American secret agent John Manston (John McKay) is sent to Russia to locate and destroy an inter-continental ballistic missile before it can be launched at New York.
Rocket Attack U.S.A is a shameless piece of 1950s scare-mongering propaganda designed to rally public support for the American space programme and the development of a nuclear deterrent. Since the primary function of the film was to scare the proverbial out of the average American citizen, little effort went into achieving narrative cohesion, factual authenticity, compelling performances, convincing special effects, or any kind of artistic merit. As such, this relic of the cold war era is undeniably utter trash, but still qualifies as a reasonably entertaining curio for fans of exploitative, z-grade cinematic crud, being both historically interesting and hysterically daft.
Best unintentionally funny moments: the 'wet newspaper' advice; the blind man in New York pleading for help as the Russian missile rapidly approaches; radio announcer Bill saying a last goodbye to his wife Pat and their son, 'little Bill'; Most boring moment: the excruciatingly drawn-out launch procedure for the missile.
