Atomic Alert (1951)

Produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films, this video seeks to educate American schoolchildren on how to take cover in the event of a nuclear warning or attack. The child safety tips are dated and hilarious, consider what little help covering up is against a nuclear weapon or a nuclear explosion. Three different situations are shown, including when children are at school, at home, or at a playground. Children are shown cowering against buildings and hiding in basements. Fictional characters, Sue and Ted, are shown at home alone during an attack. The narrator even recommends that children caught outside far from home enter a random house for shelter, advising them that “strangers will understand.” The film also gives a simplified explanation of how nuclear bombs work throughout the lessons on child home safety. This is a classic Cold War era propaganda film that is light on atomic bomb facts and heavy on reassuring government rhetoric.