Red Nightmare (1962)

A man who has taken his freedom for granted wakes up one morning to find out that the Communists have taken over America.

Director:

George Waggner

Writer:

Vincent Fotre

Stars:

Jack Kelly, Jeanne Cooper, Peter Brown

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jack Kelly	...	Jerry Donavan
Jeanne Cooper	...	Helen Donavan
Peter Brown	...	Bill Martin
Pat Woodell	...	Linda Donavan (as Patricia Woodell)
Andrew Duggan	...	Judge
Peter Breck	...	Russian Officer
Robert Conrad	...	Pete
Mike Road	...	Prosecutor
Jack Webb	...	On-Camera Narrator

Storyline

A man who has taken his freedom for granted wakes up one morning to find out that the Communists have taken over America.

---

Plot Keywords:

dream | cold war | ephemeral film | propaganda | cult film | 

---

Genres:

Drama | Short

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 December 2009 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Freedom and You

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, U.S. Department of Defense, Information and Education Division

Technical Specs

Runtime:

29 min 60 min (video compilation)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Lifestyles U.S.A. Vol. 12 (2002)

User Reviews

Funny, but sad at the same time . . .

This film succeeds, and fails, on several levels. It doesn't succeed as a camp classic, like "Plan 9 From Outer Space," as it's too well made for that. It doesn't succeed as a straightforward piece warning of the dangers of Communism, as it's too simplistic and one-sided for that. What it does succeed at is as an insight into the mind of the hysterical right wing that dominated U.S. public life at the time--and still does today, in fact. This is the kind of film from "the good old days" that the Bush/Cheney/Ashcroft crowd yearns for: We're right, they're wrong. We're good, they're evil. We're anointed by God, they're sadistic, atheistic monsters. The main thrust of the film, though, isn't the usual "those godless Russky Commies are out to get us" paranoia. Its message is more insidious than that: the REAL danger is from INSIDE America, not outside, from the collaborators, the "America-hating liberals" who are chomping at the bit to do the Commies' bidding in their misguided efforts to "improve" American life (which, as the film implies, we all know is perfect anyway, and since perfection can't be improved upon, these people have to have something else in mind . . .). So we have to be watchful, we have to keep an eye out for people who might be dangerous, who don't act or think like good Americans do, who don't like our values, who want to harm us. We have to watch out for these people, and report them to the authorities, so we can safeguard our way of life, and . . .

Some things never change, do they?