Woodyanders Review of Ladybug Ladybug

Ladybug Ladybug (1963)

An excellent and unjustly overlooked early 60's Cold War era drama sleeper

[8/10 · 11 April 2009]

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.