Horst in Translation ([email protected]) "The House in the Middle" is an American 12-minute documentary short that shows us how effective housing in terms of cleanliness can help you in being prepared the best way possible in case America gets hit by a nuclear attack as back in 1954 2 World wars happened in the last 40 years, the Cold War was an imminent danger and after all it happened to Japan, so better be safe than sorry. A bit of a pity we don't have any names attached to this project, but the production company National Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau says perfectly how seriously you can take this bizarre little presentation. To me it felt like another adaptation of the Three Pigs vs. Big Bad Wolf story than a really politically motivated insightful work, but I never had the impression this was really an interesting, memorable or at least entertaining work. No clue why the National Film Registry decided to pick it up as really it cannot just be the political references about life in the 1950s. Don't watch.

utgard14 Unintentionally funny short put out by the National Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau (yes, really) and the Civil Defense Administration. The gist of it is that you should keep your house clean and tidy with a fresh coat of paint because if there's a nuclear war your house will survive it. You'll be atomized but your house will still be standing. Small consolation to most people. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt that the intention here was earnest and it wasn't just a scare tactic to get people to properly maintain their homes so suburban property values stay high. But it's really hard to buy what they're selling. If I'm going to be killed instantly by the blast or die slowly from radiation poisoning, I really don't give a squat if my house survives. Anyway, this is pretty interesting from historical and sociological perspectives, not to mention good for some laughs.

thirteenprime The "National Clean-Up Paint-Up Fix-Up Bureau" was an arm of the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association. I don't know who was the intended audience for this film (homeowners? hardware store jobbers?), but the unintended hilarity is of a piece with other Cold War atomic-survival films.The film does take pains to point out that this advice is meant for suburban homeowners who live on the "outer fringes" of a target area. There is enough truth in the advice here -- paint your house white to reflect heat, keep your grounds free of trash and clutter to prevent the spread of fire -- that the casual viewer of the 1950s might begin to think seriously about doing a little maintenance work. It was not enough to urge people to keep things neat and tidy because, well, they really should; the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association clearly felt that homeowners had to be scared into doing so. I wonder if it worked?You'll be happy to know that the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association is still around. After a merger in 2010 with a like-minded organization, it's now called the American Coatings Association. I'll bet there's a p.r. guy in the ACA keeping a close eye on the movements of the Chinese Navy.

classicsoncall Well folks, I am literally speechless. Do you think this was serious? I've seen my share of exploitation flicks from the Thirties and Forties dealing with drugs, alcohol and prostitution, but I have to say, this is a genre of film making that defies credibility. Right out of the gate I thought they were trying to pull a fast one with that business about 'The National Clean Up - Paint Up - Fix Up Bureau' but if you do a quick Google search you'll come up with a bunch of hits, although most of them lead you right back to this film short.Bottom line - a clean, white painted home with proper inside housekeeping may be the margin between life and death if an atom bomb explodes in your neighborhood. In it's short ten minute or so run time, the somber narrator practically begs you to keep your home tidy to ward off the destructive effects of an atomic heat flash. I bet you think I'm making this up, right? I was intrigued about a film I heard of called "The Atomic Cafe" that dealt with Cold War paranoia and the palpable threat of nuclear war back in the Fifties. There's a set of two DVD's put out by Docurama Films that contains that hour and a half documentary along with another eight or nine propaganda shorts including this one. This was the first one I watched on the bonus disc, and if the rest are as zany as this one, it will qualify as the find of the century. However as I sit here writing this review and check out the condition of my work area, I could be a goner when the big one hits. I should really take the advice of the guy in the film - he states emphatically that if you keep your house neat and tidy, THE REWARD MAY BE SURVIVAL. You know, I think he meant it.