The House in the Middle is the title of two American documentary film shorts (13 minutes), respectively from 1953 and 1954, which showed the effects of a nuclear bomb test on a set of three small houses. The black-and-white 1953 film was created by the Federal Civil Defense Administration to attempt to show that a clean, freshly painted house (the middle house) is more likely to survive a nuclear attack than its poorly maintained counterparts (the right and left houses). A color version was released the next year by the American Coatings Association, a "bureau" invented by the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association trade group (now known as the American Coatings Association). In 2001, the Library of Congress deemed the 1954 film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry. Footage for the film was recorded during the Upshot-Knothole Encore test at the Nevada Test Site on May 8, 1953. Cast See also Fallout Protection The Bomb References External links The House in the Middle essay by Kelly Chisholm on the National Film Registry web site The House in the Middle essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 483-484. America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry Internet Archive copy of the 1954 film Library of Congress copy of the 1953 film Library of Congress copy of the 1954 film 1953 films 1954 films American documentary films United States National Film Registry films Documentary films about nuclear war and weapons Documentary films about the Cold War American social guidance and drug education films Sponsored films 1953 documentary films 1954 documentary films 1950s American films