Duck and Cover (film)

For other uses, see Duck and cover (disambiguation).

Duck and Cover
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAnthony Rizzo
Written byRaymond J. Mauer
Narrated byRobert Middleton
Distributed byArcher Productions
Release date
  • 1952 (1952)
Running time
9 min 15 sec
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Duck and Cover is a 1951 American civil defense animated and live action social guidance film[1] that is often mischaracterized[2][3] as propaganda.[4] It has similar themes to the more adult-oriented civil defense training films. It was widely distributed to United States schoolchildren in the 1950s, and teaches students what to do in the event of a nuclear explosion.[5]

The film was funded by the US Federal Civil Defense Administration and released in January 1952.[citation needed] At the time, the Soviet Union was engaged in nuclear testing[6] and the US was in the midst of the Korean War.[citation needed] It was written by Raymond J. Mauer, directed by Anthony Rizzo of Archer Productions, narrated by actor Robert Middleton, and made with help from schoolchildren from New York City and Astoria, New York.[citation needed]

The film is in the public domain and widely available through Internet sources such as YouTube,[7] as well as on DVD. It was screened on Turner Classic Movies' Saturday night–Sunday morning film showcase series, TCM Underground.[citation needed]

In 2004, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."[8][9]

  1. ^ Kopp, David M. (5 December 2018). "Mental Hygiene Guidance Films and Duck and Cover". Famous and (Infamous) Workplace and Community Training. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. pp. 143–156. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-59753-3_9. ISBN 978-1-137-59752-6.
  2. ^ Smith, Melissa (2010). "Architects of Armageddon: the Home Office Scientific Advisers' Branch and civil defence in Britain, 1945–68". The British Journal for the History of Science. 43 (2): 149–180. doi:10.1017/S0007087409990392. S2CID 145729137. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  3. ^ Reynolds, Glenn Harlan (4 January 2011). "The Unexpected Return of 'Duck and Cover'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Welcome loti.com - Hostmonster.com". www.loti.com. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. ^ Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry – United States Library of Congress, 28 December 2004.
  6. ^ "U.S. Intelligence and the Detection of the First Soviet Nuclear Test, September 1949". nsarchive.gwu.edu. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  7. ^ Duck And Cover (1951) on YouTube
  8. ^ "Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-04-28.
  9. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-06-09.