Day Called X, A (Part I) (1955)

★★★★★ · Homeland Defense · HabboX · 2002-10-27

The Prelinger Archives dates this film to about 1955. It was probably made about 1958 or 1959. The narrator, Glenn Ford, mentions artificial satellites. Sputnik was launched in October 1957. The film also does not use actors but rather actual citizens or Portland. The Mayor, Terry D. Schrunk didn't become the Mayor of Portland until 1957. "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" I love this disclaimer. I'm sure there was a lot of talk at CBS about making a 'reality-based' program such as this. Before television the CBS network had a lot of publicity problems when "War of the Worlds" aired on the…

★★★★★ · Oh Glenn! · Spuzz · 2003-04-15

Glenn Ford narrates this excellently paced film about the possible nuke-u-lar attack on Portland Oregon. Well thought out pace and narration add to the mounting tension to this film to great effect. The film stars the 'people of Portland' who are all coming from the 'One Note School Of Acting' where they are taught to act in one expression only, and that's boredom. Why are people so glum? Even before the attack. the people look bored out of their mind! (insert Portland Joke here). By the way, there's a huge cheat that happens in the film....

★★★★★ · "There are no actors in this story!" · Steve Nordby · 2004-07-08

What if everything in the world went perfect and according to plan, but still the Russians flew some slow moving bombers toward the USA? No problem! They've got hours to move 400,000 people, and of course they will be safe if we just move them a few miles from downtown. No cars or trucks will break down and block traffic. All the children will behave like angels. Those hospitalized can easily be transported in moving vans. No one will panic. The police will gladly stay on their downtown assignments. No communications breakdowns will occur. And the existing city authorities have made plans to…

★★★★★ · "Nothing to Fear." · Shadows_Girl · 2013-05-25

Well, actually, there was quite a lot to fear even from the Atomic Bomb (which one of the reviewers derides) as well as from the Hydrogen Bomb. The Atomic Bombs dropped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (called "minor" by today's standards) have continued to kill people right through today thanks to the radiation poisoning they suffered as children. Various types of Cancer and other diseases are symptoms of that and fatal. The Hydrogen Bomb would just vaporize the whole city and everyone in it or anywhere near it. As to the effects of fall-out...a safe distance is hard to calculate. I'd recommend New…

★★★★★ · DAY CALLED X, Powerful for its day (Part 1 & 2) · ERD. · 2008-12-18

(Part 1 & 2 make up the complete film) Made in 1958 by CBS, this Civil Defense film made in Portland, Oregon was hosted by actor Glenn Ford. Somewhat naive when compared to today, it must have been effective for the viewers of that generation. Historically, it is very interesting.

★★★★ · Interesting ... · tazcatsdad · 2007-03-28

I've watched this several times ... it's quite a fascinating program! Although I doubt that if I were around when this program originally aired I'd have felt this way. There's something I noticed, however, while watching it that rather perplexes me. I looked up KOIN-AM on Google (and by the way, for those not living in Portland the station's now known by another name), and found out that it broadcast at 970 on the AM dial. This is what gets me: if you look closely at the setting of the dial on the radio (a very nice Arvin model ... perhaps an early transistor one) it appears to be tuned…