Huxley stated that when the radiation level drops to two rads per hour, it will be “safe” to escape underground shelters.Ī voice in the film announced, “The radiation count has now reached 4 rads per hour, which is safe for small amounts of time spent outside,” a voice in the movie says. One is at RAF Fylingdales in England, and the other is at Beale Air Force Base in California. The Soviet Air Force then uses low-kiloton nuclear missiles to destroy two early warning sites for ballistic missiles.

After the first nuclear exchange in Europe, it is clear that the US sticks to its policy of “launch on warning.” Under this strategy, the US conducts a full-scale nuclear assault on the Soviet Union if it detects that the Soviet Union is preparing to do the same. The film does a fantastic job of depicting the slowly building tension. When the US doesn’t give up, the Soviets send tanks to the border between West Germany and East Germany. The movie says that the Soviet Union put more troops in East Germany to scare the United States into leaving West Berlin. The events leading up to the battle are only shown on television and radio newscasts.

UNITED STATES – NOVEMBER 20: Walt Disney Television via Getty Images TV MOVIE – “The Day After” – 11/20/83, A graphic, disturbing film about the effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas., (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)

Walt builds a family fallout shelter