This famous Civil Defense film has Bert the Turtle showing children what
to do in case of atomic attack.
The film starts with an animated sequence, showing an anthropomorphic
turtle walking down the road. A chorus sings the Duck and Cover theme:
There was a turtle by the name of Bert
and Bert the turtle was very alert;
when danger threatened him he never got hurt
he knew just what to do...
He ducked! [inhalation sound]
And covered!
Ducked! [inhalation sound]
And covered!
While this goes on, Bert is attacked by a monkey holding a string from
which hangs a lighted firecracker. Bert ducks into his shell in the nick
of time, as the firecracker goes off and blows up both the monkey and
the tree he is sitting in. Bert, however, is shown perfectly safe, because
he has ducked and covered.
The film, which is about 10 minutes long, then switches to
live footage, as a narrator explains what children should
do "when you see the flash" of an atomic bomb. The movie goes
on to suggest that by ducking down low in the event of a nuclear
explosion, the children would be safer than they would be
standing, and explains some basic survival tactics for nuclear
war. Not as good as a fallout shelter but the powers that
be figured any positive steps are good steps.
Producer: Archer Productions, Inc.
Audio/Visual: Sound, Black & White
Run time: 9:15
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