AllMovie

In the 1950s and 1960s, the United States (and the world) stood on the brink of nuclear annihilation, but that didn't stop the government and Madison Avenue from promising wonderful new consumer goods -- and dubious tips on how to survive an A-bomb attack. This video presents a compilation of short films of the era -- advertising in the guise of informational films, and propaganda offered as safety instructions. In addition to forecasts of computerized kitchens and videophones being the norm by 1980, highlights of this program include the mind-boggling, amusing, and chilling civil defense film Duck and Cover (1950), narrated by honored newsman Edward R. Murrow. The animated star, Burt the Turtle, taught a generation of American kids to climb under their desks and assume the fetal position whenever they heard the air raid siren that meant Soviet atom bombs might be on the way.