Movie Review: Lady Bug Lady Bug (1963)
Synopsis: When an alarm rings at a secluded smalltown elementary school, signaling an impending nuclear attack, the staff members are unable to determine if it is real and the principal, Mr. Calkins, decides to follow procedure and have the teachers take the kids home to be with their families. The uncertainty about what is about to happen takes a toll on both the children and the adults as they realize they may not see tomorrow.
Who's in it? The movie stars Jane Connell, William Daniels, Kathryn Hays, Jane Hoffman and Nancy Marchand.
Review: I came across Lady Bug Lady Bug a few days ago and thought the description sounded interesting enough to add it to my movie library. I don't say this about a lot of movies, but after watching it this morning, I might possibly be scarred for life.
I grew up during the tail-end of the Cold War and while there was always that fear of a nuclear holocaust and there were even still well-marked fallout shelters in some public buildings, my generation didn't need to practice nuclear drills as kids. As a result, I knew about them but never fully understand just how intense and traumatic they could be until seeing this movie.
The thing that got me most was the overall sense of doom throughout. There were plenty of signs the alarm was a false one. The kids' parents were still at work or shopping and there wasn't anything on the radio. Yet, at the same time, it just felt like the world was coming to an end, even when there were brief moments of hope, like Mr. Calkins (Daniels) being told the alarm was purely a mechanical problem. It raised the question (at least in my head), would authorities want people to know they were about to die?
The acting in this movie, especially from the children, really brought the plot home, whether it was a group of kids arguing over who was in charge inside a fallout shelter or a little girl cowering under her bed with her pet goldfish (the latter was so emotional, I actually teared up a bit). The movie also leaves a lot of uncertainty about the fate of some children who weren't lucky enough to have access to a bomb shelter.
Of course, the thing that is going to stick with me most (other than that poor girl under the bed) is the ending, which leaves things up in the air while suggesting the worst. It was chilling and, frankly, not the way I had intended to start my morning when I watched this.
Final Opinion: This is a great thriller that, at minimum, gives a good insight into just how traumatic the height of the Cold War might have been to the Baby Boomer generation. It certainly made me hope we never reach that point again.
My Grade: A
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