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Red Nightmare (1962)

Director: George Waggner

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Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

This slice of Hollywood paranoia, never actually released, dates from the Red Scare period following the Cuban missile crisis, and was 'personally supervised' by Jack L Warner for the Department of Defence, to remind every American not taking sufficient interest in their local PTA that 'responsibilities are a privilege'. With an omnipresent Jack Webb acting as thought-control personified, the film hilariously scuttles its own thesis all the way down the line. The uniformed Reds who actually turn up in some poor Mid-Town Joe's dream not only take over his community, but turn his family into automatons, march his daughter off to work farm, close the Sunday School, up his piecework quota, and - final straw - claim to have invented the telephone! Tantrums inevitably lead to a show trial and a quick bullet. Awakening, on the other hand, brings everyday American sweetness and light - and just as inevitably, another cautionary lecture from Webb. Hysterical, indeed.

Author: PT 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

  • Bill said...
    Posted on Jul 06 2007 23:17 a past relevance to a reality check of even today for the masses in terms attribution error. it is a twilight zone reality check reminds me of joseph mccarthy i like the fact that warner brothers worked with the department of defence on that reality check but it is even a psychologic thriller in a 30 min time limit it was interesting because it shows exemplifies freedom safely
    Bill, st.cloud state university student
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Cast & crew

Director: George Waggner

Producer: William L Hendricks, Jack Webb

Cast: Jack Webb, Jack Kelly, Jeanne Cooper, Peter Breck, Robert Conrad

Genre(s): Thrillers

Duration: 29 mins


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