Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Adeel Hail Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

atlasmb I'm sure this purportedly educational film seems foolish and funny from the 21st century viewpoint. Aimed at children, "Duck and Cover" was apropos for its time, when the public was mostly ignorant of the real risks of nuclear warfare, but very afraid of its implications--the way it changed one's view of the world and personal safety, in general.It would be difficult to ascertain if the film accomplished what it set out to do--to give children (and their parents) a sense of security in a more dangerous world. Or did it actually make life seem scarier and more uncertain with its warning about "the bright flash" that might interrupt a beautiful day, without prior alarm, from some unseen, ominous and omnipresent source?Having been a child during that era--and the Cuban missile crisis--I can verify that there was a toll exacted by the constant barrage of warnings about the unspeakable horrors that might befall American citizens at the hands of an evil, godless entity. Thanks, government, for demonizing an entire population and producing such ridiculous garbage as "Duck and Cover".The film clearly has another agenda--one that pervades almost all government-produced films: legitimizing those in authority. The children who view the film are told "We must obey the civil defense worker". And more than once, it tells kids to ask "older people" in the event of an atomic emergency. Images remind the student viewer that teachers are in charge in the classroom, a message I am sure all educators appreciated.This film is an interesting artifact from a "simpler" time--simpler in the sense that the average American citizen rarely questioned authority. I think the average congressman in 1952 knew little more than his constituents about the effects of nuclear weapons. The naivete that pervades the film is authentic.

Robert Reynolds This is an educational short from the 1950s. There will be mild spoilers ahead:What I'm going to write shortly probably isn't going to satisfy anyone, but that's life. Judged solely by its technical aspects and basic style, this is a nice little short well worth watching. Nice bits of animation are worth seeing.As to the informational value, it's really not as good or bad as either its supporters or its detractors think. In some instances, the advice given would be very helpful. The best advice which could be given was, "Be in a good, solid structure not directly damaged by the blast and away from any exposure to the flash".If you were sitting in a windowless classroom which was not seriously damaged in the blast, good for you. Your immediate survival chances were good. But if you were in a classroom with lots of open windows facing the blast, "duck and cover" under the typical desk found in a school room is of vanishingly little value.There were Allied POWs being held in Nagasaki who were basically sheltered in a ditch with a tent covering them. Most of them stayed inside the tent with the flap closed. The few who went outside to have a look all died immediately. The ones in the ditch under the tent survived.There's useful and not so useful information here for the time period. This isn't quite as ridiculous as it seems nowadays.This short is on a number of PD DVDs as well as online and is worth watching.

deltajuliet Being too young to have been in school in the '50's, I had the privilege of viewing this little gem in US History.Starting off with a very catchy song about Burt the turtle, "Duck and Cover" describes how ducking and covering will make you safe in a nuclear blast. Needless to say, it's very amusing.I also liked it just for its '50's vibe (i.e. "Little Timmy knows what to do!"). This combined with the government's reassurance that a nuclear blast is not that big a danger made me utterly love every second of it, however ludicrous it might be."Duck and Cover," however, is also an interesting look at government propaganda. Again, very amusing for its not-so-subtle approach in this department.So if you have some time, check it out. It can be viewed on the internet (http://www.archive.org/details/DuckandC1951), and it's 9 minutes where you can just shake your head and laugh.So remember children, when you see a flash, DUCK AND COVER!

yenlo Having been in the first grade during the Cuban Missile Crisis the entire elementary school I attended got to watch this film. It of course now is looked upon the same way that a film like "Reefer Madness" is looked upon. It seems to me that the authorities i.e. the government, school administrations, whoever, would have had enough education and just plain common sense to realize that in the event of a nuclear blast hiding under a school desk with your coat over you just wouldn't cut it. The film is the standard public service films that were cranked out during this period. A little light humor is thrown in with a cartoon turtle who crawls into his shell whenever trouble comes his way. Video stores sometimes carry these films and while they are now hilarious and severely outdated they no doubt were taken seriously at the time.