Educational Movies about the Atomic Bomb

Educational Movies about the Atomic Bomb

Kitsch July 15th 2009 by Christopher

Produced in 1955 and 1959 about the atomic bomb and radioactive fallout and how you can protect your self from it. For someone born in the 1970s or later it is probably hard to grasp the hype, fear and fascination about the atomic bomb in the height of the cold war era.

Especially for those living on the western seaboard of the US in the early 60s which was apparently only 13 days away from a possible nuclear attack from Cuba in 1962. These clips will make sure that you learn how to best protect your self from a nuclear blast and also demonstrate the full effect of a live atomic bomb explosion. Very kitschy and very real.

Clips obtained through the wonderful Internet Archive.

About the author

Christopher founded Ultra Swank in 2005. Has a crush on mid-century graphic design, defunct airlines, Disneyland and the Century 21 Exposition. Is a collector of easy listening music from the 60s and 70s and a Swedish expat living in Barcelona, Spain. Read more articles by me

Comments for this article

  • http://totalrod2.blogspot.com Bryan Lord

    Cool, you’ve just inspired me. 2 years ago I worked at the Middleton senior center (which was actually the old town hall….a building dating back to the 1800′s). While I was upstairs cleaning the attic one day, I found a dozen or so of these folders. I grabbed 4 of them (the best of the bunch) and left the rest. Thought I’d share it with you:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/9368126@N06/3732306296/sizes/l
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/9368126@N06/3732305296/sizes/o
    They were all the same (which is why I only took a few of them). The date appears to be December 1951.

  • http://www.ultraswank.net Chris

    Very cool Bryan! I should have used those scans for the post. Makes me think I should set up a Flickr photo pool so that people can upload photos easily.

  • http://totalrod2.blogspot.com Bryan Lord

    No problem. Thanks for that video. It never ceases to amaze me, how little they knew about the effects of nuclear fallout and radiation!

  • http://coolnessistimeless.blogspot.com Keith

    Those look really interesting. I grew up in the 80′s. There was still worries where I lived about a nuclear attack, but I’m sure nothing like it was in the 50′s and 60′s.

  • http://www.ultraswank.net Chris

    This also reminds me of a early 1990s movie starring John Goodman called Matinée. Set in 1962 in Florida it revolves around a kid’s fascination with movies at the local cinema and how Goodman cashes in on the fear of a imminent nuclear blast by equipping the theater with some nifty 1960s special effects and Sensurround type sound to make the movie come alive.

  • jamesvaughan

    “RumbleRama!”

  • http://www.belmos.com Watch TV Shows Online

    It never ceases to amaze me, how little they knew about the effects of nuclear fallout and radiation!

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