When the nuclear alarm goes off in a secluded countryside grade and high school, all the children are sent home because the alarm supposedly indicates that a bomb attack is eminent within an hour of time. All through the journey home, and even long after that for certain children, it remains unclear whether the alarm is real or not. However, an atmosphere of fear and paranoia gradually builds itself up amongst them towards a nearly unbearable level. As you can derive from the obviously low-budgeted production values as well as from the obscurity status, "Ladybug, Ladybug" is a truly slow and uneventful film. Nothing really happens, and yet so many things happen simultaneously! The film is a hauntingly beautiful yet modest portrayal of a generation that had to life with the constant treat of nuclear war. The strong impact comes from the conversations held between the children. They are aware of a potentially devastating war hanging over their heads, yet they're so full of plans and dreams for the future! This is one of them films that might upset or even frustrate you slightly at first, since there's really nothing happening on the surface, but it will have a long and thought-provoking effect afterwards. This is probably also the reason why "Ladybug, Ladybug" is completely unknown out there in movie world. Nothing going on and no familiar names in the production are reasons enough for a well-intended and socially engaging film gem to instantly disappear into oblivion. Shame.
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Coventry30 November 2008
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mike-pacey18 August 2010I'd like to echo what an earlier reviewer noted: that Ladybug, Ladybug is the sort of movie that can stay with you for a very long time. The one and only time that I saw the movie was likely around 1970, when I was seven years old. I watched quite a few movies on TV when I was that age -- by myself -- and without any kind of preparation or explanation I remember being engrossed by the film.
While I remember the plot,which has already been well-described so far, it's particular images that still stick with me. Someone mentioned refrigerators, and that perhaps is the one moment in the film that terrified me the most. I remember the system of warning lights in the school, a single moment of the teacher leading the kids down a dirt road and, again, the old fridge at the end of the movie.
What is also memorable, from the perspective of a small child, is the sense of unease and dread that permeated the entire film. It also played a small role in shaping my attitudes towards war and conflict at a very early age. Is this reading too much into a childhood memory of a film? Probably, but writing my one and only IMDb entry on a film that I saw once 40 years ago is evidence of its quiet power. -
This extremely chilling and quietly powerful early 60's doomsday drama benefits substantially from Frank Perry's intelligent, understated direction, Eleanor Perry's equally smart and perceptive script, and the uniformly outstanding acting from an exceptional mostly kid cast. An alarm signifying an imminent nuclear bombing sounds off at a remote rural school. The school's principal (future "St. Elsewhere" TV series regular William Daniels in his fine film debut) has the teachers walk all the students home so they can seek shelter from the fall-out in the cellars of their parents' homes. One obnoxiously bratty and overbearing girl allows five other kids to reside in her parents' shelter, but refuses to let another girl she doesn't like in. This selfish action begets tragic consequences. The serious and starkly realistic tone vividly evokes the pervasive unease and paranoia of early 60's Cold War era America, the gradually mounting tension thankfully eschews hysterics in favor of a more organic and restrained feeling of encroaching dread, the assorted kids' reactions are totally plausible and astutely observed (the older ones instantly become aware of how awful the impending blast is while the younger tykes are blissfully ignorant of the whole crushing ordeal), and the ingenious ploy of having children face up to a situation of overwhelming gravity on their own gives the overall movie an intimate and very gut-wrenching emotional immediacy that's believable, engrossing, and ultimately quite devastating (the downbeat ending in particular packs a strong and lingering punch). Inspired by actual events, this unjustly neglected sleeper deserves to be a lot better known.
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EyeAskance18 September 2003Surely this packed a hell of a punch in its theatrical release. It remains quite penetrating today, if chiefly as a Cold War time capsule, and a fast-fading memory of a gentler, though increasingly tumultuous America in the early stages of multi-directional change.
LADYBUG, LADYBUG is a deftly machinated picture, and clearly a vest-pocket project born of much heart and personal investment(rarely are films of this type made as big boxoffice prospectives). The largely no-name cast does a spectacular job, the children especially so...they are all in top form, with a few in particular providing some of the finest juvenile dramatic performances of that decade. With a methodically weak pulse, LADYBUG imagines the anxiety and dread of a single day when the students and faculty of a public grade school are erroneously led to believe that a nuclear missile attack may be expeditiously imminent. A group of students are chaperoned home on-foot by a teacher...it's a tense walk, and all the while they do their best to keep each other calm, each straining to maintain an abstemious bravado and composure. Particular focus is placed on a girl and boy just entering puberty, and the awkward apprehension of their nascent mutual attraction...those first pangs of romantic/sexual interest in (generally) the opposite sex which are so confusing, so exciting, and so soon forgotten. The denouement is bitterly heartbreaking, and alleged to have foothold in a true-life tragedy.
Uniquely horrifying in a plaintive, almost fragile way, it enjoins in sotto-voce the eternal, immutable call for peace on Earth...a call, as yet, unheeded.
8.5/10...a film to preserve for posterity, as much for its stinging hindsight as its urgent cautionary gravity. -
widescreenguy3 July 2006we got sent home from school one day during the Cuban missile crisis.
I was very clueless about the whole missile thing and everything else at that point in my life, so I was VERY blasé about it. I cant remember what I did that day but I recollect looking back, sending all those kids home was the stooopidest thing the school officials could have done, for numerous reasons.
it exemplified the rampant unpreparedness at that time. and in a deeper sense, we as a race was unprepared for what the atomic scientists had dropped in our lap.
you have to remember to make the distinction between *based* on a true story (follows the recorded facts) and *inspired* by a true story (speculative fiction on other possible outcomes).
but this movie has enough realism and a very important message. still relevant today; the news services are talking about the north Korean press's veiled threats about nuclear attack on united states if the Americans should carry out a preemptive attack on them. and they are on the verge of testing a missile capable of carrying out the threat.
sometimes Hollywood directors and producers create outstanding drama, this is one of them. I always liked Nancy Marshand in 'Lou Grant'. -
buddyluv16 December 1998Hard to find anyone who has actually seen this movie. Doesn't deserve to be hidden away, it has a wonderful sense of unease and imminent danger as a small school receives a nuclear alert warning and while the principal tries to verify it he decides to evacuate the school. This involves the teachers walking the students back to their homes. The uncertainty remains throughout till the shattering climax. Among several movies of the period with a nuclear threat element(eg. Dr. Strangelove, Failsafe, Lord of the Flies)
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frolicstar123 October 2012I lived thru this and this film very accurately captures the paranoia of 1962. As a small child, I went thru the type of school drills shown (as well as drill at home). Too young to understand why, but old enough to understand the paranoia and fear. Movie could cause semi-ptsd from the era. I saw it as a 20-something year old and was totally amazed at the accuracy of actions/feeling. It shows schools walking students home (which we did in So Calif during that time period) and it shows just the general PARANOIA that permeated lives at the time. My folks saved rolled up newspapers with the intent of lining the hall if needed. We were to hide in the hallway, "Protected from nuclear fallout" by the rolls of newspaper. We had food etc. saved up. My folks were scared. We were scared.
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sfdphd12 August 2012I just discovered this film at my local video store. I'd never heard of it before and just happened to pick up the box. I was intrigued when I read the description. I grew up in the duck and cover era in school and would have been one of those six year olds in 1963 when this film came out so watching it brought back memories.
The film struck me as a brilliant portrayal of the emotional trauma experienced by both children and adults of that time period. I liked how it showed the various ways in which adults and children reacted to the uncertainty of the situation, with different levels of fear and anxiety, and different personality types having different responses.
The ending was shocking and unforgettable. It certainly made a statement, as we used to say. I would like to see this 1963 film play with the 1962 film La Jetee. Both films capture the angst of the era; both are unique and rarely screened films. I wish both were more well-known. -
AlsExGal11 October 2018And playing on those fears probably helped sway a presidential election the following year. But I digress.
This was kind of a mixed bag. The film starts off well, with an alarm going off in an elementary school, indicating a nuclear attack is imminent. The Principal (William Daniels) tries to get confirmation by calling the phone company (not sure why) and another school. I'd have called the cops. Also, apparently there is no radio in the school, which struck me as odd. Daniels evacuates the school. The bulk of the film involves how the school kids react as they walk home in groups. One group lock themselves in a bomb shelter, and won't allow another kid in. I expected Rod Serling to show up at this point.
Nancy Marchand and Kathryn Hays do so me good work here. Alice Playten, as one of the kids, is rather obnoxious and bossy. If a bomb had actually fallen on her, no doubt the audience would have erupted in cheers. Linda Meyer, as another of the kids, steals her scenes when she tries to convince her mother (Estelle Parsons) that the bomb is coming. Parsons basically blows her off, forcing Meyer to hide under her bed with her goldfish. This poor kid actually looked terrified throughout. In an interview, Playten (who had some stage experience prior to this film) said that the kids discussed off-camera how they would really react during an attack. According to her, some of that dialogue was put into the finished film.
The movie was filmed at an elementary school in Gradyville, PA. Frank and Eleanor Perry screened over 2000 kids before settling on thirteen, causing Frank Perry to quip "I never knew so many kinds were out of work."
Probably worth a look, if only to relive a time when there were drills in school and we did useless things like close blinds, hide under our desks, and cover our necks as if any of that would have protected us when the blast came. -
N.L.7 June 2000I saw this movie once in a little movie theater in Minneapolis in 1964 when I was ten years old, and to this day it haunts me!
The sense of imminent doom, the "Lord of the Flies"-esque cruelties that erupt amongst the schoolchildren, the steadily-building panic... I will never ever look at an abandoned refrigerator -- or see a plane start to cross the sky -- and not think of the heart-breaking climax of this movie! -
moonspinner559 July 2017When an air raid alarm goes off at an elementary school in a rural town, signifying nuclear warheads have been launched at the US, the ladies in administration and the principal believe it must be a malfunction with the alarm system. Still, they get the kids out of their classes and individual teachers walk groups of them home, everyone filled with questions and personal terrors. A few of the children are pragmatic about a possible strike, others become hysterical, some are even wistful--even in the midst of panic--while the grown-ups reassure themselves (and each other) that it's all a mistake. Intriguing, observant film from director Frank Perry (who also produced) and his screenwriter wife, Eleanor Perry, working from Lois Dickert's story. The Perry's, having had a sleeper hit with "David and Lisa" the previous year, were probably hoping lightning would strike twice, and that the controversial nature of the film would generate strong word-of-mouth. However, "Ladybug Ladybug" didn't catch on with the public, who might have been put off by the depiction of school-age children enacting the stereotypes usually associated with adults in crisis dramas (the leader who enforces the rules and doles out the food rations, the boy who challenges her, the distraught girl who pounds on the door and is refused entry, etc.). The acting is a bit uneven (predictable with so many age groups), however there are several young people in the cast who do exceptional work. Their parents are shown to be the juvenile ones--fussy and overworked, they can't even make time in their schedules for the end of the world. **1/2 from ****
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woodfrtillson14 April 2002The story happens at the time of the cold war when nuclear bombs and threats of a world war are on everyone's mind. The alarm goes off at the grade and high schools in a small rural community. This alarm means that a nuclear attack is eminent in the next hour. The children are sent home via school buses and walked home by teachers. The conversations about war, if it's really a drill being done by the school, words about the meaning of life and death and emotions that only get stirred by tragic times. Some of the movie is extremely well done visually as we see the emotional stress that results in a very trying time. Then the alarm is called off because of an electrical fault. It's then that the truly tragic thing happens when a life is put into jeopardy. If you're old enough to remember air raid drills in school, jets breaking the sound barrier or prayer in schools, this movie will take you on a ride into the past that couldn't be done any other way. Will this situation every happen again? Will history help this situation from happening again? I, for one, think that humankind will never learn.
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hllhouz-925-80948028 October 2015This really catches the thread of what it was like during that period in America. The fear of nuclear war was embedded in everyday life and seemed to be an inevitable fact. Civil defense shelters were marked everywhere and classroom drills were frequent. It was a time of great insecurity, not knowing who would flip the switch. The government and the media worked in concert to convince the public that nuclear war was not 'maybe' but certain.
The black & white film is skillfully assembled with striking cinematography.
Well acted and well written.
Recommended for anyone to explore the history of American culture. -
arturus1 November 2010I've only seen this film a few times when it was shown on Showtime in the mid 80s. It's a chilling and realistic film about children in a suburban school caught in the middle of what they suspect is a real nuclear attack, although the reality of it is never actually confirmed. I was impressed with the quality of the writing, the direction and the solid acting of the cast, all prominent New York actors then, with good local reputations for their work no stage and in 50s television, but none of them stars yet. What thrilled me most was that I had known two of the child actors, the two Howard brothers, playing brothers in the film, and seeing them again looking just as they did then was a moving experience for me.
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typicalgirl15 March 2003This film was released the year after I was born, and I am, ironically watching it for the first time on the day before we to go to war with another country.
Besides being full of great performances by actors you didn't even realize you've been watching all your life, the movie has a realism I didn't thing films of this era had.
The first 20 minutes of the film especially were really scary. The situation may have felt unimaginable just a couple of years ago, but tonight it seems like a plausible scenario. This movie went much farther into the subject of war through a typical American's eyes than I would have expected from a film of the early '60s. -
jmartinsson18 March 2003Unlike most nuclear annihilation drills, this time the children have been sent home, causing fear and a certain sense of doom on their walk home. None of the children are capable of finding out what is really happening, because all the adults they come in contact with act absurdly, while the children mostly remain calm and act responsibly. The film's message comes across clearly thanks to the excellent performances by the children and strong cinematography, but the film seems a bit unsatisfying due to a lack of film score and a rather rushed, but powerful, ending.
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I saw this movie as a child in a theater (1963 or 64). It was played before the feature. It is amazing to me that I still remember the title, and was tickled to come upon this little discussion. The fascination the movie held at that time was that it stopped in the middle, I was horrified. I was never sure whether the movie was over and they stopped here to make it seem like something had really happened or if the tape broke and they couldn't get it repaired to continue. This was very disturbing for me at the time, I related to the terror of the children. I remember coming home for lunch and listening to the radio when Cuba was threatening us. I would have been in the third grade when Ladybug, Ladybug was at the theater. I guess it was the ultimate choose your own ending. I imagined what might have happened and kept the title in the back of my mind all this time. I would probably be surprised at how it plays out now. Everything seems larger in retrospect. I've been waiting 44 years for the spoiler. Do you think I'll ever see the end?
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preppy-320 July 2002Good acting and direction in scary tale about a false nuclear alarm warning. The children and adults are believable and the story has a very downbeat conclusion (that's probably the reason it's unknown nowadays).
Still, I was bored. This is a really great idea for a 45 minute short stretched out to 90 minutes. The point is driven into your head repeatedly (that nuclear war is bad) and the ending was predictable.
So, I can't really recommend this movie. Shocking in its day, but not anymore. -
MWillcox15 April 2001I first saw this movie when I was in high school. This movie is so good. I taped it at the time and still have it (15 years later). I'm not quite sure of the year this is happening, but it's after WWII with a supposed nuclear attack happening. The film is in b/w though, so makes it appear older than it is too (it was filmed in 1963). You see the fear these kids are going through, wondering if they have a future. They try to "pump" each other up by making plans for a future day too.
I would suggest that if you haven't seen this movie, watch it!!! -
scsu197521 November 2022This was kind of a mixed bag. The film starts off well, with an alarm going off in an elementary school, indicating a nuclear attack is imminent. The Principal (William Daniels) tries to get confirmation by calling the phone company (not sure why) and another school. I'd have called the cops. Also, apparently there is no radio in the school, which struck me as odd. Daniels evacuates the school. The bulk of the film involves how the school kids react as they walk home in groups. One group lock themselves in a bomb shelter, and won't allow another kid in. I expected Rod Serling to show up at this point.
Daniels sounds a bit wussy, but Nancy Marchand and Kathryn Hays do some good work. Alice Playten, as one of the kids, is rather obnoxious and bossy. If a bomb had actually fallen on her, no doubt the audience would have erupted in cheers. Linda Meyer, as another of the kids, steals her scenes when she tries to convince her mother (Estelle Parsons) that the bomb is coming. Parsons basically blows her off, forcing Meyer to hide under her bed with her goldfish. This poor kid actually looked terrified throughout. In an interview, Playten (who had some stage experience prior to this film) said that the kids discussed off-camera how they would really react during an attack. According to her, some of that dialogue was put into the finished film.
The film did involve me in one respect, because one of the girls (who is the only one to die) looks remarkably like a dear friend of mine when she was younger.
The movie was filmed at an elementary school in Gradyville, PA. Frank and Eleanor Perry screened over 2000 kids before settling on thirteen, causing Frank Perry to quip "I never knew so many kinds were out of work."
Probably worth a look, if only to relive a time when we had drills in school and did useless things like close blinds, hide under our desks, and cover our necks as if any of that would have protected our behinds when the blast came. -
mjb442olds1 January 2005In response to the post by a misguided and biased 'bekayess from Orlando, FL', this is a fine movie about the possibility of a nuclear attack. Instead of reviewing the qualities of this movie and an appearance from Soprano's star Nancy Marchand, he chooses to belittle our President. Taken place in a remote and quiet rural town, a warning buzzer sounds off in a school. With communication cut off and no way of verifying the warning, officials dismiss the school and some of the children must walk home with teachers. Fears unfold and tension rises between adults and children. I only wish this movie was available. I caught it on an early Saturday morning a few years ago, and haven't seen it replayed since. Would be a great addition to ones collection, regardless of bekayess unwarranted comments.
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dbeard-47 October 2012We stumbled across this today on This Network about 10 minutes into the film. The alarm had just begun to sound. I am surprised that I had not heard of this film, as I am a fan of Cold War Americana.
I really appreciated the way in which all of the fear and uncertainty was portrayed, and the whole cast was very believable, the kids in particular. As someone who grew up in the shadow of the A-Bomb, I could relate to every one of the characters.
The heart-rending climax will leave you feeling like you were punched in the stomach - a sign of any great message film. Watch it if you get the chance. -
At a small rural American school, an alarm goes off--indicating that a nuclear attack is imminent. Not knowing exactly what to do, the school sends the children home. Much of the film centers on the children on this long walk home.
While I like the idea of "Ladybug Ladybug", the execution left a bit to be desired. Now I am sure that the folks who made it were very sincere and death by nuclear annihilation was a serious concern at that time--so I am not minimizing this at all. But the production came off as cheap and many of the vignettes seemed fake. And, a few of the kids seemed annoying. Not a terrible WHAT IF sort of film but it just seemed like it shouldn't have been that hard to make it better and more compelling. -
gub111 May 2001Some years ago, HBO or one of the other pay movie channels was running rarely seen independent films on a fairly regular basis. They had a higher opinion of their viewers then. Anyway, that's where I saw Ladybug, Ladybug, but I saw it only once. I wish I had taped it. It's an extremely well done film in all regards, and I liked the fact that it was filmed in black & white, which added a kind of stark atmosphere, especially in the bright sunlight. To tell the truth, I barely remember the story now, so I've enjoyed reading the other comments from those who have seen it. What I do recall is the favorable impression this little film left me with, and the way I felt after seeing it. I'd love to see it again, and other little-seen films of this and earlier eras, but there is so much garbage being churned out by the film industry today, there's no room on the airwaves, cable, or in the DVD/VHS production studios for good things like Ladybug, Ladybug. More's the pity, there are so many great films that could be shown, it's everyone's loss!
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rsbrandt28 March 2005In response to mib_one...My father was stationed at an Air Force base in Florida during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 (not that long before this movie was released), and families there did stockpile canned goods in their cellars, at the very least, in the expectation that a nuclear missile attack might indeed be imminent. The possibility of a nuclear strike was omnipresent if barely acknowledged, exactly as it is depicted throughout this film. I thought William Daniels was especially good at not overtly revealing more than his frustration at not being able to get through to anyone on the phone. (According to the credits all this was inspired by an actual incident, although I wish I could find more details about that.) Apparently TIME Magazine didn't think much of this movie either. But to me it's a gem of an encapsulated moment in time, when Cold War paranoia was at its peak, and everyone had to face the possibility that they actually might not make it to adulthood, or even next Saturday.