Red Nightmare (1962)

Red Nightmare (1962) *** (out of 4)Jerry (Jack Kelly) is the proud father of three and has a loving wife but he wants to let up on his PTA and union responsibilities. He then gets a chance to see why all Americas should stay focused as he has a nightmare about being control ed by Communists.George Waggner (THE WOLF MAN, HORROR ISLAND) directed this twenty- eight minute short that tries to scare Americans into making sure they understand the horrors that would face them if they were under Communist control. The film plays out like an episode of The Twilight Zone and it's actually a lot more entertaining than most propaganda films.This one works well because Kelly gives such a good performance in the lead. I thought he sold his role quite nicely and there was some nice narration by Jack Webb who also hosts this. Another thing that works is that the material is quite over-dramatic but the director manages to sell it without it coming off as being too silly. RED NIGHTMARE isn't a masterpiece or even a very good movie but it's an interesting piece of history at at time when these type of fears were quite strong.

This Department of Defense sponsored inanity was done better 20 years earlier by Disney in his cartoon about the little boy living in Naziland. By 1962, it was completely redundant to preach to the American people how nasty it must be to live under a Communist dictatorship. There were recent examples of the suppressions of the uprisings in Poland and Hungary, first person testimonies by refugees and articles by the 100s in the popular magazines. Castro's mass executions of his opponents were even more recent. It would have been terrible if all those well off, white Christians in the movie had to surrender their way of life. No s**t, Dick Tracy.I understand there have been cuts to the original release, and the 28 minute version I saw was not complete. Nowhere in that version is there any clue about what Communism is, besides nasty, and how it could possibly take over the US. Not necessary. Superimpose this lesson over the barrage of propaganda films that preceded it that gave valuable clues on how to recognize a Communist, and you have contributed to a mood of hysteria. How to recognize a Communist: does he read Pravda on the subway? Does he speak against our government? Does he not wear a flag lapel pin (no, no, that was later)? is he an atheist (Jew is close enough)? Does he stir up discontent by advocating better treatment for blacks? Does he think signing loyalty oaths is silly? Maybe there's nothing you and I can do to stop an ICBM, but we sure can stop the subversive worms from destroying us from within. Red Nightmare is just the coach's halftime locker room speech to keep the team fired up against people who call each other comrade and talk about commissars and the proletariat.

Red Nightmare (1962) was a government promo film produced by narrator Jack Webb. It was made to scare the populous and to encourage young men to join the fight against terrorism. Today this movie is nothing more than a reminder about how scared the government actually was of the "reds" and their ideology. The short plays out like a badly written and acted version of a Twilight Zone episode. The acting ranges from hammy to wooden at times. It pretty silly at times and if you're in the mood a great watch.What's even scarier is if you ever get a chance to watch this propaganda piece, just place the word terrorists instead of communists. In some ways this movie can still be used and made today (with some obvious tweaking of course). A sad reminder of what times we lived in during the red scare days of the early 50's to late 60's (but the "threat" never faded away until the late 80's). Oh well, it's a fun watch for those who like to "relive the days of yesteryear!"Recommend for historical purposes.

I got this expecting a camp riot. What I found was a fairly standard propaganda piece, a bit confused at times but generally aware of itself enough to stay "on message" as the phrase goes these days. Jack Webb, though obviously rightist, was too knowledgeable and talented to let things get completely out of control. As a result, the film isn't as funny as originally billed; it really provokes no strong response in me at all. Ho-hum.