Menace

1952,  10 Minutes

This post-World War Two propaganda film warns of a red tide of Communism sweeping the world, one which threatens to destroy our democratic way of life.

"Government of the people, by the people, for the people," The words were Abraham Lincoln's, the inspiration was God. Yet in recent years, a sinister force has appeared in the world...Communism. Are we prepared to barter our free way of life for a system more barbaric than any devised by the Roman emperors? You say, "Like hell we are!"

Menace alerts us to the growing communist menace in Australia that wants the hearts and minds of our youth. Equating communism with slavery, it compares images of thriving industry and abundant leisure in the West with poverty and destruction in the East.

Produced by the Department of Information for the Australian Film Board. © 2011 National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.