The Day After

Dr. Russell Oakes:
I wonder who was spared? I wonder if New York, Paris, Moscow... are just like Kansas City now?

Dr. Landowska:
There is a rumor they are evacuating Moscow. Yeah. There are even people leaving Kansas City because of the missile fields. Now I ask you: Where does one go from Kansas City? To, uh, the Yukon? To Tahiti? We are not talking about Hiroshima anymore. Hiroshima was... was peanuts!

Dr. Russell Oakes:
What's going on? Do you understand what's going on in this world?

Dr. Landowska:
Yeah. Stupidity. Has a habit of getting its way.

Vinnie Conrad:
The thing that bothers me is that damn "launch-on-warning".

Bruce Gallatin:
What's that?

Vinnie Conrad:
That's when one side tells the other that they're gonna fire their missiles as soon as they think the other guy's missiles are already on their way.

Joe Huxley:
You know. Use 'em or lose 'em.

Bruce Gallatin:
[nervously] What do you really think the chances are of something like that happening way the hell out here in the middle of nowhere?

Joe Huxley:
Nowhere? [chuckles] There's no "nowhere" anymore. You're sitting next to the Whiteman Air Force Base right now. That's about... 150 Minuteman missile silos spread halfway down the State of Missouri. That's... an awful lot of bullseyes.

[last lines]

Joe Huxley:
[speaking into his shortwave radio] Hello. Is anybody there? Anybody at all?

Joe Huxley:
You know what Einstein said about World War III? He said he didn't know how they were gonna fight World War III, but he knew how they would fight World War IV: With sticks and stones.

[intercontinental ballistic missiles are being fired]

Cynthia:
What's going on?

Joe Huxley:
Those are Minuteman missiles!

Cynthia:
Like a test, sort of... like a warning?

Joe Huxley:
[shakes his head, staring at the missiles in awe and disbelief] They're on their way to Russia. They take about 30 minutes to reach their target.

Aldo:
So do theirs, right?

Stephen Klein:
[to Denise] You can't see it... you can't feel it... and you can't taste it. But it's here, right now, all around us! It's goin' through you like an X-ray! Right into your cells! What do you think killed all these animals?

First Air Force Officer:
Confidence is high. I repeat, confidence is high. Roger, we've got 32 targets in track and 10 impacting points. I want it confirmed... is this an exercise? Roger, copy. This is not an exercise!

Second Air Force Officer:
Roger, understand. Major Reinhardt, we have a massive attack against the U.S. at this time. ICBMs... numerous ICBMs... Roger, understand. Over 300 missiles inbound now.

Dr. Sam Hachiya:
[intensely] What did you see? You come from Kansas City. What did you see?

Dr. Russell Oakes:
[in shock] I was on the freeway, about 30 miles away. I'm not sure... it was high in the air, directly above downtown. Like the sun... exploding.

Denise Dahlberg:
Do you know Bruce Gallatin? He... he's a senior.

Stephen Klein:
No.

Denise Dahlberg:
But... but you're from Lawrence, so maybe Bruce is all right.

Stephen Klein:
Well... I don't know what happened to Lawrence. I was close to Harrisonville when it started. There must have been five or six of them to the north, and... a whole string of them to the south.

Jim Dahlberg:
They must have hit every missile silo from Sedalia to Eldorado Springs.

Julian French:
We tried hooking up an auxiliary pump up to a backup generator, and we're still only getting a trickle.

Dr. Sam Hachiya:
I still don't understand. Did they burn out?

Dr. Austin:
They could have been subject to the EMP effects.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
What's that?

Dr. Austin:
'Electro-Magnetic Pulse.' When a large nuclear device is airburst at high altitude, a lot of electrical disruption can be created, principally with radios, communication systems, electrical wires, computers, cars, transistors. Of course, it's all theoretical. It's never happened before. In short, very little electricity.

Dr. Sam Hachiya:
Forever?

[Dr. Austin shrugs]

Airman:
[missiles from both sides are still en route] You know what that means, don't you? Either we fired first and they're going to try to hit what's left, or they fired first and we just got our missiles out of the ground in time. Either way, we're going to get hit.

Airman Billy McCoy:
So what are we still standing around here for?

Sergeant:
Where do you want to go?

Airman Billy McCoy:
Well, how about out of here for starters? I've got to get my wife and my kid!

Sergeant:
We're still on alert, Billy! No one leaves this facility. Not until the choppers get here to take us back to Whiteman and to the shelters...

Airman Billy McCoy:
[cutting him off] Are you kidding me, man? The bombs will be here before the choppers will! Listen to me.

Airman:
Damn!

Airman Billy McCoy:
Listen to me, man. The war is over! It's over. We've done our job. So what are you still guarding? Huh? Some cotton-pickin' hole in the ground all dressed up and nowhere to go?

Airman:
He's right!

Airman Tommy:
What about Starr and Boyle?

Sergeant:
What about them?

Airman Tommy:
What are they doing?

Airman Billy McCoy:
Yeah, they're 60 feet down, sipping on some cold beer and whistling "Misty"!

Airman Tommy:
I'm going down there!

Sergeant:
You can't go down there! That elevator is secure!

Airman Billy McCoy:
Do you hear yourself talking, bozo? 'Cause I hear you saying that we've got direct orders to be sitting ducks!

Radio Announcer:
Warsaw Pact forces are close to announcing a cease-fire along the German border. There are still no eyewitness accounts to substantiate the rumor that low-kiloton range nuclear weapons were detonated this morning during the conflict, resulting in the reported destruction of Wiesbaden and the outskirts of Frankfurt...

[electronic alarm cuts in]

EBS Announcer:
This is the Emergency Broadcast System. All persons currently in transit in the Kansas City metropolitan area are advised to proceed immediately to the municipal shelter facility in the community or township closest to your current location. While there is no immediate danger to the Kansas City area, the Federal Emergency Management Agency urges you to learn the steps to be taken in the event of a probable attack.

[Dr. Oakes roars off the freeway]

Helen Oakes:
My God. It's 1962 all over again. The Cuban Missile Crisis. Do you remember Kennedy on television, telling Khrushchev to turn his boats around?

Dr. Russell Oakes:
"Full retaliatory response." He didn't bat an eye.

Helen Oakes:
We were in New York, in bed... just like this, remember? 118th street.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
Meatball sandwiches from Sharky's.

Helen Oakes:
Your last year's residency. I swear we that made Marilyn that night.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
We got up, went to the window to look for the bombs.

Helen Oakes:
It didn't happen. It's not going to happen now.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
Nah. People are crazy, but not *that* crazy.

Helen Oakes:
Well... do you want to know from crazy? The Donnelly's left today for Guadalajara.

Helen Oakes:
Guadalajara?

Helen Oakes:
I swear it. I spoke to Herb as they were pulling out. He said they were dovetailing their vacation with the rising international tensions.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
Aw, cut it out!

Helen Oakes:
I'm not kidding. Well, they took their Vietnamese maid with them. And that rotten little barking dog with the pushed-in face.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
[chuckles] Oh, what about their little combination tractor/lawnmower/golfcart with the silver hubcaps?

Helen Oakes:
[laughs] Probably.

Helen Oakes:
[sighs] What if it does happen? What'll we do?

Dr. Russell Oakes:
I think you've got to be willing to let your baby come whether you like it or not. You're holding back hope.

Alison Ransom:
Hope for what? What do you think is going to happen out there? You think we're going to sweep up the dead and fill in a couple of holes and build some supermarkets? You think all those people left alive out there are going to say, "Oh, I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault. Let's kiss and make up"? We knew the score. We knew all about bombs, we knew all about fallout. We knew this could happen for forty years. But nobody was interested.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
[turns to leave] I can't argue with you.

Alison Ransom:
[pulls him back] Argue with me. Please... give me a reason. Tell me about hope. Tell me why you work so hard in here.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
...I don't know.

Denise Dahlberg:
They give me this ribbon to wear... but I haven't got any damn hair to put it into.

[Stephen takes off his baseball cap to reveal that he has no hair left at all]

Stephen Klein:
You look great.

Alison Ransom:
We knew about bombs, we knew about fallout, we knew this could happen for 40 years but nobody was interested.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
When are you due?

Alison Ransom:
I'm overdue!

Alison Ransom:
[about being pregnant] You know what it feels like?

Nurse Nancy Bauer:
What?

Alison Ransom:
Feels like I'm gonna have a basketball.

Nurse Nancy Bauer:
I think you better have a piece of this orange. Might be the last orange you see for... week and a half.

Denise Dahlberg:
I've been out riding around with Bruce.

Jim Dahlberg:
All night?

Denise Dahlberg:
Frankly, Daddy, that's none of your business.

Jim Dahlberg:
As long as you live...

Denise Dahlberg:
Oh Daddy, don't start this again, I'm getting married tomorrow.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
You know what's going to happen next around here, don't you?

Nurse Nancy Bauer:
I've been trying not to think about it.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
We may be the only hospital operating within 100 miles. Everyone half-alive or dying will find their way here.

Airman Billy McCoy:
[points to corpses] See these people? That's us, man,if we don't get to Lawrence.

Joleen Dahlberg:
[dog's barking] Rusty. Dad, we left Rusty out.

Jim Dahlberg:
We may be down here a long time. There's not going to be enough food and water for Rusty.

Joleen Dahlberg:
You mean he's just going to die out there?

Ending disclaimer:
The catastrophic events you have just witnessed are, in all likelihood, less severe than the destruction that would actually occur in the event of a full nuclear strike against the United States. It is hoped that the images of this film will inspire the nations of this earth, their peoples and leaders, to find the means to avert the fateful day.

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
[an alarm goes off in the Launch Control Center of the Minuteman III ICBM "Oscar Wing" at Whiteman AFB ] Standby to copy the message.

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
Standing by.

Intercom:
Flashing, flashing, flashing. Message follows: Alpha, seven, eight, November, Foxtrot, one, five, two, two... Delta X-Ray.

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
That's a J.C.S. execution from the President.

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
I agree, the message is valid, also.

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
Step One: Launch Keys inserted.

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
Roger.

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
[both officers retrieve the Launch Keys and insert them into the console] Let's enable the missiles! Program Flight Switch enable?

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
Roger.

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
Flight: All. L.F.: All. Unlock Codes inserted?

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
Standby... [proceeds to enter the Unlock Codes]... Unlock Codes inserted!

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
Enable Switch enable?

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
[turns a knob on the console] Enabled.

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
Coordinate enable command?

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
[phone on the DMCCC's console beeps; he picks it up] Yes, this is Oscar. All are enabled. Thank you. [hangs up phone]

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
[puts his hand on the MCCC Launch Key] Key Turn on my mark!

DMCCC Lt. Krause:
[puts his hand on the DMCCC Launch Key] Standing by!

MCCC Cpt. Stanton:
Five... four...

Denise Dahlberg:
Phones working?

Stephen Klein:
Are you kidding? There aren't going to be any phones.

Jim Dahlberg:
[Danny inadvertently turns towards a nuclear flash] Danny! Don't look!

Jim Dahlberg:
[Carrying Danny during a blast's windstorm] I gotcha son. It's alright. I gotcha.

Denise Dahlberg:
[the stress of the aftermath has taken its toll on Denise's mind] I can't remember.

Eve Dahlberg:
You can't remember what?

Denise Dahlberg:
It's only been five days, and I can't remember what Bruce looks like.

Eve Dahlberg:
And now we've been through a lot, sittin' here in the dark.

Denise Dahlberg:
What are we doin' down here anyway? It's all over now, isn't it? It smells so bad down here I can't even BREATHE!

Eve Dahlberg:
Now listen Denise you get a hold of yourself. Now you know we can't go out of here and...

Denise Dahlberg:
Why did I have to use that thing? We'd be married now anyway. Why didn't I at least get pregnant?

Jim Dahlberg:
Just pipe down Denise.

Denise Dahlberg:
Because now I can't even see his face! I CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! I can't see anything! [Grabs flashlight and shines it at everybody] I can't see anything!

Jim Dahlberg:
Denise, just calm down. Get a hold of your...

Denise Dahlberg:
Let go of me! I CAN'T SEE! [Runs upstairs]

Airman Billy McCoy:
Where you going?

Man from Leeton:
Holden.

Airman Billy McCoy:
Oh, yeah? How come?

Man from Leeton:
P-People there.

Airman Billy McCoy:
How do you know?

Man from Leeton:
Man with a C.B. back in Leeton.

Airman Billy McCoy:
You from Leeton? How's Sedalia?

[the man doesn't respond]

Airman Billy McCoy:
I said, how's Sedalia?

Man from Leeton:
There ain't no Sedalia. No Greenridge. No Windsor. No nothin'.

Joe Huxley:
[over a citizens band radio at the University of Kansas] I have an atmosphere report for anybody who's listening. Dr. Oakes, do you read? Come in, Dr. Oakes, do you hear me?

Dr. Russell Oakes:
Yes, Joe.

Joe Huxley:
We are holding fast at just a hair under 50 rads per hour. I thought that it would have diminished by now. I guess that means we're picking up fallout from... Titan missile bases in Wichita... wherever else out west. That's the way the wind blows - straight toward St. Louis.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
When will it be safe to move people to other buildings?

Joe Huxley:
It'll never be safe.

Dr. Russell Oakes:
Come on, Joe.

Joe Huxley:
Wait 'til it gets under two rads per hour. If and when. Have you picked up anybody else on your, on your end?

Dr. Russell Oakes:
Not a soul.

Joe Huxley:
[continues broadcasting] This is Lawrence. This is Lawrence, Kansas. Is anybody there? Anybody at all?

Newscaster:
The looming question is... how far will Warsaw pact forces go? Will the Russians advance straight for the Rhine and defy NATO's declared policy of defense by all means including the use of tactical nuclear weapons? The Defence Department today reported that...

Cynthia:
Fantasyland.

Aldo:
You think they're making this up? You think this is "War of the Worlds" or something?

Cynthia:
Look, did we help the Czechs, the Hungarians, the Afghans *or* the Poles? Well we're *not* gonna nuke the Russians to save the *Germans*! I mean if you were talking oil in Saudi Arabia, then I'd be real worried.