Atomic Attack (1950)

[@pooryorick831]

These low budget TV plays from the Cold War are even more chilling than the special effects laden films of recent years. It's the devil you can't see that's the scariest. It's corny yes, but it is also chilling.

[@MrDuane-lr8dm]

This was more of a P.S.A. than a low budget play. That was the actual John Daly on the radio and guest star Walter Matthau. Not to mention some of the other actors and actresses that played high profile roles in TV and movies. For the day, this was probably a high quality production.

[@clydeblair9622]

Corny? Imagine actually surviving being nuked.

[@measl]

*This was a PSA, most commonly seen in primary schools on 16mm, but occasionally seen on actual television, after the late late late show. Of the many PSAs is remember, this one is nowhere even close to the worst. TBH, it's one of the better ones!*

[@bevie29]

@@MrDuane-lr8dm I am from that time . These were considered low budget. They were recorded on tape instead of film and even as a child I could tell it was difference in quality from that of a movie. Famous people would lend their time for less money to get known on tv. Publicity.

[@LaptopLarry330]

@@bevie29 Videotape was not invented until 1956. Starting in 1948, the only way to save a TV program, was to create a kinescope, which is a movie camera and microphone aimed at a television monitor in the control room, and filming the live television broadcasts as they took place. This was done to allow the television networks to make film copies of the programs that aired in New York City or Los Angeles, California, to be mailed to the network affiliates in the Midwest and opposite coast, for broadcasting at a later date. This was also particularly helpful for TV stations in certain markets, where they showed programming from two networks due to their smaller market size, or lack of a competitor in that market.

[@born_again_torinos]

The woman starring in this is the famous actress Phyllis Thaxter. She was clark kents human mother martha kent in the 1978 Superman, was in the original Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents etc. A wonderful actress. The Doctor who tested the kids is Walter Matthau. The old atomic professor is Robert Keith. Also from the twilight zone episode "the masks" where he was the old dying man in the wheel chair who gives the masks to his family. The youngest little blond girl is Patty McCormack as ginny, she starred in "the bad seed" and is still acting today.

[@kevinsturges6957]

“I thought I recognized the little “Bad Seed” girl. Classic 50’s actor.

[@shayhay2411]

Also, the girl who played Barbara is Patricia Bruder who played Ellen Stewart on As the World Turns for years.

[@leelarson107]

Phyllis Thaxter wasn't that famous, but she deserved to be. She was more attractive than some of those old B&W films and TV series, and often had to deal with weak scripts. She was the mother of the actress Skye Aubrey.

[@happythatsme4940]

@@kevinsturges6957 ditto!

[@PuffKitty]

Thx for the info; very interesting! 🙂

[@CammieInOz]

Made 72 years ago but very disturbing, particularly considering what's happening in the world today. Happy Easter from Australia! :)))

[@philipmcdonagh1094]

Amazing how scared everyone was of a nuclear war back then. Today with whats going on we've never been closer to one and no one seems to give a fuck.Desensitization has kicked in at this stage.

[@infonut]

So because you're not let in on it everyone must me doing nothing. Don't think much of yourself, do ya?

[@susiebilk9905]

I do!!

[@pattycake8272]

and what can we do? sit and worry everyday bitting our nails? where are we as Americans to go or do?

[@josephgemin171]

We’re too busy taking selfies, playing video games, and checking FaceBook…

[@pattycake8272]

@@josephgemin171 ya that's it, because we don't have bills to pay and things to work for either.

[@stargo2931]

First she keeps the kitchen window open, then she leaves the front door wide open, then she leaves the refrigerator open.

[@dutchbachelor]

Well, one could argue that all rational behaviour would evaporate with the explosion. Depending on the person and the training, this could last seconds, minutes hours or even days.

[@jeremywilson4326]

They did a thorough job of scaring the shit out of some people.

[@leelarson107]

Kind of like Orson Welles and his 'War of the Worlds', eh?

[@walthammassagefitness]

How about most people.

[@Juliet_Capulet]

Yep. When my mom was little in the 1950s they had drills at school where they would play the siren and the kids would have to get under their desks. (Because that always saves people from nuclear bombings...) They didn't tell them it was only a drill, so these kindergarteners had no idea whether they were actually going to blow up or not.

[@walthammassagefitness]

@@Juliet_Capulet Trauma based mind control...they never stop.

[@timhaley3459]

Because the Soviet Union developed and set off a nuclear explosion in August 1949 in Kazakhstan, it was now on an "even keel" with the United States in being the only two nuclear powers on the earth at that time. Due to mounting hostilities, the United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in a "Cold War" since 1946, though on the same side during World War II, with the fear of nuclear reprisals at each other hands causing alarm among the political community of both nations. And the Bible "book" of Daniel describes the antagonistic feelings between these two nations, at Daniel 11, setting the stage for "the king of the north", the Soviet Union from 1945-1991, and then afterwards Russia and "the king of the south", the United States.(Note: Daniel 11 is "about a great conflict" (Dan 10:1) that began some 2,300 years ago with Seleucus I Nicator of Syria as "the king of the north" and Ptolemy I of Egypt as "the king of the south", for both were north and south of Israel and changed hands over the centuries till they are now Russia and the United States, with contrasting political goals and ideologies) At Daniel 11:40, it says: "In the time of the end (that began in 1914) the king of the south (the United States) will engage with him in a pushing (or proxy war, and not a bloody battle), and against him the king of the north (formerly the Soviet Union, now Russia) will storm with chariots and horsemen and many ships; and he will enter into the lands and sweep through like a flood (trying to overcome the United States with it massive weaponry and soldiers, using various nations as pawns, such as during the Korean and Vietnam wars to establish its communistic views and control of the nations as well) In the near future, the entire political system, with its "weapons of mass destruction", will be annihilated by means of a heavenly government called God's Kingdom, to make way for global peace to forever exist on the earth.(Dan 2:44, 45; Rev 19:19-21)

[@SamIIs]

The one thing absent in this tragic tale, is Rod Serling's detached analytical second-person narrative of events, that unfold in a place as vast as space and timeless as infinity. An askew sometimes dystopian destination, between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. An area that is referred to as.... "The Twilight Zone".

[@palerider964]

Fantastic!!👏👏👏☺👍

[@palerider964]

I love green eggs and ham. I eat them on a train....or in a plane....

[@idiotwind2248]

Next stop Willoughby.. Willoughby . Next stop Willoughby..🚂

[@palerider964]

@@idiotwind2248 I remember that TZ episode.

[@idiotwind2248]

@@palerider964 Believe it or not the train in that episode is on the Metro North line running from New Haven to NYC. I take it all the time. 56 minutes from Norwalk CT to Grand Central. Another tidbit- the dude who was trying to get to Willoughby was actor James Daly, who played a bad ape ,in 1968,s Planet of the Apes. He should have stayed in Willoughby.⚡

[@donkeyslayer4661]

" I don't think we will be seeing regular for a while." We haven't seen regular since they took the lead out.

[@VintageRose75]

Lead?

[@noscwoh1]

@@VintageRose75 it's a joke..."regular" vs. "unleaded," referring to gasoline.

[@aaronmccollum4626]

and high octane was called Ethyl😊

[@keykrazy]

@@aaronmccollum4626 Was reading about Thomas Midgely, Jr. just yesterday... They were very clever with their marketing and it's a darned shame we had leaded gasoline for so long.

[@alexcarter8807]

I remember after one big quake in southern California it knocked all the radio stations off of the air except for the Conelrad stations

[@steffenritter7497]

1950 ... i was one year old, and had this happened, I would not have seen my second birthday, based upon where we lived. This was a good presentation given the limitations of television, for that year,

[@bridgetndangelis-cappello9315]

Your generation was the last bad ass take no sh#t generation. RESPECT

[@WLHS]

Enjoyed very much despite subject, especially at this moment in time. I lost my partner in 2019 and am still in deep mourning, 4 days was barely time to realise I was on my own.

[@americanmeteoritefan9670]

I am so sorry for your loss, I see you. ❤️

[@comeoutofthedark8910]

I am sorry for your loss. I hope you find peace.

[@qwahaxahn]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@scribe56]

I'm so sorry for your loss. Hope you're doing okay

[@clarencewilliams9293]

That young girl's acting drove me to drink!

[@borissavinkov440]

Love the stage hands moving around behind the Venetian blinds in the opening scene. Must have been a live presentation.

[@Bill23799]

Ed Wood: Hey, people walk around outside venetian blinds all the time. Print it!

[@dbergerac9632]

Live broadcasts were the norm at the time, if it was not, the broadcaster would "warn" us that it was "pre-recorded". So much has changed; live video from Europe was only a dream until 1962.

[@magicunicorn6535]

He must've had a long commute to New York, if their house is still standing.

[@heavybreath]

This is pre thermo nuclear - weapons would be similar to Nagasaki in yield about 20-30 KT Also would probably be in one of the suburbs Long Island or Westchester

[@leelarson107]

@@heavybreath Long commutes were considered routine 'back when', at a time when the nice house in the suburbs was worth the long haul to the workplace. In the Mpls-St. Paul area, I knew people who drove in from 20 miles or more to hold a regular job.

[@chrisclarke6344]

@@heavybreath not sure about that the radio stated a 'hydrogen' device and a hydrogen bomb is a thermo nuclear bomb.

[@creedamiyahsnipp]

I work at a hospital. Can't believe how far some people still drive to get here to work.

[@fredneecher1746]

@@chrisclarke6344 Hydrogen bombs weren't invented until after 1950. Maybe by 1954, though, so they may have just changed the script without realising what 'hydrogen' implied.

[@therealxunil2]

Apparently, radioactive fallout causes intense over-acting.

[@susiebilk9905]

Ya, you probably should not have wasted your time watching it

[@nomopms1]

Apparently, so does running out of TP.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

They all went to the William Shatner School of Acting.

[@thetooginator153]

This reminds me of the movie "Testament", which is almost unbearably sad in parts.

[@davidmichels9454]

I worked at a movie theater when that movie came out. Single screen of course and a large audience. People came in not sure what they were going to see and people left with an expression on their faces I could never forget. One of the most intensely done movies of its kind

[@vivianjones9749]

Yeah just recently saw this. Don’t know why I missed it in the 80s. It was unbearably sad, because basically, there is nothing you can Only the rich and well connected government folks can be sequestered into underground towns.

[@scribe56]

What a cast. Walter Matthau, Who is also in fail safe I believe, Just showed up as the friendly small town doctor.

[@scribe56]

Almost?

[@DNTMEE]

The day the maid's out? Oh you poor dear. However will you get the wash done all by yourself? And the ironing too! Jeepers, that's just impossible.

[@lindaeasley4336]

Having a maid or nanny in those days when the wife did not work was more of a status symbol of the upper class

[@danielr5637]

Here we are at 4/30/2022. And we have never been closer to this becoming a reality......get prayed up and prepped up.

[@Bill23799]

" The Fifth Day " Mrs. Moore drinks her last Fifth of booze. Now we have a real crisis.

[@beaubanhagel9658]

😂

[@ralphh.2200]

I was made to get under my desk during drills.The underside of the desk was such a booger and chewing gum farm...it made me wish for the bomb...

[@joeharris3878]

I've read for decades of memories of "taking cover under school desks" during the Cuban missile crisis. I was seven, we lived in Huntsville, Ala. The army missile command HQ was there. Of course it would be a target. We second-graders were moved into the hallways with our backs against the walls, our heads down with hands clasped on the backs of our necks. Thank goodness for Krushchev and Kennedy who rose to the occasion.

[@lindaterrell5535]

I do not recall ever having any drill for a bomb.

[@festusbojangles7027]

still do that in taiwan. apart from our schools have very deep basements and we go there for half an hour

[@idiotwind2248]

Lived in DaBronx. In 1960 ,I was 6 yrs old.. I remember the duck & roll,under the desks. Sirens blasting... Nuns would be barking out instructions, it was a scary time.

[@joejones9520]

I take a school desk with me in car at all times and have my home filled with them just in case of nuclear attack...

[@idiotwind2248]

@@joejones9520 It's good you have a plan.😁 The nuns at Saint Elizabeth,s would be proud. The ones that are still alive, must be over a 100 by now. 🙏✌

[@cats_know_everything_about_you]

What a fantastic document; many thanks for posting it. It just goes to show that the main effect of a nuclear attack is the loss of all acting skills :-)

[@kentcyclist]

Ian Chard 😂

[@PlasmaCoolantLeak]

Radiation from exposure to fallout causes overacting.

[@Zoomer30_]

Hello from 2022. This movie is rapidly becoming reality.

[@BlueSky-ub4fx]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 LOL!! OMG!!

[@joeyjennings9548]

when played on 2x speed its quite overacted & confusing

[@devilslayer888]

The first time I saw this about a year ago, it was scary. Yeah it is old, but it still is a great, and powerful movie.

[@rebeccarabinowitz6590]

Any good movie about nuclear war is.

[@davidwilliams8405]

You know what's absolutely terrifying? It's being trapped in that house with those two insane girls, as well as that drunken shrew!

[@dennismccunney4462]

I grew up the Cold War period. I lived in Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Navy Yard was still a going concern and home port for a chunk of the Reserve Fleet. Buildings in Center City had basements that were fallout shelters, with canned food and water,and Geiger counters to check for radioactivity. My elementary school was in Center City, and we did air raid drills where we moved into the interior away from windows and faced cinder block walls. Even then I knew if a nuclear attack occurred, we were toast. The Navy Yard would be a prime target, and we'd be vaporized. I had the odd bad dream about it, but mostly I was already cynical. The preparations were to try to reassure folks living there. I _hoped_ nobody who oversaw them really believed they'd be effective unless ICBM targeting was hopelessly off or for some odd reason Philly wasn't considered a critical target in a first strike. I'm delighted those days are long gone.

[@waynek3366]

A lot of us grew up in the Cold War period and we all and we won't forget.

[@rebeccabailey527]

The thing is, soviet guidance systems were really poor, and apparently still are. That's why most of the soviet arsenal has yields of 5 megatons or more, they know they are more than likely not going to hit what they're aiming at, so they make the yield high enough to hopefully damage the target they were aiming at. Also as time went on, the so called missile gap was backwards. They had some, we had way way more.

[@dennismccunney4462]

@@rebeccabailey527 Oh, I concur. The Soviets were good at building big stuff, like the boosters for missiles intended to deliver nuclear warheads, but poor on smaller stuff like sophisticated guidance systems. (And a lot of their technology was pirated from the US. They lacked the ability to deign it, and lacked the ability to actually make it once they had,) High yield weapons destructive enough to do the required damage even if they _didn't_ hit the intended target weren't a surprise. I know of folks who relocated to more rural PA based on likely blast zones and fallout patterns, as a place where they might survive. There was an underlying assumption of the part of a lot of people that the Cold War would become hot and the US and the Soviet Union would exchange nuclear punches. If it occurred, poor targeting systems or not, I doubt Philadelphia would have survived.

[@cfneal1459]

Thank you for sharing. I, too, lived those times, practiced "duck &cover", drew mushroom clouds, etc; nearby was a "prime target" (nickel plant). Hard to say, looking back, exactly how much these things affected my youth. All is well with my soul. God is good. America stands.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

@@rebeccabailey527 Ok, not to sound sexist, but you're a woman (going by username). How did you know, about high, bomb 'yields'? No derogatory, sexist mentality, here. Just impressed😉!! Usually women, around here, just turn O², into CO².

[@crustycobs2669]

Back when 'Murica was great, a pie in every chicken. But just one nuke could ruin your whole day. We grew up with this constant threat

[@mikeh.7499]

Yep !..old man now but still twitchy about this....lol

[@FukcAUsername]

Aww boo hoo haven't we all. Now the bombs are just deadlier

[@richardravenclaw318]

krushchev said that the survivors of nuclear war will envy the dead.

[@donaldsteele6276]

I shall miss the American nuclear family .it had been destroyed not by nukes but greedy politicians

[@kathleenking47]

We need it more now... They are getting into weird stuff and kids may not he protected

[@lecil2]

Hey dude with Putin - its coming back!!

[@daveandrade8189]

"And the day the maid's out sick!" This from a lady in a tiny ranch house. I don't think families should have been characterized as "nuclear" for all the reasons in this comment section. lp

[@josemariaseloterio9743]

@@lecil2 except that both parents were trans psuedo woman

[@danielmorse4213]

BLM, pro choice, globalist agendas and lastly common core.

[@Hotrod6045]

The plot is based on a 1950 novel but was later aired in 1954. CONELRAD was created in 1951 and did not exist in 1950.

[@TestECull]

It's not an instructional video, though, it's a drama that plays on the fears of the day just like we have today. You'd be just as much of an idiot to believe this as an instruction set for how to handle post-nuclear effects as you would be to take your advice from Fallout 4.

[@flagmichael]

That explains why the bomb is identified as a hydrogen bomb, when the first one was tested in 1952. IMDB identifies Atomic Attack as an episode of the 1954 Motorola Television Hour TV series.

[@SoundJudgment]

Neither did portable Battery-operated transistor radios in 1950. Ten days later and it was still going strong.

[@benjaminbrackman3953]

Joshua (computer) : Strange game. The only winning move is not to play.

[@lindaanderson7077]

These older shows are powerful and frightening. Even now. Thank you for sharing this.

[@monaattianese9838]

Hey I grew up remembering air raid drills ..crouching under our desks....I was a kid but I remember it very well...greetings and blessing from brooklyn🙏🏼😇✝️❤️🔥✡️🕎☮️

[@flagmichael]

I was in 5th grade for the Cuban Missile Crisis. Daily air raid drills in Phoenix.

[@GrnArrow092]

I was living in California during the 80's, which was the time of the cold war. I remember we had to practice air raid drills at school by ducking under our desks to protect us from flying debris. We would also do a similar drill to practice what to do in the event of an earthquake.

[@TheAntiqBoutiq]

@@GrnArrow092 The time of the cold war was from 1947-1991. It wasn't just the 80s (although I'm a child of the 80s and it seems that's all we talked about...)

[@stivo2663]

Very loud and hysterical children.

[@michaelfreeman9144]

@@flagmichael During the Cuban missle crisis my family lived 10 miles outside of DC. Weekly air raid sirens . Weekly drills and complete paranoia. People actually were digging shelters in their backyards. It was the most paranoid times we had to that point.

[@hezyel]

barbara needs a damn chill pill

[@isabelr3806]

Jessa DeLaGhetto Barbara is me when I get overwhelmed

[@DianeHasHopeInChrist]

She needs a slap. Drama queens...ugh! They are the downfall of society

[@RedEyed2012]

@@DianeHasHopeInChrist Especially the orange haired combover types.

[@anthonylopresti3078]

And the belt!

[@lindarobinson195]

My father was going to be on 5th wave into Japan 1945. He said they told 10th wave 50 percent would make it two miles off the beach. Because of the a bombs I am alive. Yours truly Evans w Robinson. Sad movie

[@dennissvitak6453]

Back in the good old days. Just seven bombs. I saw a target list in 1978 (classified), that had ONE large Moscow power station targeted with a MIRV'ed nuclear warhead 68 times. This is absolutely true.

[@sce2aux464]

"In reality, few big cities will get hit by only one nuclear weapon. For example, the United States has something called the Single Integrated Operational plan: SIOP. It's an attempt to avoid the biggest traffic jam in history of all the West's nuclear forces... SIOP allocates sixty nuclear warheads to targets within Moscow city limits. A reasonable guess would include one nuclear weapon on the Ministry of Electronic Industry just around that corner, another on Communist Party Headquarters behind me and four or five *big* ones on the Kremlin less than half a mile that way...just to be sure." - Gwynne Dyer, _Notes on Nuclear War_

[@suzanneleslie5105]

I saw enough of these CD movies as a child to last a lifetime.

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

My father forbade the watching of that propaganda.

[@booklover6753]

@@baronedipiemonte3990 Calling this propaganda is ignorance on display. The true horror would be far worse.

[@umachan9286]

This is like Duck and Cover. It shows how little we actually knew about the effects of even a limited nuclear strike. That and it's painfully overacted.

[@wes11bravo]

Uma, I think the effects were well known but were not incorporated into the Civil Defense literature in detail on purpose - to reduce potential panic and hopelessness. The overacting is a show biz product of that time, the overly formal non-regional diction that has heavy overtures to an upper class English accent. Comedians Anthony Cumia and Dave Landau are particularly adept at affecting this accent while poking fun at these old films.

[@NoahSpurrier]

@@wes11bravo The so-called Midatlantic accent?

[@buttkid3548]

They all had that Mid-Atlantic accent. People used to actually take courses in college to learn how to speak with that accent. Edit: Noah Spurrier, just noticed your comment. I used to wonder why people spoke that way. It's a lost art.

[@dbergerac9632]

@@buttkid3548 Thurston Howell III drove the final nail into that accent.

[@alanwillert1359]

I think I'd scream if I couldn't get my washing done too!!

[@Zoomer30]

Oddly, the power goes out and the lighting does not change.

[@rangerup1804]

Zoomer30, what's even more odd is the power is out but the doorbell rings and the phone works and that portable radio seems to last forever.

[@TheAntiqBoutiq]

@@rangerup1804 The phone back in those days had it's own power supply. If the telephone company had power, it's possible the phones worked but the house was powerless. The old landline phones didn't need to be plugged into anything but the phone jack. The portable radio - maybe they had spare batteries. They don't use too much power and it was only 10 days.....the doorbell - yeah shouldn't have worked unless it was a powerless thing lol. Ah the good ol days. Guys like us we had it made....those were the days lol.

[@thonatim5321]

Until a month ago when Russia invaded Ukraine, we used to laugh at these types of movies. We said Nuclear War is never going to happen.

[@balesjo]

Only in recent years, though even then there has been concern about terrorist organizations getting their hands on nuclear material from the former Soviet states. Also the fear that some rogue nuclear states (such as North Korea only a few years back. Remember the false alarm of nuclear missiles approaching Hawaii just a few years ago?)

[@kathleenking47]

2:00 She never thought; 5 years later, itd be a TEENAGE DOLL not a "baby name"

[@thonatim5321]

@@balesjo Right. This is just another example of how "woke" politics is a disaster. These people are so worried about trivial things. I say we make it mandatory that everyone in the USA is required to own a gun. Putin or others would never try to invade.

[@Helmuesi911]

And it won’t happen.. chill

[@thonatim5321]

@@Helmuesi911 Do you want to bet your life on it? We are close to nuclear accident than we were at the first of the year.

[@rudy6884]

The soundtrack is quite pleasant for such a traumatic experience.

[@MichaelSHartman]

Television broadcast within ten days? I would think the radio stations wouldn't be fully functional.

[@janehill9764]

i practised under the desk air raid drills at school in wabush lake, labrador, canada, when i was 10 years old, back in 1962. there were air raid sirens on street corners in oakville, ontario, up until the 1980s. we canadians were part of norad and were told the russians would nuke us and the united states. as a kid, i was raised on war movies. as a kid, i found the whole thing exciting...

[@harrietharlow9929]

I remember the drills and every Saturday at 1 pm the sirens would go off.

[@dsoule4902]

You must be thrilled now, no? Or are you burned out from decades of Soviet threat... and here we are...

[@skepticalbadger]

You were told the US would nuke you? That makes no sense.

[@janehill9764]

@@skepticalbadger read the sentence again...'the russians would nuke us and the united states both'

[@binatitagain]

My mom told me the same thing! During the late 1950s, the nuns at her school in Timmins would make the kids practice hiding under their desks. She would stare up at the sky wondering if the Russians would send nukes. Lol, looking back, it sounds a bit funny but it was dead serious to them.

[@stargo2931]

30 minutes in and it's morning and the lady they let into the house for shelter has drained all the gin reserves.

[@Ronbo710]

I'm amazed MST3K never used this.

[@johng.3740]

Quite interesting despite it's age, though I noticed that they didn't address how the family fed itself with all those guests, also if power is out water may stop flowing, no refrigerator spoiled food, and they could run short of toilet paper. Even though water may be provided by large water tank raised high in the air they may need to ration the water so no showers and the stink fest may begin.

[@SoundJudgment]

Hush. You are scaring the kids.

[@samueljaramillo4221]

I’ve never seen this. I actually enjoyed it. I live in the state where these horrific bombs were invented and tested.

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Nevada, correct guys 🤔?

[@buzaldrin8086]

The bombs were invented in New Mexico. One was tested at Trinity Site near Alamogordo.

[@samueljaramillo4221]

@@rogerrendzak8055 No, New Mexico

[@aggiesjc]

In the book, "Shadow on the Hearth," which is this story, the husband/father did not die, and came home at the end. Also, the toy horse's name was Pablo, not Michael.

[@wacoflyer]

FYI: The release date for this film was May 18, 1954, Per the National Archives.

[@lf.8433]

It should probably say 1950's instead of 1950 in the title. The first hydrogen bombs weren't invented until 1952-53.

[@michaelfreeman9144]

Schools had us believe that diving under wooded desk was the safest course. Wood was much better then.

[@johndubose1395]

diving under the desk was to protect your head and eyes from glass and wood debris blown into the room from the pressure wave from a nearby blast. Picking glass out of your ass is better than picking glass out of your eyes. Don't be a fool.

[@Perririri]

Even nickels were made of wood, then!

[@harryface1633]

It was to protect you from flying debris.

[@vivianjones9749]

I remember duck and cover. I was in Gainesville during Cuban Missle Crisis

[@Zoomer30_]

Barbra: Some kid at school gave me some white powder and now I see sound.

[@kathleenking47]

Barbara didnt like barbie It became a doll

[@pottsylvaniapyotr6413]

Think of a camera flash. People who are out of range of the immediate blast and pressure wave can still be blinded, at least temporarily, if they see the flash of a nuclear weapon. If they are out in the open they can still receive burns just from the flash, without being blown away from the explosion. That same flash can set exposed combustibles ablaze without a pressure wave. The darkness or lightness of one's clothes and what stands between a person and just the flash makes a difference between wholeness and disfigurement of an individual in the short term. In a case like NYC, people in the Northern Delaware Valley might escape the immediate circumstances including the flash. That's accounting for older weapons.There are so many more details to go on about. I chose to describe the flash as an emphasis on the lethality of the most momentary aspect of such weapons, nevermind nuclear winter or anything else. Believe it or not this film was really optimistic. Let's hope everyone in power ( and their supporters) gets a grip on what a scenario like this really means.

[@riconui5227]

It didn’t take much to freak people out during the Cold War. For good reason. All that apocalyptic terror and paranoia had a legitimate rationale. And while the antagonisms of the Cold War have dissipated, somewhat, the nukes are still with us and still pose a threat.

[@grannygrump7425]

I was a little child at the time and I don't think I ever learned to forget the scare it was back then and people doesn't realize how close we are to it more now than ever

[@warpedbeyondhelp]

You’re saying that nuclear annihilation wasn’t enough to be freaked out about? What is strange opening sentence for a comment. My group with those duck and cover drills. We lived in Maryland very close to Washington DC and I can assure you we had the sword of Damocles hanging over our necks.

[@riconui5227]

@@warpedbeyondhelp Not so strange when you consider how determined we (Americans) were in enjoying our post WWII exceptionalism, a booming economy, an expanding middle class, and the transformation of the society by benefits like the G.I. Bill, that fueled the suburbs and the remarkable expansion of post secondary education. It was easy to forget, even necessary to forget, that grim detail about all that unique culture of comfort. Nuclear doomsday was always less than a half-hour away if some yahoo screws things up. And it's hard to dismiss the notion that some part of the "freak out" exercises and films and TV programs weren't part of rationalizing ever increasing MIC expenditures. (And not much has changed in that regard). I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and we too were fat with potential targets; Two NAS installations, two naval service bases, a NORAD radar outpost, two AF bases, a large commercial seaport, and numerous oil refineries scattered about. (There was no Silicon Valley at the time, but still a healthy and growing electronics industry, very much involved producing stuff for the military).

[@RisingTidesAC]

Today's youth need to have the shit scared out of them these days. This history is being taught any more.

[@kevincruz4045]

I hate to think this might really happen 😕

[@kenwilson4775]

Thinking the same thing, even started looking up old civil defense maps. Just to see if there are any abandoned shelters near me.

[@fromthesidelines]

Originally telecast on "THE MOTOROLA TV HOUR" [ABC] on May 18, 1954.

[@judithgips2959]

"makers of explosive electronic equipment"

[@ginajones2328]

Using a MOTOROLA phone I don't buy Apple 🍎 products

[@l8tbraker]

The fiction book on which the show is based ("Shadow of the Hearth" by Judith Merril) was published in 1950. The show was televised in 1954.

[@mikelord9860]

I stand corrected - I heard about this film on NPR, they said '54; I get on here and it says '50, so I was telling others about this, with the earlier date. I thought NPR had gotten it wrong.

[@orbyfan]

@@mikelord9860 Motorola Television Hour, May 18, 1954.

[@harrietharlow9929]

The novel that scared me was "Triumph" by Philip Wylie.

[@sulufest]

Those dates make sense since the first Hbomb was tested in 1952, so this 1950 production mentioning an Hbomb seems off.

[@l8tbraker]

@@sulufest As I said in the OP, the BOOK was published in 1950. The TV SHOW was televised in 1954. "In 1954, the Motorola TV Theatre aired an adaptation of Shadow on the Hearth, retitled Atomic Attack."

[@deadhorse1391]

Interesting that this appears on my feed now

[@lindaeasley4336]

The little girl's reaction to tshtf seems unreal and comical . " Poo and poo and poo "

[@jessicapabon2105]

Check out the movie ladybug ladybug from 1963 is also black and white movie on nuclear war where United States was going to be nuked and this is all on the views of 6th graders had my heart beating like a jackrabbit it was very intense

[@patricialong5767]

I remember those days: At the sound of the siren, hide under your desk! Duck and cover! Today we know that wouldn't help a single bit! LOL That teenager is so over the top!

[@rynwin1]

Wow, Walter Mathau and Patty McCormack! In their younger years

[@cheshirekat8273]

Is this a guide on how not to react to a Nuclear attack? They keep the widows opened for hours. They don't prepare either to evacuate or to set up a shelter. They don't tell the little girl what's going on or ground her, even though she's acting like a brat in the middle of a nuclear war. Barbara needs a chill-pill. The mom is useless... good God!

[@BlueSky-ub4fx]

You got it right. They want everyone to die off. So they don't need to care for them ;)

[@MaryAlice61]

Yes, this story is served up with a large side of 1950s misogyny. I am also unsure it provides much useful information on preparing for a nuclear crisis.

[@harrietharlow9929]

@@MaryAlice61 The misogyny got to me--no woman I know is this high-trung or given to hysteria.

[@MaryAlice61]

@@harrietharlow9929 Absolutely, women are old hands at war, since the first tribal feuds using sticks and stones, since we are treated as a "Prize of War". We instinctively know to stay calm, or take consequences that will make you wish to be dead.

[@puppiesarepower3682]

@@MaryAlice61 The worst advice I was ever given to me was by my mother; "get back at them" (i.e. karma). The root of all evil comes from that mindset. I dropped that years ago as it's very destructive. There's nothing like seeing two Hispanic women getting back at each other nonstop.

[@scorpion07070]

Everyone's freaking out but that youngest kid seems to be having a great time.

[@bogeysbaby]

She played the evil kid in " The Bad Seed."

[@kentcarter6547]

Patty McCormick..."The Bad Seed"

[@lalalandee]

Wouldn't all those people coming into her house be radioactive.

[@VintageRose75]

Right?! 😏 And, why her house over all the others? 🤔

[@badcompany-w6s]

I thought the power was out? Why is the door bell working.

[@stephenarling1667]

Doorbells often ran from a large carbon zinc battery with screw terminals, commonly installed in between joists in the basement. People were still using such things in the mid 1960s.

[@annajames6341]

Conversation In Touch: I have not been in touch with my child’s father since the last time I saw him. As far as I could remember he was 6 feet, 4 inches tall, was a famous musician, his hair was a golden blond, his face was in a rectangle shape, he had sharp ends, was likley to be Australian, his eyes were gray, he had very few freckles, but only if someone was to look close enough, his nose straight, and pointed with a smooth end.

[@LordZontar]

"I want Michael." "I'm sorry, dear, but Michael's going to be in the lead toybox for the next three thousand years."

[@MooseCall]

😢

[@tense99]

I think it's bizarre but also endearing that the science teacher comes over to check the girl because they are concerned about a little rad exposure from the rain minutes after a dozen major cities have been obliterated. The constant female hysteria is funny too. I was a kid in the 70s and by then it was common knowledge that with muti warhead icbms the best you could hope for is that one blew up over your head so it was over quick.

[@gardendormouse6479]

Yup. I was a kid in the 70s. I didn't waste time worrying about the possibility of nuclear war.

[@afgesfgagsae]

gotta love walter matthau.

[@anthonylopresti3078]

Walter Matthau??? Who!?

[@anthonylopresti3078]

That’s not Walter Matthau ya bozo.. He woulda been 12 years old at that time.. freakin bozo..

[@Sunmotherr]

@@anthonylopresti3078 Anyone with eyes and ears can tell that that's Matthau. He was born in 1920 making him about 30 years old here. Appears the only bozo here is you. :)

[@FukcAUsername]

@@anthonylopresti3078 are u slow? Look at the credits dumbass

[@joejones9520]

@@Sunmotherr it even says his name and that he's in it in the description here.

[@Rickwmc]

14:26 "We won't know what 'regular' is for a long, long time to come."

[@bootstrapperwilson7687]

At least 2 weeks.

[@aggiesjc]

This is the film version of the book "Shadow on the Hearth."

[@historybuff9276]

I would like to see Alas Babylon done into a film, but it would loose what makes it a classic

[@plateshutoverlock]

If you slow down the video almost all the way at about the 49:48 mark, you can see a title card for The United States Steel Hour right before it switches to the card that says The Motorola TV Hour.

[@tommissouri4871]

So many of these bad over-acting actors went on to long acting careers. Patty McCormack as Ginny Mitchell -- The Ropers, The Sopranos, Hart of Dixie, General Hospital, Patricia Bruder as Barbara Mitchell -- 40 years of As the World Turns Phyllis Thaxter as Gladys Mitchell -- was Ma Kent in Superman Walter Matthau as Dr. Spinelli-- Just a grumpy old man who didn't like his roommate.

[@kenbritton8227]

The younger girl with the fluffy blond hair is Patty McComack who would later have a lead role in 'The Bad Seed'.

[@l8tbraker]

Fact check on the video title: The book on which the TV production was based ("Shadow of the Hearth") was published in 1950. The author was Judith Josephine Grossman, who took the pen-name Judith Merril. The TV show aired in 1954 on The Motorola Television Hour. At 48:50 the credits reference the original story.

[@jefferyburnett5137]

Didn't even show us the mushroom cloud? What a rip-off!

[@bestshowontheweb]

They blew all the budget on getting Walter Matthau

[@RedEyed2012]

@@bestshowontheweb I liked him in Fail-Safe

[@anthonylopresti3078]

I know... Stupid technology depraved 50s! No terminator 2 nuclear explosions nothing!! Stupid primitive apes!

[@anthonylopresti3078]

Walter Matthau?? Who?!?!

[@anthonylopresti3078]

That’s not Walter Matthau ya bozo..

[@mariemanuel4428]

Thank you for sharing

[@joeyjennings9548]

phone & power has been cut off so continue to listen to this broadcast on the radio plugged into the wall.. 📻😳

[@Oliveo2655]

Phone lines would have been separate from electrical power back then. The power went out a little later and she grabbed a battery operated radio.

[@paulus121212]

tht was one tough house and some tough outdoor plants to with said the blast wave of a nuke

[@community1949]

Those W W 2 parents and we baby boomers had this atomic bomb stuff hanging over our heads after the 2nd world war stopped. Believe me it was frightening. I was a one year old baby in 1950 but I remember the Cuban Missle Crisis and all of the fear we all felt about that threat to our lives. I feel so sorry for this mother and wife and said goodbye to her two children and husband and now is trying to cope with this. She reminds me of my mother who would've reacted the very same way!!!!

[@KARW37]

The risk is actually higher now since Russia invaded Ukraine. Also, there is a deterrence imbalance with hypersonic missiles.

[@community1949]

@@KARW37 Well when the USSR put those nuclear missles in Cuba and pointed them at our country we were just a hair's breath away from destruction. Cuba is just 90 miles away from Florida and that's way too close.

[@maxpower1337]

We are always unaware that life can change forever in hours that was what 911 taught me.

[@booklover6753]

@@KARW37 Actually hypersonics are more of a tactical weapon with little impact on strategic concerns. ICBMs are also hypersonic. US to Russia in 20 minutes.

[@danielmorse4213]

It still hangs over our heads

[@viktorkarlsohn3705]

Not known at the time, a nuke detonation would ionize the nearby air, making all radio communication impossible, for at least 24 hours. Hence, the Civil Defense broadcasts, as depicted, would not happen.

[@alexmuenster2102]

>>Not known at the time, a nuke detonation would ionize the nearby air, making all radio communication impossible, for at least 24 hours.

[@booklover6753]

@@alexmuenster2102 Sorry Alex. A test in the Pacific knocked out communications for hours. It was detonated at high altitude. Check your facts.

[@dbergerac9632]

@@booklover6753 An extremely high altitude test for the purpose. The EMP effect was not a real issue with the hundreds of nuclear tests conducted near ground level "attack mode" conducted within the US. We nuked the hell out of Nevada and the radios worked in Las Vegas just fine. Although a movie "The Conqueror" filmed in that desert later was famed for killing a lot of the cast and crew. This movie is, of course, not about an EMP disaster, but a vaporizing of Manhattan. Note that no cities in Hawaii were wiped out in our high altitude test. Apples and Cucumbers. - NBC Certified Emergency Manager, retired

[@kristinesharp6286]

She was far away from it.

[@jhonsiders6077]

Emp would take out every thing solid state I keep a tube type ham out fit in my shelter for that reason . The Russians still use vacuum tube equipment to this day I bought spare tubes for that Johnson radio and they came from Russia !

[@georgebrown1543]

If that whole family would just quit freaking out. It's just an h bomb for gods sake. Get a grip!

[@brianhuntington6347]

This might be an actual reality soon!!!!

[@Monsicorn]

Glad I found this again its adorable . A product of the times, certainly, but adorable none the less.

[@martindavis9930]

I've laundry to do, I don't have time for an atomic attack.

[@belladrapeau8234]

show’s just how your live can change in a second i remember those drills and now i look back and think about japan and that damage and truly wonder with the advanced technology how much worse it will be

[@mysongzz1521]

Omgoodness crazy family... that lil girl going outside ....the crazy family coming over screaming and the mother of the house KEEPS opening the freaking door ggrrr

[@lindaeasley5606]

Most everybody is annoying in this .Particularly the daughters

[@barefoofDr]

Remember to 1 Duck, 2 Cover, and 3 Kiss Your Ass Goodby.

[@redwingfan9393]

This entire family acts in utter hysteria over every event.

[@wes11bravo]

The little girl was the only one who had her shit together - be more like her!

[@clydeblair9622]

What the hell would you expect?

[@clydeblair9622]

I don't know about you, but the spectre of surviving a nuclear attack terrifies me.

[@kristinesharp6286]

Gotta love how the radio station that just decided to go off air made sure to plug their sponsor…

[@LordZontar]

Robert Keith --- father of actor Brian Keith.

[@stefanie7823]

I can see the resemblance

[@Mary-qn2jd]

The guy is covered in radioactive rain and he comes in the house?

[@ginamarie3998]

Great movie...thank you

[@elli003]

First time to view this film. Quite a drama. Must be a prelude for other films featuring Matthau. 'Fail-Safe' comes to mind.

[@FunSizeSpamberguesa]

This is so jarringly optimistic that it makes me wonder just how much they didn't know about the effects of nuclear fallout and radiation in 1950.

[@kristinesharp6286]

They probably knew more than we since Japan was not that long ago.

[@FunSizeSpamberguesa]

@@kristinesharp6286 They didn't yet know the long-term effects of radiation (or have any concept of nuclear winter), but with what they did know, surely they could have made this even remotely realistic. Windows open, people wandering around outside with no PPE, electricity and phone connections easily restored, and the idea that the little girl will be just fine with medication even though she's got *radiation poisoning....* They treat fallout and black rain like temporary inconveniences. It makes me wonder if they were trying to give an impression that nuclear war would be easily survivable.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@FunSizeSpamberguesa Hiroshima and Nagasaki.. and the subsequent testing. The only reason the girl was sick was cause of the fallout and contaminated items so they obviously knew about that cause they were many miles away. The husband was at ground zero. The impression they were trying to give is if the country were bombed they would have the infrastructure to deal with it with the help of public and that they would retaliate. Some would survive and some sickness could be managed. The purpose was for the public not to panic or be anxious. This is set in the suburbs of NY. Given 9/11 not too far off to people sharing their places for shelters, people volunteering to help and giving each other a hand. People are alive in Japan, Ukraine/Belarus despite that exposure. You didn’t notice the dig at the US government for ‘tricking’ that science teacher into making the weapon and serving as a model for pacifism. Clearly the government or Motorola had been infiltrated by then. The family so patriotic for taking in refugees and having likely lost the husband also aiding and abetting the man the gov needed to deal with the sickness? That is far more concerning. What world war 2 era family would do such a thing after an attack? The house call from the doctor completely goofy. The entire reason for the development of the internet was the Cold War.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@FunSizeSpamberguesa out of four people within a mile of ground zero would would be sick with uncertain outcome, one would be dead and 2 would survive. The real problem I have is with the jab at the US government and the family hiding the man the government wanted in war time to treat people. Especially since they were most of them anyway alive and involved in the 2 world war. The clear problem was communication. Leaps and bounds.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@FunSizeSpamberguesa so they should wait to inform the public fifty years? If you look at the plant meltdowns an hour away from the site you would see lights on relatively quickly. This was not ground zero. They put a number of sick people from the bombings in Japan and followed them continuously. 30% were alive several decades later. Yes by the 70’s/80’s we would have all spent time in the basements. Depending on how far away you were. It seemed more a piece on bashing the US subtly. Sad.

[@bootstrapperwilson7687]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't anyone in this play say nookyular?

[@kingstonlillyvaea892]

If rather have a nuclear war in the 50s than today. At least the clothes we wear and the songs we listen to in the ruins will be cool

[@kathleenking47]

We went thru 9/11

[@infonut]

Little Patty "Rhoda" McCormick can't seem to shake that sociopath disposition.

[@sheilaholmes8455]

People, this is a play from 1950, so of course it comes off as bad acting. That was the style at that time. Much bigger and more dramatic. These are name actors. Walter Matthau and Patty McCormick. Google if you don’t know who they are.

[@katfishkobain8809]

Is evaporated milk okay to drink? Did the cow get evaporated?