About Fallout (1963)

★★★★ · There was more knowledge and less fear back then · lwilton · 2007-06-16

In the 1950s and the 1960s before the Evil God Nuk-U-Lar took over the minds of Americans everywhere, it was pretty well known that if you were near an A-Bomb (as they were called then) blast, you were dead. In fact I have a 1958 CD poster of Hnady Tips in the other room. The first sentence is "If you are within 50 miles of an atomic bomb explosion, you have nothing to worry about." The poster doesn't say that is because you will be dead. It didn't need to say that. Everyone KNEW that. Parents knew that. Teachers in gradeschool knew that. Children knew that. Teachers in kindergarden through…

★★★ · Fallout-It's Not As Harmful As We All Thought · Bamaboy · 2003-03-06

While optomistic about the possibility of nuclear war, this is the Civil Defense Department's best effort to inform and protect the public. The disclaimer at the beginning says that many would be killed in a nuclear war, but some would survive. Possibly by watching this, some would have lived. I find this film much more believable than the famous "Duck and Cover" film. This film has some classic animated drawings that I really enjoyed. The film explains that within two weeks the ones who did survive would be able to leave shelters and try to rebuild and carry on. Something that was…

★★★ · Ludicrous or just optimistic? · movieman · 2002-09-28

There's a fine line between optimistic and ludicrous, but I think this movie stays on the optimistic side: the advice given would have helped people survive in areas away from the nuclear explosions and the worst of the fallout... in such areas the greatest threat would be long-term cancer from ingesting or breathing in fallout particles, or short-term by direct contact with your skin; even an overcoat would stop most alpha and beta radiation, though having almost no effect on gamma. But this is the real problem: as with the other civil defence movies I've watched on the site, it's only…

★★★ · About Fallout (1963) · Christine Hennig · 2003-02-24

This is the expanded version of the 1955 About Fallout, though to be honest, it looks like both films were made at about the same time. They contain identical scenes to each other and the clothing and hairstyles in both films are obviously from the early 60s. Anyway, this film contains more information than the previous version and it's a little bit less dry as well. It still paints an overly rosy view of a post-apocalyptic future, though. Yes, I know it was meant for those who live far away from any nuclear targets, but still it treats fallout as a completely isolated danger, ignoring the…

★★★ · Fallout can be delt with · Chuck B · 2003-03-11

Fallout (radioactive dust and debris) is the main culprit in today's terrorist dirty bomb..though only the big A bomb was the concern at the time this film was made. The radioactive dust produced by these weapons is the thing that will contaminate you if you don't get killed in the blast fragment of todays dirty bomb (a regular explosive with a radioactive item packed with the explosives). Of course the blast from a mushroom cloud creating A bomb will roast you if you are near it. And yes, you can dust off (better to wash off) the fallout or cover yourself with clothing (and stay inside)to…