A low-budget minimalist, effective and suspenseful Cold War film with decent performances by a largely unknown cast.
Directed by Fredric Gadette
Produced by Murray De Atley, Fredric Gadette
Written by Peter Abenheim, Fredric Gadette, Betty Lasky
Music by Greig McRitchie
Cinematography: Brick Marquard
Edited by Hal Dennis
Distributed by Allied Artists
Release date 1962
Running time: 73 minutes
Cast
Seamon Glass: Deputy Sheriff Dan Colter
Thayer Roberts: Jacob Elliot Saunders
***************
Edited by YouTube user The Nebula55 at;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1j120FfO6g&ab_channel=TheNebula55
From original video by Mike Shaver “Simulated Conelrad Report Spring 1962” at;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDMF75v38L7FKrNQzB0Y5w
It’s 4.00am on a lonely stretch of mountain highway.
A policeman sets up a road block.
Several cars and a truck are stopped……..
And the nightmare begins!!!
(Spoilers follow below.....)
Dead-pan, implacable and unimaginative symbol of authority, Deputy Sheriff Colter is given the task of setting up a roadblock on a lonely stretch of mountain highway somewhere in California. In answer to the questions posed to him by those he stops is his repeated order to “pull over to the side of the road” and “turn out your lights.”
Without information, the people under his charge can only speculate that there’s “probably something up ahead,” perhaps an accident. Despite this and Colter’s rude and brusque manner, the detained assembly comply with his directives, resigned to the fact that “there’s nothing to do but wait” and that for the time being they’ll have to “do like the man says.”
Those who have so far been stopped form an interesting cross-section of society, with all of the expected human frailties and faults. There’s;
• Gramps or Jacob Elliot Saunders, a kindly chicken farmer and his lovely “Pollyanna” granddaughter, Juney.
• Al Weston, a down to earth truck driver on his way to “a date with a beautiful redhead in Sacramento.”
• Al’s mysterious hitch-hiking passenger named Clint Delany who Al picked up earlier in Reno.
• Cheryl Hudson from San Francisco, an intoxicated attractive broad with a hip gambler boyfriend, Joe Baraji “North Beach crazy,” a cat who just made a killing of $175.000, dig?
• And shortly to pull in, there’s the conventional and wimpish Sam Barnes and his obviously dissatisfied wife, Karen from Tahoe, along with their cute mutt named Timmy.
All of their individual and collective lives, destinies and fates seem to be in the hands of a public official whose talents extend to barking orders and punishing minor transgressions of the letter of the law. In the eyes of some of the detained, Deputy Sheriff Dan Colter is little more than a “mickey mouse cop” and a “badge happy cat” who’s intent on preventing them from going about their business.
In reality Colter is just a functionary who only knows how to follow orders and his orders in this case are “no cars are to proceed beyond this point in either direction.” As to how long? Well, that depends on when he is instructed to remove the roadblock. In the absence of such qualities as initiative and creative thinking, such types as Colter often compensate by relishing the opportunity to exercise their perceived authority over others. And whatever happens, they can always say they were just following orders.
June observes that up until this point Colter hasn’t told them anything. When Gramps tries to reassure her that everything is going to be alright, she asks him, “Gramps, are you ever gonna stop treating me like a child?” June understands the reason behind this. But what of Colter’s treatment of this particular group of adults? In a way he is treating them as if they were children by not being frank with them and providing them with information as soon as he becomes aware of anything.
Something immediate is about to happen for which Colter’s personality and character is perhaps best suited for: pursuit, arrest and exercise of lethal force against offenders and law-breakers. It turns out that Al’s passenger, Clint is an escaped psychotic murderer who takes off when Colter tries to talk to him and calls him by his name.
It seems that six months previously, Delaney stabbed a girl to death. In addition to other killings he may have committed, Delaney wrote to his dying father not to die until he got to him in hospital “because he wants to watch him suffer." Yes, there are potential dangers to life and limb posed to innocent people from crazed individuals and in this case that was what “the road block was set up for”- to remove the threat posed to society by someone like our insane Clint Delaney.
A potential danger to life and limb has now become an all- too real threat of global annihilation due to crazed and remote Geo-political forces and factors way beyond the control of individuals and those in leadership. The individual and collective fate of our little isolated band of humanity is pretty much determined now. The question is: How will they respond as the count down begins toward their inevitable destiny?
In a very real sense this situation IS a test – a test of each individual in the face of the inevitable.
From our own point of view, it would also be interesting to see if there are any parallels between the actions and attitudes of the characters in the film to the crisis they are faced with and what we have noticed during the course of our own global crisis involving the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Initially, we can see there is the very human need for self-preservation as a panicked Sam blurts out, “we've got to get to the nearest shelter! There must be one in the city.”
There is also the pressing need for information as to what is going on which Colter’s captives are unable to do due to “no regular radio reception in these mountains.” They are then expected to be satisfied and placated with the assurance that “they'll (the authorities) tell us as soon as they know.”
Colter’s one-dimensional thinking only allows him to resort to the exercise of power, authority and force. As far as he’s concerned “nobody's going anywhere.” This is backed up by a blast from his gun and the command to “get out of those cars and bring your keys – now!”
As if to underscore this development, another message erupts from the police car’s radio;
Any crisis can only be magnified and made worse if the quality of leadership and authority is defective or lacking. For instance, in the film there is definitely something psychologically wrong with Colter and he should not be given full authority to deal with local problems in the face of such a crisis. He is caught in a mental loop which only allows him open to one course of action: to detain the others where they are.
Another expected reaction to extreme crisis situations is of course, panic. Our small party realise that the evacuation will mean that “every road from every population centre is gonna be jammed with thousands of automobiles” as people rush to save themselves. It seems though that Colter is using this scenario to justify his intended course of action and is merely adapting it to fit the circumstances. He informs the others that in order to “stop you from adding to the congestion, my orders are to keep you here.” Well now, they can look to him with confidence as he obviously knows what he’s doing, yes-siree! Colter can now redeem himself for letting that nut job Delaney slip through his fingers.
It’s amazing what people choose to worry about when faced with calamitous situations. For instance, Sam’s main concern is not getting to Mexico City. However, as Al points out to him, it “won't be very long before there'll be things flying around a little bit more important than a plane to Mexico City.” As we’ve seen with the current Covid-19 Pandemic, some people do indeed find it hard to put things into perspective or prioritise what’s important.
Then there are those who seem to be in a state of denial. When faced with the grim reality of their situation, June quite innocently and understandably declares that she “just can't believe it.” Of course, we are aware of certain individuals and groups who for political and other reasons would purposefully choose not to believe the facts that are staring them in the face, whether it be climate change, a global pandemic or indeed “the end of the world!”
The severity of the situation is by now quite evident whereby “the whole country could be destroyed in the next few hours.” Despite the clear impending danger and probably because of the sheer enormity of the crisis, Joe is all for carrying on as normal and extracting whatever diversion and pleasure he can obtain from whatever life is left to him. He’s more concerned about whether “the cats are still rolling dice up the state line” rather than worrying over things he can do nothing about.
The futility of their situation is brought home to the group by Al who has determined the relative positions of the city, Western Air Defense Command Headquarters, the missile fuel refinery and their own location. It is concluded that they are situated in a “prime target area” and are therefore “sitting ducks on ground zero…... sitting on the target right smack in the bull zone.”
Despite the chaos in the world beyond the highway and the inevitability of their extinction, Colter is determined to preserve his little oasis of control and order and will use force if he has to in order to keep the others where they are. It is not surprising that faced with such absurdity and futility, Joe would opt to try to exercise his assumed freedom of movement and right to choose to spend what time he has left “standing in front of a bar” with his chick and that to do so is no one else’s business.
Colter’s answer to a perceived act of defiance is to knock Joe out and handcuff him to a car. The final word of authority: use of force to ensure compliance. Unfortunately, reason, humanity and compassion have taken a back seat as implied by one of the party observing that Colter and everyone else “ought to take it easy. Who knows how much time we have left. Seems a shame to waste it getting mad with each other.” Sensible advice for any era!
The reality of Cold War madness and the justification for fear is laid bare with the following observation;
“That first action will be to knock out the country's ability to resist. First thing will be a white light that'll blind us, then a hot flame that'll burn…...Even the air you breathe will be deadly. Everything you touch will give off radiation - ever hear of Hiroshima - and you won't hear it happen. Suddenly there'll be no warning…….”
Added to the deadly litany of the effects of nuclear war is the awareness of “the area of destruction from the explosion of one hydrogen bomb.” Colter’s answer is to declare that “people survived Hiroshima” and that therefore they too can survive.
As the countdown to the missile attack proceeds, Colter issues orders to convert Al’s truck into a bomb shelter. With their car keys and therefore their means of escape having been confiscated, the hostages to madness proceed to empty the truck of its contents.
Fear can often have the effect of luring people into focusing their concerns on matters other than what they ought be scared about. In Juney’s case, she is terrified of having to comply with Colter’s directive to make the truck their shelter for two weeks and (as many these days feel about lock-downs) she “can't stand the thought of being all locked up.” Gramps tries to comfort and ease his granddaughter’s mind and voices the majority view which tends to be cooperative and compliant in times of crisis. He believes that they “have to do what the man says” and “learn to accept things as they come” if they are to have any chance of surviving.
In a very child-like way, Juney rushes off in panic away from this madness straight into another kind of madness in the form of Clint Delaney. Juney, however handles this frightening situation quite well by not reacting in fear. Her explanations to Clint about what is going on cannot penetrate his demented psyche as all he can focus on is retrieving his suitcase, the contents of which we can only guess at. In any situation you find deranged psychopathic and sociopathic groups and individuals whose only thought is to cling on to their ‘precious’ obsessions and who have no comprehension of human society’s values and norms.
“Code 1305 proceed to point seven at once…….you're on your own Colter”
Without information, the people under his charge can only speculate that there’s “probably something up ahead,” perhaps an accident. Despite this and Colter’s rude and brusque manner, the detained assembly comply with his directives, resigned to the fact that “there’s nothing to do but wait” and that for the time being they’ll have to “do like the man says.”
Those who have so far been stopped form an interesting cross-section of society, with all of the expected human frailties and faults. There’s;
• Gramps or Jacob Elliot Saunders, a kindly chicken farmer and his lovely “Pollyanna” granddaughter, Juney.
• Al Weston, a down to earth truck driver on his way to “a date with a beautiful redhead in Sacramento.”
• Al’s mysterious hitch-hiking passenger named Clint Delany who Al picked up earlier in Reno.
• Cheryl Hudson from San Francisco, an intoxicated attractive broad with a hip gambler boyfriend, Joe Baraji “North Beach crazy,” a cat who just made a killing of $175.000, dig?
• And shortly to pull in, there’s the conventional and wimpish Sam Barnes and his obviously dissatisfied wife, Karen from Tahoe, along with their cute mutt named Timmy.
In reality Colter is just a functionary who only knows how to follow orders and his orders in this case are “no cars are to proceed beyond this point in either direction.” As to how long? Well, that depends on when he is instructed to remove the roadblock. In the absence of such qualities as initiative and creative thinking, such types as Colter often compensate by relishing the opportunity to exercise their perceived authority over others. And whatever happens, they can always say they were just following orders.
“All units. Confirming 1305. It's a button-up”
June observes that up until this point Colter hasn’t told them anything. When Gramps tries to reassure her that everything is going to be alright, she asks him, “Gramps, are you ever gonna stop treating me like a child?” June understands the reason behind this. But what of Colter’s treatment of this particular group of adults? In a way he is treating them as if they were children by not being frank with them and providing them with information as soon as he becomes aware of anything.
It seems that six months previously, Delaney stabbed a girl to death. In addition to other killings he may have committed, Delaney wrote to his dying father not to die until he got to him in hospital “because he wants to watch him suffer." Yes, there are potential dangers to life and limb posed to innocent people from crazed individuals and in this case that was what “the road block was set up for”- to remove the threat posed to society by someone like our insane Clint Delaney.
As Kool cat Joe points out to Colter, “you goofed it, so now you’re running around playing Wyatt Earp.” So what’s their sterling leader to do now? In the face of perceived incompetence and ineptitude, authority needs to find a way to redeem and reassert itself and establish relevance. As if on cue, an urgent message crackles over the police radio;
“All units. All units.
Situation 1310! Situation 1310!
THIS IS NOT A TEST
Condition yellow.
Air raid. Air raid.
Extreme emergency!
All officers take charge.
Operation Eager. 1310.
Yellow alert!”
A potential danger to life and limb has now become an all- too real threat of global annihilation due to crazed and remote Geo-political forces and factors way beyond the control of individuals and those in leadership. The individual and collective fate of our little isolated band of humanity is pretty much determined now. The question is: How will they respond as the count down begins toward their inevitable destiny?
In a very real sense this situation IS a test – a test of each individual in the face of the inevitable.
From our own point of view, it would also be interesting to see if there are any parallels between the actions and attitudes of the characters in the film to the crisis they are faced with and what we have noticed during the course of our own global crisis involving the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Initially, we can see there is the very human need for self-preservation as a panicked Sam blurts out, “we've got to get to the nearest shelter! There must be one in the city.”
Colter’s one-dimensional thinking only allows him to resort to the exercise of power, authority and force. As far as he’s concerned “nobody's going anywhere.” This is backed up by a blast from his gun and the command to “get out of those cars and bring your keys – now!”
As if to underscore this development, another message erupts from the police car’s radio;
“All units. All units.
Situation 1310. Condition red.
Evacuation. Evacuation.
Operation Scatter.
THIS IS NOT A TEST.
1310. Situation red.
All highways out of population centers to be cleared for evacuation.
Operation Scatter.
All officers have full authority to deal with local problems.”
Another expected reaction to extreme crisis situations is of course, panic. Our small party realise that the evacuation will mean that “every road from every population centre is gonna be jammed with thousands of automobiles” as people rush to save themselves. It seems though that Colter is using this scenario to justify his intended course of action and is merely adapting it to fit the circumstances. He informs the others that in order to “stop you from adding to the congestion, my orders are to keep you here.” Well now, they can look to him with confidence as he obviously knows what he’s doing, yes-siree! Colter can now redeem himself for letting that nut job Delaney slip through his fingers.
It’s amazing what people choose to worry about when faced with calamitous situations. For instance, Sam’s main concern is not getting to Mexico City. However, as Al points out to him, it “won't be very long before there'll be things flying around a little bit more important than a plane to Mexico City.” As we’ve seen with the current Covid-19 Pandemic, some people do indeed find it hard to put things into perspective or prioritise what’s important.
Then there are those who seem to be in a state of denial. When faced with the grim reality of their situation, June quite innocently and understandably declares that she “just can't believe it.” Of course, we are aware of certain individuals and groups who for political and other reasons would purposefully choose not to believe the facts that are staring them in the face, whether it be climate change, a global pandemic or indeed “the end of the world!”
Panic and denial are sometimes joined by outright distrust of and hostility toward those entrusted with leadership and authority. When Colter informs the others that they’re going to “take it easy and proceed according to plans,” Joe sarcastically observes, “you got it all worked out, pop…..you got it worked out for a situation like this - eight people on a mountain.” Joe then asks Colter, “what do you got in the back of your heap man, a collapsible bomb shelter?”
“Attention all control points.
All military, all civil defense units,
Operation Scatter must not slow down.
Traffic stoppages on river freeway must be cleared.
Execute severest measures to control hysteria and keep traffic flowing.
Martial law!”
The severity of the situation is by now quite evident whereby “the whole country could be destroyed in the next few hours.” Despite the clear impending danger and probably because of the sheer enormity of the crisis, Joe is all for carrying on as normal and extracting whatever diversion and pleasure he can obtain from whatever life is left to him. He’s more concerned about whether “the cats are still rolling dice up the state line” rather than worrying over things he can do nothing about.
The futility of their situation is brought home to the group by Al who has determined the relative positions of the city, Western Air Defense Command Headquarters, the missile fuel refinery and their own location. It is concluded that they are situated in a “prime target area” and are therefore “sitting ducks on ground zero…... sitting on the target right smack in the bull zone.”
Despite the chaos in the world beyond the highway and the inevitability of their extinction, Colter is determined to preserve his little oasis of control and order and will use force if he has to in order to keep the others where they are. It is not surprising that faced with such absurdity and futility, Joe would opt to try to exercise his assumed freedom of movement and right to choose to spend what time he has left “standing in front of a bar” with his chick and that to do so is no one else’s business.
Colter’s answer to a perceived act of defiance is to knock Joe out and handcuff him to a car. The final word of authority: use of force to ensure compliance. Unfortunately, reason, humanity and compassion have taken a back seat as implied by one of the party observing that Colter and everyone else “ought to take it easy. Who knows how much time we have left. Seems a shame to waste it getting mad with each other.” Sensible advice for any era!
The reality of Cold War madness and the justification for fear is laid bare with the following observation;
“That first action will be to knock out the country's ability to resist. First thing will be a white light that'll blind us, then a hot flame that'll burn…...Even the air you breathe will be deadly. Everything you touch will give off radiation - ever hear of Hiroshima - and you won't hear it happen. Suddenly there'll be no warning…….”
Added to the deadly litany of the effects of nuclear war is the awareness of “the area of destruction from the explosion of one hydrogen bomb.” Colter’s answer is to declare that “people survived Hiroshima” and that therefore they too can survive.
As the countdown to the missile attack proceeds, Colter issues orders to convert Al’s truck into a bomb shelter. With their car keys and therefore their means of escape having been confiscated, the hostages to madness proceed to empty the truck of its contents.
Fear can often have the effect of luring people into focusing their concerns on matters other than what they ought be scared about. In Juney’s case, she is terrified of having to comply with Colter’s directive to make the truck their shelter for two weeks and (as many these days feel about lock-downs) she “can't stand the thought of being all locked up.” Gramps tries to comfort and ease his granddaughter’s mind and voices the majority view which tends to be cooperative and compliant in times of crisis. He believes that they “have to do what the man says” and “learn to accept things as they come” if they are to have any chance of surviving.
In a very child-like way, Juney rushes off in panic away from this madness straight into another kind of madness in the form of Clint Delaney. Juney, however handles this frightening situation quite well by not reacting in fear. Her explanations to Clint about what is going on cannot penetrate his demented psyche as all he can focus on is retrieving his suitcase, the contents of which we can only guess at. In any situation you find deranged psychopathic and sociopathic groups and individuals whose only thought is to cling on to their ‘precious’ obsessions and who have no comprehension of human society’s values and norms.
The truck that is presently being unloaded to be converted to a shelter for two weeks has “Discount World” advertised on its side. And yet its contents consists of imported caviar, diamond tiaras, fur coats and bourbon. It must be a pretty up-market discount store! Still, with everything about to come to an end, what do such things matter? It’s all up for grabs and all that’s important is what will be useful to survival. At least Cheryl can pretend that everything will be OK if she wears a fur coat and downs a bottle or two of booze, while Al can pretend he’s showering a “princess” he’s keen on with the kind of gifts she deserves.
In contrast, there’s Karen’s husband, Sam who is concerned about the “valuable merchandise in this truck.” This fine upright, uptight and largely useless individual while clinging to his conventional view of reality, doesn’t even realize that he’s losing his wife to someone else who can offer her what she really wants and needs right now with “no strings attached….anything but a tomorrow.”
A late-comer to the captive group pulls up riding a Vespa. His name is Peter and he seems to offer a bit of an outsider’s perspective of what’s transpiring. It is apparent that he is quite well-educated and informed considering his knowledge about matters pertaining to nuclear war.
Peter and Juney engage in a rather grim and ironic consideration of the sad state of affairs in the world symbolized by the Christmas bauble (“incongruous…. symbol of the joyous celebration of the savior”) and the toy rocket representing for Peter a missile that can be “launched from any place on earth (and) can strike a target with pinpoint accuracy in just 75 minutes.” Juney points out that they got the first warning 20 minutes previously! Tick-tock…..
We tend to feel compelled to point the finger at those we feel are being uncooperative or totally oblivious to the seriousness of a particular situation. We may wonder at their thoughtlessness at wishing to go on with life as if nothing has happened. Take Joe who admits that he’s “scared about that jazz” but the $175.000 he’s clutching in his hand represents for him “independence, not more scamming and hustling….a free ride any place we want to go.” Also, despite Cheryl’s party-girl carrying-on, she admits that she’s scared and doesn’t want to die. People hide their fears in all sorts of ways and have nothing else to cling to except hope, even if it’s false hope. Joe holds out hope to Cheryl that they are going to get out of this situation and that even though the odds are longer, he has a “good feeling everything's gonna be all right.”
It is this very situation though that has reached a stage where absolute absurdity is reigning supreme:
Colter is obsessing with alcohol prohibition and introducing his own local version of martial law after Crazy Delaney conducts a covert raid on some of their supplies. Al is instructed to shoot him on sight if he is spotted.
Off-screen, law and order seems to have broken down in the city as can be gauged from the police car radio message:
“All fire units. All fire units.
Officers, shoot all looters!
Shoot all looters!”
Sam still cannot get his mind around what is going to happen shortly and probably believes everything will go back to normal if he just tidies up around the place and correctly and responsibly disposes of litter! Must keep up appearances. All he succeeds in doing though is getting in the way.
Cheryl has purloined another bottle of booze and she and Joe are set on having a great old time – anything if it just makes things a little easier for them. Cheryl is little more than a frightened girl who drinks to make things feel better for herself. Joe is scared too and disguises the fact by acting like a “hood most of the time.”
The impotence and lunacy of the official plan of action instituted by our crazy stalwart symbol of authority, Colter is highlighted by his belief that there were survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima. However, it is apparent that he is aware of the implications of a nuclear strike, that there would be no hope for anyone who is “within 200 miles of ground zero” and that instead of “an old-fashioned atomic bomb” it is more likely that a hydrogen warhead would be employed. “In that case it's over: no truck, no mountain, no nothing.”
Failing any further rational argument or accurate information, Coulter can only appeal to his sense of duty and position of authority. He states bluntly that, “as long as I wear this badge it's my duty to protect the lives of the citizens.” He could have sent them to a reception area but he didn’t even give them that choice as he believed they would not have made it. In his mind, it is all up to him, that they must depend on him and by golly he’s going to do his duty even if it kills everyone. He doesn't exactly instill a lot confidence, does he? We’re just waiting for his left eye to start twitching and for the little metal balls to appear in his right hand.
A time of extreme crisis and stress can also result in an upending of social mores and norms along with our sense of morality and ethics, especially if they are seen to serve no useful purpose. For instance, Al and Karen can only think of being together with time running out and don’t give a damn who knows including Karen’s husband, Sam.
The last binding link and tenuous hold Sam had with his wife is symbolically broken when Coulter directs the group to get in the vehicles and follow him to another spot, a “quarter of a mile up the road.” Sam tries to take Karen by the arm and have her accompany him as is his custom, but Karen stops short, looks at him disdainfully and breaks away to join Al as a passenger on the road to some kind of hope where for however long remains to them she’ll be appreciated for who she is. She even went to the trouble of pointedly taking the little pooch with her! Having less value to his wife than a little mutt, very ounce of self-respect and self-worth has been drained from Sam who has to face the end of his ordered and conventional world without even hope to sustain him. Depending on one’s point of view, Sam’s final act will be one of cowardice, of desperation borne of a lack of hope, or his one and only act of courage.
The lunacy of Colter’s plan is apparent when it is suggested that mud will have to be placed on the vent screens of the truck to help prevent too much radiation being admitted. However, there’s the small matter of the necessity of being able to breathe!
Added to this is the almost certain fact that “on ground zero everything from miles around will be burnt beyond recognition.” And how has the group’s dilemma and having to go “through all these survival motions” come about in the face of this crisis? As Peter points out, “because Mr Laws ordered us too.”
1320 Repeat,1320.
Missile! Missile!
Condition red! Condition
red!
Missile! Missile!
The lunacy of Colter’s plan is apparent when it is suggested that mud will have to be placed on the vent screens of the truck to help prevent too much radiation being admitted. However, there’s the small matter of the necessity of being able to breathe!
Added to this is the almost certain fact that “on ground zero everything from miles around will be burnt beyond recognition.” And how has the group’s dilemma and having to go “through all these survival motions” come about in the face of this crisis? As Peter points out, “because Mr Laws ordered us too.”
Their predicament stands as a microcosm and a consequence of the larger forces at work in the world whereby people place their trust or are forced to trust and obey those in positions of power and authority who are concerned with exercising their power over others and often prove to be corrupt and incompetent.
Coulter’s deranged mind is obsessed with other matters and his intent gaze in the direction of Timmy is beginning to make the little dog decidedly nervous. To Colter’s way of thinking the “dog's gotta go” as they’ll “need every bit of air to breathe.” This despite the fact that they have already lost several members of their group. In a savage act of cruelty, Colter kills the little dog. This begs the question as to what would happen if they all were in the truck and no-one had left or had died? Would Colter have summarily executed someone if their air supply was insufficient?
In a somewhat Trumpian mode of thinking, Colter is convinced that his act of stupid cruelty will cause the others to see him as a savior and that they’ll be thanking him that they don’t have that extra pair of lungs when they’re laying there gasping for breath.
Speaking of cruelty to animals, there’s a rather disturbing scene involving our crazy friend Clint Delaney, who has by now retrieved his suitcase, his ‘precious’ and is feverishly trying to find a car to start but to no avail as he can’t find any car keys. Suddenly, he runs amok and grabs hold of crates containing live chickens from the back of grandpa’s truck and hurls them about. The hapless chooks are flung about hither and thither by Clint who finally collapses defeated amid the petrified poultry. Try doing something like that in a film these days and you’ll have the animal welfare organizations descending upon you like the Valkyries!
Finally, an act of desperate defiance by the scantily clad Cheryl leads to the door of the truck being flung open to an unexpected meeting of two equally deranged and insane worlds: the world inside the truck and the outside world.
Coulter’s group stand face-to-face with a handful of men, “the first out from the city” from whom they learn “there ain't no city no more” as “everybody there's going nuts” and where there “ain't no law” and “it's everybody for himself.”
Their presence has a definite sinister air about it and Colter’s declaration of himself being the local authority seems absurd. Even though the new-comers say they only want gas “about 10 gallons to get on the other side of the mountains,” it is obvious that they’ll do anything at all to get what they want.
Despite the men’s demeanor and suspect intentions, an offer is made for them to join the original group in truck. This act of humanity and compassion is abruptly put to the test with the next final message over the police car radio….
Suddenly all pandemonium breaks loose with Colter being jumped for the car keys, his patrol car taken along with Karen being carried off by the outsiders.
Colter now finds himself locked out of the truck and catches sight of Clint who has come on to the scene and has presumably witnessed what has gone on. Colter now says to the man he had earlier wanted to shoot, “don't run! Come on Clint, get in the truck. You can't get away Come on, get in the truck!”
Clint stares in utter confusion and bewilderment at Colter as the deputy sheriff seems to utterly lose it in his desperation to gain entry into the locked truck – his oasis of law and order. It is as if there is a confusion as to who or what exactly is crazy – Clint, Colter and the world he created within he truck shelter or the entire world for having let such things come to pass?
The answer comes in the blinding white flash of the nuclear blast at end…….
This was not a test….but in so many other ways it was!
Early in the film, Sam wonders out loud that maybe "CONELRAD knows what's going on," and some of the group rush over to their cars to tune in their radios. Al mentions tuning into “640." During the Cold War period, specifically between 1951 and 1963, CONELRAD (Control of Electromagnetic Radiation) served as an emergency broadcast system set up to inform American citizens in the event of enemy attack. If such an event took place, all US television and FM radio stations were required to stop broadcasting. Most AM medium-wave Broadcast stations would shut down while the stations that stayed on the air would transmit emergency information at either AM 640 or AM 1240. In 1963, CONELRAD was replaced by EBS (Emergency Broadcast System), and in 1997, EBS was replaced by EAS (Emergency Alert System).
The excellent emergency broadcast mock-up video at the start of this post is included to provide a realistic context for the events in the film. I came across it quite by accident. It is well worth listening to the full version by following the link provided.
1962, the year in which the film was made saw the Cuban Missile Crisis. A case of fiction almost meeting reality in which the world came close to a nuclear confrontation between the US and USSR. It is hard for modern audiences to appreciate what it must have been like to experience air raid drills, "duck and cover" exercises and advertisements for home fallout shelters, all designed to assure a nervous citizenry that they could actually survive a nuclear missile strike.
This low budget film gives us an excellent insight into the kind of fear and terror of a nuclear war that many people at the time felt and forms the framework of the story in which everyday people find that their lives have been overtaken by events they cannot control. The important point is how each of the characters choose to react in the face of such events and their inevitable fate or destiny. Even more to the point is how would we react?
Attention! Attention!
All medical personnel, proceed to shelter immediately.
Missile! Missile!
Missile’s time of arrival, approximately five…..”
Peter, Juney and her grandfather decide to take off rather than enter the truck. It almost begs the question as to why they and the others didn’t take off earlier as there had been many opportunities to? Colter couldn’t have rounded them all up or shot them all for trying to abscond. Even more puzzling is the fact that Gramps suddenly remembers that there’s a cave or abandoned mine nearby where shelter could be obtained deep inside the mountain. He thinks of this now! Well, the script writers must have thought it a good idea to slip it in at this point.
Anyway, Gramps obviously decided that he’s lived enough of life and would prefer to look whatever is coming in the eye. He thinks that if there’s any hope for the future, it lies with young people like his granddaughter and Peter if they manage to survive the cataclysm deep in the abandoned mine.
“Seattle, come in. Come in Seattle. Seattle come in.
WRLRP calling WMQR San Francisco.
Come in Tom, do you read me?”
It seems as if the world beyond the little flimsy makeshift highway shelter has gone to hell in a hand-basket. It also seems as if the world within the truck is beginning to stew in a hell of its own. Even Joe loses his cool and tells Cheryl to just shut up as she’s flapping her jaws incessantly due to her fear.
Even Colter is looking quite forlorn by now with little active bossing around to do. But wait a second! Is that Al contemplating lighting up a cigarette? The twisted circuits in Colter’s brain start firing up again and he issues another edict: “You can't smoke in here!” Yes, for a second he has purpose in his life once again!
Purpose borne of idiocy - just like Colter’s entire plan based on a belief of being able to withstand a nuclear strike and possibly survive for two weeks in a flimsy truck with the air vents clogged with mud and having to endure heat and claustrophobic conditions while being surrounded by massive amounts of radiation.
Meanwhile, Cheryl’s all hot and sweaty and asks if anybody would mind if she strips off some of her clothing. None of the males in the truck or the audience I’m sure would mind a bit. Take off as much as you like! It could be a long couple of weeks in that truck after all.
Coulter’s deranged mind is obsessed with other matters and his intent gaze in the direction of Timmy is beginning to make the little dog decidedly nervous. To Colter’s way of thinking the “dog's gotta go” as they’ll “need every bit of air to breathe.” This despite the fact that they have already lost several members of their group. In a savage act of cruelty, Colter kills the little dog. This begs the question as to what would happen if they all were in the truck and no-one had left or had died? Would Colter have summarily executed someone if their air supply was insufficient?
In a somewhat Trumpian mode of thinking, Colter is convinced that his act of stupid cruelty will cause the others to see him as a savior and that they’ll be thanking him that they don’t have that extra pair of lungs when they’re laying there gasping for breath.
Speaking of cruelty to animals, there’s a rather disturbing scene involving our crazy friend Clint Delaney, who has by now retrieved his suitcase, his ‘precious’ and is feverishly trying to find a car to start but to no avail as he can’t find any car keys. Suddenly, he runs amok and grabs hold of crates containing live chickens from the back of grandpa’s truck and hurls them about. The hapless chooks are flung about hither and thither by Clint who finally collapses defeated amid the petrified poultry. Try doing something like that in a film these days and you’ll have the animal welfare organizations descending upon you like the Valkyries!
Finally, an act of desperate defiance by the scantily clad Cheryl leads to the door of the truck being flung open to an unexpected meeting of two equally deranged and insane worlds: the world inside the truck and the outside world.
Coulter’s group stand face-to-face with a handful of men, “the first out from the city” from whom they learn “there ain't no city no more” as “everybody there's going nuts” and where there “ain't no law” and “it's everybody for himself.”
Their presence has a definite sinister air about it and Colter’s declaration of himself being the local authority seems absurd. Even though the new-comers say they only want gas “about 10 gallons to get on the other side of the mountains,” it is obvious that they’ll do anything at all to get what they want.
Despite the men’s demeanor and suspect intentions, an offer is made for them to join the original group in truck. This act of humanity and compassion is abruptly put to the test with the next final message over the police car radio….
All units. All units.
Take shelter. Take shelter.
Missiles coming in!
Missiles three minutes away!
Missiles…...”
Suddenly all pandemonium breaks loose with Colter being jumped for the car keys, his patrol car taken along with Karen being carried off by the outsiders.
Colter now finds himself locked out of the truck and catches sight of Clint who has come on to the scene and has presumably witnessed what has gone on. Colter now says to the man he had earlier wanted to shoot, “don't run! Come on Clint, get in the truck. You can't get away Come on, get in the truck!”
Clint stares in utter confusion and bewilderment at Colter as the deputy sheriff seems to utterly lose it in his desperation to gain entry into the locked truck – his oasis of law and order. It is as if there is a confusion as to who or what exactly is crazy – Clint, Colter and the world he created within he truck shelter or the entire world for having let such things come to pass?
This was not a test….but in so many other ways it was!
Points of Interest
The excellent emergency broadcast mock-up video at the start of this post is included to provide a realistic context for the events in the film. I came across it quite by accident. It is well worth listening to the full version by following the link provided.
1962, the year in which the film was made saw the Cuban Missile Crisis. A case of fiction almost meeting reality in which the world came close to a nuclear confrontation between the US and USSR. It is hard for modern audiences to appreciate what it must have been like to experience air raid drills, "duck and cover" exercises and advertisements for home fallout shelters, all designed to assure a nervous citizenry that they could actually survive a nuclear missile strike.
This low budget film gives us an excellent insight into the kind of fear and terror of a nuclear war that many people at the time felt and forms the framework of the story in which everyday people find that their lives have been overtaken by events they cannot control. The important point is how each of the characters choose to react in the face of such events and their inevitable fate or destiny. Even more to the point is how would we react?
Full Movie Colourized
Downloads (Audio Description Only From “Movies For The Blind”)
No comments:
Post a Comment