''The House in the Middle'' is the title of two American
documentary film shorts (13 minutes), respectively from 1953 and 1954, which showed the effects of a nuclear bomb test on a set of three small houses. The black-and-white 1953 film was created by the
Federal Civil Defense Administration
The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) was organized by President Harry S. Truman on December 1, 1950, through Executive Order 10186, and became an official government agency via the Federal Civil Defense Act of 1950 on 12 January 19 ...
to attempt to show that a clean, freshly painted house (the middle house) is more likely to survive a nuclear attack than its poorly maintained counterparts (the right and left houses). A color version was released the next year by the
American Coatings Association
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, a "bureau" invented by the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association trade group (now known as the American Coatings Association).
In 2001, the
Library of Congress deemed the 1954 film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the
National Film Registry.
Footage for the film was recorded during the
Upshot-Knothole Encore test at the
Nevada Test Site on May 8, 1953.
Cast
See also
* ''
Fallout Protection''
*
''The Bomb''
References
External links
*
*
*
* ''The House in the Middle'' essay by Kelly Chisholm on the
National Film Registry web sit
* ''The House in the Middle'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 483-484
America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry*
Internet Archive copy of the 1954 film
Library of Congress copy of the 1953 filmLibrary of Congress copy of the 1954 film
1953 films
1954 films
American documentary films
United States National Film Registry films
Documentary films about nuclear war and weapons
Documentary films about the Cold War
American social guidance and drug education films
Sponsored films
1953 documentary films
1954 documentary films
1950s American films
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