Placed far enough away to still remain standing after the explosion,
the interiors and exteriors of three homes were exposed to a nuclear bomb blast in this
short film "The House in the Middle." The movie was released in 1953 by the Federal
Civil Defense Administration as a six-minute black and white cut. A second edit, in color,
was released in 1954 by the National Clean Up – Paint Up– Fix Up Bureau,
created solely for this purpose by the . Recorded during the Upshot-Knothole Encore test on May 8,
1953, at the Nevada Test Site, it may be one of the most extreme product placements ever produced.
Fresh Paint The main idea,
according to the presenter and narrator of the film, was to see, [QUOTE] "What would happen
to such a town if it were on the outer fringe of an attack directed at a nearby city…" which
refers to the average American suburban town. The fear and panic created by the Nuclear Era
launched many unusual opportunities for the economy, allowing companies to profit on both
accurate and falsely advertised defense options equally. Civil defense was targeted by corporate
and industrial interests that sought to present their products as public service goods linked
to safety in advertisements. One such marketing scheme was implemented by the made-up "National
Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau" when it partnered with the Federal Civil Defense Administration to
publish The House in the Middle microfilm. Its primary intent was to show consumers that using
a fresh coat of paint and lacquer could prevent fires or destruction from a nuclear blast.
The film could have had a considerable effect on the purchasing and cleaning habits of suburban
Americans, as the partnership with a federal agency gave its content legitimacy. The recorded
tests were part of Operation Doorstep, a project involving civil defense tested theories on March
17, during the Operation Upshot-Knothole, which saw eleven nuclear shots fired at the Nevada
Test Site. The particular explosion used for The House in the Middle was called the "Encore Effects
Test," which saw multiple objects being placed at differing distances from the blast. These
included trees, mannequins, cars, and houses. As the test site was located in the desert,
all test objects had to be transported to the location. The operation included 145 trees
taken from a nearby canyon by the United States Forest Service, which were subsequently cemented
into the ground 6,500-feet away from ground zero. The Encore nuclear device was an Mk-6D, developed
as a successor of the Fat Man dropped over Nagasaki. It was dropped at 8:30 a.m. from 19,000
feet by a B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber that accidentally placed the weapon 15-feet west
and 937-feet south of the intended target, which may have lessened the expected effects. On the
other hand, the Encore explosion had a yield of 37 kilotons despite the intended 30 to 36 kilotons.
The blast and thermal conditions were evaluated on wooden frame houses, but not on high-density
housing complexes such as apartments - as the intended audience was suburban Americans. The
tests suggested that untreated, unpainted, and unkempt homes and fences burned faster and more
completely than the better-kept spaces. The Suburban Threat
The film begins with a narrator sharing that the experiments to follow may put in evidence
that unkempt properties are not only ugly to look at, but a safety hazard, mainly as they
allegedly increase the likelihood of a fire starting after a nuclear weapon is detonated
in the distance. The film warns of the dangers that supposedly threaten Suburban America in its
fight for survival, which are: [QUOTE] "dead grass, old leaves, and discarded newspapers."
Five fences are presented to the viewer. The three towards the center have a net tied to the bottom,
tangling supposed ordinary unintentional kindling such as paper. After the explosion,
the three middle fences, in a state of more significant decay, catch on fire immediately. The
fences on the outer corners, however, - allegedly with fresh coats of paint - take longer to burn
and are not even shown burning completely. It is unknown whether any of the fences or the
kindling were coated in flammable substances. The second test oversees two room-sized houses
with identical exteriors. The inside of the one to the left is clean, while the one to the right is
only slightly disorganized. The explosion almost obliterates the roofs completely,
and then, as the narrator states: [QUOTE] "The cluttered room of the house on the right
bursts into flames!". At the same time, the house on the left shows no sign of burning.
The narrator continues to say, [QUOTE] "The house on the right burns as fiercely as if it had been
deliberately fired with kindling." Hinting to the modern viewer that perhaps that is the
case. Finally, the experiment that named the film comes in at the end. The third test shows three
more single-room houses at the test site. The interiors are not given any consideration this
time. The home on the right features a clothesline from the house to the fence, unpainted wood,
dry grass, and newspapers in the yard. The one on the left has no additional kindling. Still,
the wood is unpainted and dry, allegedly mirroring the effect of years of neglect. The one in the
middle has a clean yard, and fresh white paint to protect it from the weather and moisture.
After the blast, the house on the right starts burning from the yard to the structure. By the
time the explosion is over, only the house in the middle is unburnt. The narrator ominously asks,
[QUOTE] "Which of these is your house?" Better Housekeeping
The scientific experiment and covert advertisement end with the narrator
telling viewers that neighborhoods across the entire United States were organizing events to
clean up and fix up properties, with children collecting trash and adults applying paint jobs
or protective coats to wood. The film makes no comment concerning radiation, physical harm
caused by being somewhat near to the site of a nuclear attack, such as affected wind speed,
air pressure, heat, and radiative fallout. Since those matters are ignored, the Office of Civil
Defense declared the film obsolete by 1965 when the department moved to promote fallout shelters.
Regardless, the film was added to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress in 2001,
ensuring its preservation for its cultural significance. The pressing concerns of the
1950s permeate the film. Aside from worrying about a nuclear attack, the sensibilities of
the population at the time seemingly dictate the content. In the end, a choice is laid before the
people: [QUOTE] "The dingy house on the left. The dirty and littered house on the right. Or
the clean, white house in the middle. It is your choice. The reward may be survival."