posted July 06, 2007 01:07 AM               

From a press release:

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"The Fever of '57" tells the gripping story of America's reaction to the Soviet Union's successful launch of Sputnik in October 1957. According to Hoffman, America's initial reaction of wonder and awe quickly turned to fear and widespread panic as the people were told by political and military leaders that the same rocket that carried Sputnik to space could also be used as an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capable of delivering nuclear weapons to American soil.

"I uncovered a story that has never been told and got unprecedented access to people who told me parts of the story that allowed me to put the whole thing together. It shocked me, and I hope it shocks audiences as well," said Hoffman.

Notably, "The Fever of '57" was made by only three people: Hoffman, editor John Vincent Barrett and 24-year-old, first-time producer Eric Reid. They uncovered never-before-seen films and recently declassified government documents that proved crucial in capturing the feelings of the day and telling the story. Such facts included:

• An April 1958 Gallup poll showed that more than 60 percent of Americans believed that nuclear war was imminent and that half the nation's population would be killed.

• Throughout 1958, a hydrogen bomb was exploded every three days in the atmosphere by the United States or Soviet Russia.

• In mid-1958, the Soviet military was placed on Full Alert status (its highest level of military readiness) for a 10-month period.

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posted July 06, 2007 01:09 AM               

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A seemingly esoteric subject -- the launch of Russia's Sputnik satellite -- is exhumed and made exciting in this important slice of you-are-there documaking. If distribs can see the timely value of this snapshot of a crucial moment in U.S. and world history, "The Fever of '57" has a shot at reaching auds who will find it useful material a half-century later, at the start of a new, potentially more dangerous era.

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posted July 06, 2007 12:53 PM               

Let the unflattering historical comparisons begin!

posted March 26, 2008 03:03 PM            

Based on Paul Dickson's book Sputnik:The Shock of the Century, the film covers the year between Sputnik's launch and the creation of NASA through archival film clips (many not seen before, and a few found through YouTube) and interviews, which include Homer Hickam of 'Rocket Boys' fame and the son of Nikita Khruschev.

The film provides a fascinating snapshot of the real fear and apprehension Sputnik's launch delivered to the West, including claims that those evil communists would be able to transmit messages from Sputnik via radio and TV channels(!). As a counterpoint, Eisenhower appears unconcerned and dogged in his wish that a civilian, not military, rocket deliver America's first satellite. Of course, Vanguard fails and VonBraun's team launches Explorer 1.

In the Q&A that followed the screening I attended, director Hoffman related the story of the secret launching of the SCORE satellite that carried a recorded message by President Eisenhower. It seems that Jay Barbree of NBC News was in a restroom when he overheard two officials discussing the pending launch; Barbree had just enough time to get to the cape to witness it.

The film does have its amusing moments, as in the sequence showing the flight of Laika in Sputnik 2. It erronously shows Belka, Strelka and other space dogs while the narration complains of the cruelty suffered by the poor creature after it died in space.The segment ends with a vintage commercial in English for 'Laika cigarettes'. Some say the modern animal-rights movement was born at this time.

One of the producers of the film is Jay Walker, the founder of Priceline.com, and he brought his own Sputnik to the premiere; it was placed in a cafe next to the movie screen. One of only a few in private hands (see other threads on this site for "The Top 10 Sputniks", including one owned by Skylab/Shuttle astronaut Owen Garriott's son)

I am not sure if it was an engineering model or nonworking backup.

For those interested, the film will play until this Thursday at the IFC Center on 6th Ave. and W. 3rd St. in New York; a showing on the History Channel is possible because History Films, a unit of the channel, is one of the co-producers. See www.sputnikmania.com for a preview clip and mor information.