This Is Not a Test (1962)

A highway patrolman stops motorists on a highway after he hears news reports of a possible nuclear attack.

Director:

Fredric Gadette

Writers:

Peter Abenheim (screenplay), Betty Laskey (screenplay),

Stars:

Seamon Glass, Thayer Roberts, Aubrey Martin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Seamon Glass	...	Deputy Sheriff Dan Colter
Thayer Roberts	...	Jacob Elliot Saunders
Aubrey Martin	...	Juney
Mary Morlas	...	Cheryl Hudson
Michael Greene	...	Joe Baragi (as Mike Green)
Alan Austin	...	Al Weston
Carol Kent	...	Karen Barnes
Norman Winston	...	Sam Barnes
Ron Starr	...	Clint Delany
Don Spruance	...	Peter
James George Jr.	...	Looter
Norman Bishop	...	Looter (as Norm Bishop)
Ralph Manza	...	Looter
Jay Della	...	Looter
William Flaherty	...	Looter

Storyline

Late one night on a rural road in the western US, a policeman sets up a roadblock and begins stopping all traffic. When several cars and a big truck have stopped, he tells everyone why: a nuclear attack on the US appears to be underway, and since they have the truck there, their best chance at survival is to use it as a bomb shelter. Time is short and tensions in the small group quickly rise.

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Plot Keywords:

highway | roadblock | end of the world | public domain | deputy sheriff | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Company Credits

Production Co:

GPA Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

73 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film debut of actor Michael Greene, never released theatrically.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Deputy Sheriff Dan Colter: This is Colter. Give me a time check, please.

User Reviews

Atomic-age film noir.

People who are expecting a science-fiction plot will be much disappointed by this B&W suspense film, set entirely at a highway roadblock at night. The plot elements of a hard-boiled detective story (escaped murderer, faithless alcoholic wife trolling for danger) are fitted into the nuclear holocaust environment typical of the late 1950s and early 1960s America. The success of the Soviet Union's Sputnik in 1957 and the perceived threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 form the framework of a story of little people whose lives are overtaken by events they cannot control. "Thirteen Days" (2000) would be a suitable "A" film to this low-budget "B" film in order to supply the background of tension missing to the contemporary viewer who comes upon this film with no forewarning.