A Disappointing Continuation

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

It's already taken me more time to read other member reviews of this Fifties era Civil Defense short than it did to watch the film itself. I don't recall ever seeing it as a kid in parochial school during the Fifties, but there's something oddly familiar about Bert the Turtle. Just can't put my finger on it.Back in the day, we used to do those duck and cover drills quite regularly, and I also remember helping put away boxes of canned goods that all the students brought in as a stockpile in case we ever came under attack. I used to think to myself that if it ever happened, I'd rather make a break for it across the baseball field from school to my house where I'd be with my family. Think about it, those planes would be pretty high up there; surely I could make it in a dead run under a minute. I even timed it a few times, I knew I could make it.Seriously, I remember all of that. Now I wonder how an eight or nine year old kid grows up with that kind of paranoia, seeing as how the picture suggests repeatedly that danger exists EVERY DAY, ALL THE TIME, EVERY DAY, ALL THE TIME. I imagine it's how kids today must feel while being constantly bombarded by the idea that global warming is going to annihilate civilization as we know it. Drive less, buy smaller cars, go green, buy in to the propaganda that the government is going to save your butt because you're too dumb to figure things out for yourself. Then there's the threat of nuclear terrorist states getting an atomic bomb themselves. Maybe it's time to start doing those duck and cover drills with the air conditioning on.

Duck and Cover (1953) ** (out of 4) Atomic scare film is part animation and part live action. The animated part has Bert the Turtle walking when a monkey lights a firecracker behind him. The turtle then teachers the kids how to duck and cover. We then get a narrator telling us what we should look for an expect in case of an atomic attack. Looking at these films today you can't help but roll you eyes but at the same time it's somewhat scary because of what we're told in this film. Had an atomic explosion really went off you can't help but this about how unhelpful films like this would have been. Informing people to put a newspaper on your head to prevent burns? Cover your necks with your hands to avoid burns? On a technical level this thing is pretty poorly done because if you pay close attention you'll notice then telling you how to "duck" during one scene at yet others showing us how to duck are wrong or at least don't match up with what was told earlier.

Bert the turtle is walking along when a monkey with a firecracker comes at him. At the last minute he avoids injury by ducking down to the ground and covering his head. Bert's idea is so good in fact that, say there was an atomic bomb attack (no – stay with me here), Bert would probably come off not too bad. This public information film from the 1950's explains to school children what action to take if there is an nuclear attack in their area.We all know about this film and we have all seen it spoofed in things like Simpsons and South park but I really do recommend that you watch it because it is genuinely hard to describe just how surreal and creepy it is. Here we have the Government speaking to their people of the time – the people who they were leading into a period of history where atomic bombs were used on others and also likely to be used on them. This is the official and cheerful advice that they gave to the children of their nation. In fairness I suppose it would have been worse to come out and say "look – you're pretty much screwed" because the public reaction might have been to question why their government is putting them in that situation, so here is what they did.Done in the same style as "proper" educational films, this is eerie to watch because you cannot mentally make the jump back in time when this might have been accepted. It is hard not to think of the fate of those people advised to avoid bad burns by hiding behind newspaper or by ensuring that they cover the back of their neck with their hands. With this in mind the cheerful voice of the presentation shouting the slogan "duck and cover" like a kids TV host is all the more jarring for it.Fascinatingly disturbing stuff that is worth seeing even if it will only serve to upset and feed cynicism if you linger on it. That said though, it is nice to move past the easy spoofs that we all have seen and watch this for what it is.

In the 21st century, when we know that a nuclear blast would wipe out everything, "Duck and Cover" seems laughable at best. And believe you me, it IS laughable. Made at the height of the Cold War/Red Scare/Nuclear Scare, it reminds wholesome American schoolchildren what to do if a nuclear bomb falls: cover your head. To try and attract peoples' attention, they have a turtle remind us this.As a side note, around the time of the 40th anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, I asked my Russian teacher what they were taught in the Soviet Union about nuclear blasts. She said that they were taught how to help someone after a nuclear blast. In other words, they were also lied to. But that's no surprise; both the USA and USSR were both responsible.But either way, you'll get a real kick out of "Duck and Cover", just for how stupid it is.