Bell Telephone Company
The Royal Canadian Air Force
1959
Two factors in preventing a minor problem from turning into a major
catastrophe are adequate warning and quick and effective reactions. This
is the message The Bell Telephone Company presents in Seconds for Survival, a
1959 production designed to highlight Bell's contribution to America's civil
and national defense networks. Hosted by Raymond Massey, a prolific actor
perhaps best known for his role on television's Dr. Kildare, the film begins by
demonstrating how quickly small difficulties like a rough ocean or a carelessly
tossed cigarette can swiftly evolve into calamities like a hurricane or house
fire. As Massey explains, with forewarning (hurricane flags raised in
harbors) and a timely response (the fire department) disaster can be
averted. Massey further asserts that Bell Telephone is providing America
with both a warning and a response to the problems of the Nuclear Age.
The warning comes in the form of the massive radar stations erected at
strategic points across the Arctic and Canada which utilize Bell
technologies. The response can be found in Bell's development of surface
to air missiles.
When the United States began
experimenting with guided missiles after the Second World War, the laboratory
division of Bell Telephone became the principal contractor to develop such
technology. Dubbed the Nike Project after the Greek winged goddess, Bell
first produced the Nike Ajax and the Nike Hercules, small missiles designed to
destroy enemy bombers before they could reach their targets. Beginning in
the early 1950's, Nike missile bases were established in protective rings
around large cities and military installations. By the latter half of the
decade, however, the threat to American cities lay less with hostile aircraft,
and more with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMS). To address the
rapidly advancing threat of Soviet ICBM potential, Bell Labs commenced work on
the Nike Zeus, a larger, faster guided missile.
Because it was still in the development stages by 1959, Seconds for Survival
offers a hypothetical demonstration of the Zeus' capabilities. Forewarned
of approaching missiles by Bell's extensive radar system, military personnel
track and destroy each one while civil defense officials usher panicked
citizens into underground shelters. In the film, the missiles are
destroyed and crisis is averted. In reality, many questions remained
about the efficacy of the Nike Zeus. Even after testing showed a
relatively high success rate in stopping missiles in flight, the mounting cost
of each Zeus unit eventually led to the project's demise. In 1963,
Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara permanently suspended its
development, arguing the defensive projectiles were more expensive than the ICBM's they were meant to stop. For the previous two years, Nike Ajax bases across the
country had been gradually decommissioned as well. Not long after,
Seconds for Survival was also declared obsolete. Claiming the subject
matter was no longer valid to due ever changing threats and advances in
weaponry, by 1965 the Office of Civil of Defense suggested screenings of
the film be halted.