Civil Defense Film "What You Should Know About Biological Warfare" 52914 (1951)

Synopsis

What You Should Know About Biological Warfare” is a short black-and-white film produced by the United States Office Of Civil Defense. The 1951 educational film was meant to be a public service announcements meant to educate the populace on the steps to take in the event of a biological attack from our Cold War enemies. The film opens with a montage of scenes from farmland to bustling cities as the narrator explains how in the event of war, our enemies may try to disable our people or our production no matter where. Although we may be attacked with a traditional bomb we may also be attacked by other means, and at mark 01:14 we see clips of shadowy men wearing fedoras spraying aerosolized substances into air shafts and pouring unknown yet suspicious-looking liquids into rivers are interspersed with information on washing contaminated food and clothes, on the necessities of mass inoculation, and on the voluntary provision of blood samples. Starting at mark 02:12 the film explains three types of biological warfare: germs, toxins, and plant growth regulators, followed by additional information on what to do in the event of an actual attack. As various “worst case scenarios” are shown, the narrator remarks at mark 07:22, “Above all, don't listen to scare talk, rumor, or myths …. See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: "

Uploader's description on archive.org

Details

Running time

7 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage