The Atomic Cafe

Providing the perfect overview for our Atomic City programme is this classic collage film which emerged at the height of the 'Second Cold War' and revisited US newsreels and public information films from the early days of nuclear power.

Drawing on over 10,000 hours of archival material, the filmmakers paint a blackly comic portrait of atomic jingoism with street parades, Pacific tests and Duck and Cover drills - all soundtracked by a cocktail of 50s atomic pop. Without resorting to voiceover, through deft editing Loader and the Rafferty brothers turned pro-nuclear propaganda into a powerful tool for the growing disarmament movement.