Professor Willingdon is a scientist working at Britain's atomic weapons research establishment. He writes a letter to the Prime Minister informing him that he has surreptitiously removed an atomic bomb from the establishment and threatens that he will use this device destroy central London in seven days' time, at noon, unless the British government agrees to his demand that it will immediately announce complete unilateral nuclear disarmament. The Government refuses to accede to this demand and orders a mass evacuation of the population of London, at the same time organising a massive manhunt to track down Willingdon.
There are no really outstanding acting performances, but this may be because the brothers John and Roy Boulting, who acted as producers and directors, deliberately did not cast any major name stars in the film, fearing that their presence would detract from the story they wanted to tell. The scenes of the evacuation and of the deserted city afterwards are well done. The film does, however, seem too emotionally low-key, a stiff-upper-lip thriller in which everyone reacts to the prospect of nuclear annihilation with typical British phlegm and without the slightest sign of panic. ("They say the end of the world is nigh. Let's have a cup of tea"). The evacuation goes off a bit too smoothly, as if to reassure people that in a real nuclear emergency the British Government would be able to get all its people to safety. The main attraction of the film for modern audiences, however, is less artistic than historic.
"Seven Days to Noon" is in many ways prophetic. In 1950 Britain did not yet possess nuclear weapons; the first British atomic bomb was exploded in 1952. At this period there was no organised anti-nuclear movement; large-scale protests against atomic weapons did not start until the mid-fifties, and CND was not founded until 1957, but Willingdon anticipates many of the arguments which they would later use.
The film, however, is not to be taken as arguing in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament. The arguments in favour of nuclear deterrence are put in the mouth of the British Prime Minister, Arthur Lytton. Lytton is a fictitious character, and it is never established whether he is Labour or Conservative, but Ronald Adam plays him as a Churchillian figure with a similar gift of rhetoric. The arguments in favour of unilateralism are given to Willingdon, who is clearly mentally disturbed. Moreover, Willingdon has not thought through the logical contradiction in his position. Essentially, his deeds contradict his words. His words argue against the principle of nuclear deterrence, but by using a nuclear bomb to blackmail the British Government, he is inadvertently making an argument in favour of that principle. If the Government gives in to his demands, that will demonstrate to the world that governments are vulnerable to the threat of nuclear destruction and that such a threat can be used to force them to change their policies- for example, to desist from a planned course of aggression. There are parallels here with "The Day the Earth Stood Still", an American film from the following year, which preached a message of peace, but with an implied subtext that the best way to ensure peace is through strength and deterrence rather than through weakness. Or, as the Romans would have said "Si vis pacem, para bellum". If you want peace, prepare for war. 6/10
There are no really outstanding acting performances, but this may be because the brothers John and Roy Boulting, who acted as producers and directors, deliberately did not cast any major name stars in the film, fearing that their presence would detract from the story they wanted to tell. The scenes of the evacuation and of the deserted city afterwards are well done. The film does, however, seem too emotionally low-key, a stiff-upper-lip thriller in which everyone reacts to the prospect of nuclear annihilation with typical British phlegm and without the slightest sign of panic. ("They say the end of the world is nigh. Let's have a cup of tea"). The evacuation goes off a bit too smoothly, as if to reassure people that in a real nuclear emergency the British Government would be able to get all its people to safety. The main attraction of the film for modern audiences, however, is less artistic than historic.
"Seven Days to Noon" is in many ways prophetic. In 1950 Britain did not yet possess nuclear weapons; the first British atomic bomb was exploded in 1952. At this period there was no organised anti-nuclear movement; large-scale protests against atomic weapons did not start until the mid-fifties, and CND was not founded until 1957, but Willingdon anticipates many of the arguments which they would later use.
The film, however, is not to be taken as arguing in favour of unilateral nuclear disarmament. The arguments in favour of nuclear deterrence are put in the mouth of the British Prime Minister, Arthur Lytton. Lytton is a fictitious character, and it is never established whether he is Labour or Conservative, but Ronald Adam plays him as a Churchillian figure with a similar gift of rhetoric. The arguments in favour of unilateralism are given to Willingdon, who is clearly mentally disturbed. Moreover, Willingdon has not thought through the logical contradiction in his position. Essentially, his deeds contradict his words. His words argue against the principle of nuclear deterrence, but by using a nuclear bomb to blackmail the British Government, he is inadvertently making an argument in favour of that principle. If the Government gives in to his demands, that will demonstrate to the world that governments are vulnerable to the threat of nuclear destruction and that such a threat can be used to force them to change their policies- for example, to desist from a planned course of aggression. There are parallels here with "The Day the Earth Stood Still", an American film from the following year, which preached a message of peace, but with an implied subtext that the best way to ensure peace is through strength and deterrence rather than through weakness. Or, as the Romans would have said "Si vis pacem, para bellum". If you want peace, prepare for war. 6/10