Testament

Nuclear war in the United States is portrayed in a realistic and believable manner. The story is told…

• Director: Lynne Littman
• Genre:Drama
• Runtime:90 minutes

Cast

Jane Alexander : Carol Wetherly
William Devane : Tom Wetherly
Rossie Harris : Brad Wetherly (as Ross Harris)
Roxana Zal : Mary Liz Wetherly
Lukas Haas : Scottie Wetherly

The movie follows the lives of the Wetherly family – husband Tom (William Devane), wife Carol (Jane Alexander), and children Brad (Ross Harris), Mary Liz (Roxana Zal), and Scottie (Lukas Haas), who live in the fictional suburban town of Hamlin, California. The town is a pleasant, well-to-do community within commuting distance to San Francisco, where Tom works.

On one sunny, seemingly routine afternoon, Carol, who is a stay-at-home mother and volunteer for school functions (such as directing the play son Scottie is performing in and daughter Mary Liz is providing piano accompaniment for), listens to an answering machine message from Tom telling her he’s on his way home for dinner, as Scottie watches Sesame Street (another PBS program). The show is suddenly replaced by white noise as the signal is lost, and teenage son Brad hits the television, thinking it to be the cause of the problem. But suddenly a news anchor comes on to announce the true cause:

“This is San Francisco. We have lost our New York signal. Radar sources confirm the explosion of nuclear devices, there in New York, and up and down the East Coast. Ladies and gentlemen, this is real. This is …”

The anchorman is then cut off by the Emergency Broadcast System tone. The announcer states that the White House is interrupting the program and asks people to stay off their phones. As the speaker introduces the President of the United States (who is never seen), the phone rings but goes dead just as Carol answers it. The flash of a nuclear detonation is then seen through the window, and Carol huddles with her children on the living room floor as the town’s air raid sirens sound. Read more

Watch full Testament online streaming for free