2005, later passed to customizer Gene Winfield in Mojave, California, and was sold in 2024 to a private California collector, where as of 2025 it was undergoing restoration to original condition.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075909/)\n\n**Post-production.** Twentieth Century-Fox spent a year in post-production because of the special effects. Producer Jerome M. Zeitman said that over 300 different blue-sky location shots had to be replaced with various colors to reflect Earth's post-apocalyptic atmosphere and extreme weather.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) A 1977 review described the results as garish process work with mismatched film stocks, composite splits, and unsteady matte lines.[10](https://parallax-view.org/review-damnation-alley/) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia entry records that the film was cut from 95 minutes to 91.[11](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/damnation_alley)\n\n**Budget.** The sources disagree on cost. The AFI Catalog calls it a $7.5-million film,[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) IMDb lists an estimated budget of $7,200,000,[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075909/) and The Numbers lists a production budget of $17,000,000,[12](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Damnation-Alley) a figure also cited in press coverage.[3](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/04/20/news/cult-movie-damnation-alley-eclipsed-by-a-certain-other-sci-fi-flick-in-77-1306657/)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe release was postponed for over a year past several scheduled dates amid rumors of serious problems.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) In a departure from typical studio practice, it opened in Japan in early October 1977, a couple of weeks before its American release, and grossed $1,250,956 in its first nine days from 64 theaters there.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046) The United States release followed on 21 October 1977.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046)\n\nThe film was a critical failure. Reviewers singled out the killer-cockroach episode and the special effects; the *Washington Post* critic Gary Arnold wrote that it left viewers wondering where the rest of the story had gone.[13](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/10/22/damnation-alley/673cf2a2-1be7-4733-9d60-bf4b1c5806ee/) One database reports a worldwide gross of $8.7 million against a $17.0 million budget.[14](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/damnation-alley-1977-box-office) Contemporary commentary noted the irony that Fox had expected *Damnation Alley* to be its big science fiction hit of 1977 while *Star Wars*, released the same year, became the phenomenon.[15](https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/10/damnation-alley-1977.html?m=0)\n\n## Television version and home media\n\nThe film was recut for television and premiered as an NBC Sunday Night Movie on June 12, 1983, featuring alternate and additional scenes, including footage of [Murray Hamilton](https://www.edgepedia.org/murray-hamilton) and [George Peppard](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-peppard) and scenes in which Denton tells Janice about his wife who died in the nuclear war. The network premiere finished second in the Nielsen Ratings for the week; that TV cut was later lost and never released on video.[16](https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2019/09/18/damnation-alley-1977/) The film was released on VHS, Betamax, and [Video 2000](https://www.edgepedia.org/video-2000) in the United Kingdom in 1983 and on VHS and Betamax in the United States in 1985.\n\n## The novel and the adaptation\n\nRoger Zelazny's *Damnation Alley* was first published in hardcover by Putnam in 1969, expanded from a novella.[4](https://www.blackgate.com/2015/03/03/vintage-treasures-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/) The novel follows Hell Tanner, a condemned Hell's Angel offered a pardon to drive a plague vaccine from Los Angeles to Boston, facing radioactive storms, giant snakes and scorpions, and desperate survivors.[4](https://www.blackgate.com/2015/03/03/vintage-treasures-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/) The film discards this quest: the plague in Boston does not exist, and Tanner becomes an Air Force junior officer whose installation survives the war.[17](https://reactormag.com/road-trip-through-hell-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia describes the change as turning the novel's solitary, snarling protagonist into four fairly decent Air Force officers.[11](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/damnation_alley) The film remains the only screen adaptation of a Zelazny novel, and the rights payment helped pay for his house.[18](https://sfrareview.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sfra-5302-full.pdf) The Landmaster became the defining image of the book after the film, appearing on the cover of every subsequent paperback edition.[4](https://www.blackgate.com/2015/03/03/vintage-treasures-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Damnation Alley (1977), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55428-DAMNATION-ALLEY?cp=1&cxt=Filmography1&pos=6&sid=58ab6fe5-b148-4347-b003-644c06b979f2&sr=0.0000023099046)\n2. [Damnation Alley, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/damnation-alley/umc.cmc.t2j2hxemns9otq4wyub134io)\n3. [Cult Movie: Damnation Alley eclipsed by a certain other sci-fi flick in 77, The Irish News (2018)](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2018/04/20/news/cult-movie-damnation-alley-eclipsed-by-a-certain-other-sci-fi-flick-in-77-1306657/)\n4. [Vintage Treasures: Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny, Black Gate (2015)](https://www.blackgate.com/2015/03/03/vintage-treasures-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/)\n5. [Damnation Alley (1977) Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075909/fullcredits/)\n6. [McClellan, S. E. (2021), post-apocalyptic film study, Curtin University](https://espace.curtin.edu.au/bitstream/handle/20.500.11937/84913/McClellan%20SE%202021.pdf?sequence=1)\n7. [Damnation Alley (1977), NetflixMovies.com synopsis](https://www.netflixmovies.com/damnation-alley-1977)\n8. [Damnation Alley (1977), Sci-fi-central.com](https://www.sci-fi-central.com/Database/SF/03/S4/index.php?TitleLanguage=Spa)\n9. [Damnation Alley (1977), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075909/)\n10. [Cumbow, Robert C. (1977), Review: Damnation Alley, Movietone News 56, via Parallax View](https://parallax-view.org/review-damnation-alley/)\n11. [Damnation Alley, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/damnation_alley)\n12. [Damnation Alley (1977), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Damnation-Alley)\n13. [Arnold, Gary (1977), 'Damnation Alley', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1977/10/22/damnation-alley/673cf2a2-1be7-4733-9d60-bf4b1c5806ee/)\n14. [Damnation Alley (1977) box office, FilmDB](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/damnation-alley-1977-box-office)\n15. [MAKSQUIBS Cinematheque: Damnation Alley (1977)](https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/10/damnation-alley-1977.html?m=0)\n16. [Damnation Alley (1977), B&S About Movies (2019)](https://bandsaboutmovies.com/2019/09/18/damnation-alley-1977/)\n17. [Road Trip Through Hell: Damnation Alley by Roger Zelazny, Reactor (2020)](https://reactormag.com/road-trip-through-hell-damnation-alley-by-roger-zelazny/)\n18. [Science Fiction Research Association Review, non-fiction reviews on Zelazny](https://sfrareview.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/sfra-5302-full.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1970s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Damnation Alley\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Damnation Alley](https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley](https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Damnation Alley\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/damnation-alley. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Damnation Alley, also released as Survival Run, is a Jack Smight post-apocalyptic sci-fi film starring Jan-Michael Vincent and George Peppard, adapted loosely from Roger Zelazny's 1969 novel, featuring the Landmaster vehicle and Sound 360 audio, and a box-office failure overshadowed by Star Wars." }