Touches You

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I too am a history teacher, specializing in postwar American history. This IS a glimpse into history - not the history of the Soviet Union but of the United States and the very worrying extent of the irrational hysteria about Communism in that period. I don't think it is very relevant to talk about how realistic this is as a portrayal of the USSR as the point is that this is a portrayal of a Communist takeover of the USA and that was just never going to happen, either by external invasion or internal subversion. To understand a film like this we are better off looking at domestic American politics and to the advantages this bogey- man (a negative mirror-image of what America was understood to be) afforded various groups, and the need for others (like film executives who were not from Anglo-Saxon Protestant backgrounds and who wanted a handy baton to beat Unions with) to present themselves as "100% American". There are lessons to be learned here but not about the USSR.

This Department of Defense sponsored inanity was done better 20 years earlier by Disney in his cartoon about the little boy living in Naziland. By 1962, it was completely redundant to preach to the American people how nasty it must be to live under a Communist dictatorship. There were recent examples of the suppressions of the uprisings in Poland and Hungary, first person testimonies by refugees and articles by the 100s in the popular magazines. Castro's mass executions of his opponents were even more recent. It would have been terrible if all those well off, white Christians in the movie had to surrender their way of life. No s**t, Dick Tracy.I understand there have been cuts to the original release, and the 28 minute version I saw was not complete. Nowhere in that version is there any clue about what Communism is, besides nasty, and how it could possibly take over the US. Not necessary. Superimpose this lesson over the barrage of propaganda films that preceded it that gave valuable clues on how to recognize a Communist, and you have contributed to a mood of hysteria. How to recognize a Communist: does he read Pravda on the subway? Does he speak against our government? Does he not wear a flag lapel pin (no, no, that was later)? is he an atheist (Jew is close enough)? Does he stir up discontent by advocating better treatment for blacks? Does he think signing loyalty oaths is silly? Maybe there's nothing you and I can do to stop an ICBM, but we sure can stop the subversive worms from destroying us from within. Red Nightmare is just the coach's halftime locker room speech to keep the team fired up against people who call each other comrade and talk about commissars and the proletariat.

I am a history teacher and I find a few of the comments about this movie disconcerting. While I am quick to admit that this film goes way overboard and is a good example of a propaganda film made during the so-called "Red Scare", the fears concerning Soviet domination were not unfounded--though some other reviews seem to indicate this. I remember the era and there were genuine reasons to be afraid--nuclear war seemed imminent and the Stalin years were a recent memory when the film was made, so I can see the context for RED NIGHTMARE (by the way kids, Stalin was bad...okay!). Now the likelihood of the US being invaded and everyone becoming "good little Commies" was incredibly remote to say the least, though the film did a good job showing some of the ways that a totalitarian Communist system would affect the life of a common man or woman. Of course, Jack Webb's deadly earnest delivery and style is incredibly dated when seen today--but back in 1962, the film probably did a great job of scaring the pants off the average viewer. Seen today, it's a quaint but interesting history lesson--showing insight into the thinking and fears of the average American. Because of this, I don't think just laughing the film off does justice to this well-made but a tad preachy short film.

A previous reviewer said that this movie had a good point because Communism was (and remains) a real threat. FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD MISTER, WHICH ERA ARE YOU LIVING IN? I should identify that I don't doubt that the USSR had missiles pointed at us, but we also had missiles pointed at them. As for spies, all countries spy on each other.The point is that anyone who takes this movie seriously must have his/her brain warped. "The Commies Are Coming, the Commies Are Coming" is unintentionally one of the most laughable movies ever. It portrays a wholesome American small town getting taken over by the Soviet Union, and one man gets accused of "deviationism" and subsequently gets executed. If nothing else, this movie could be used to show what the McCarthyites did to the Rosenbergs.As for host Jack Webb, aside from having this to his credit, he also had "Dragnet" - which apparently was nothing more than pro-police propaganda. So that's that: Jack Webb was a loser.