Plot
The film is set in London on the third or fourth anniversary of a nuclear war that killed 40 million, and lasted two minutes and 28 seconds, including the time taken to sign the peace treaty. It is not clear who dropped the bomb. Three (or possibly four) years after the nuclear holocaust, the survivors wander amidst the debris. Most characters avoid naming the "bomb" throughout.
Captain Bules Martin, who holds a "Defeat of England" medal as he was unable to save Buckingham Palace from disintegration during the war is also referred to as Doctor by Lord Fortnum who asks for a prescription for malnourishment, but fears he's turning into a bed sitting room. When Martin confirms it, Lord Fortnum gets a second opinion from the "National Health Service", a male nurse overwhelmed by the extent of the war's aftermath.
Penelope, who lives in a tube train on the (still functioning) Circle line with her parents, gets caught in bed with her fiancé Alan, who then joins their party. It is said that Penelope is pregnant. In search of a nurse, they leave the train taking a trunk so they won't look like vagrants, unknowingly carrying a living man who's been ready to be collected as dead for three years.
Two policemen who hover overhead in the shell of a Morris Minor Panda car that has been made into a makeshift balloon and shout "keep moving" at any survivors they see to offset the danger of them becoming a target in the unlikely event of another outbreak of hostilities.
Martin finds Shelter Man, a Regional Seat of Government who survived the war in a fallout shelter and spends his days looking at old films (without a projector) and reminiscing about the time he shot his wife and his mother as they pleaded with him to let them into his shelter. His current wife Doris (a picture of a shirtless woman attached to the wall) holds food and they share. Shelter Man reveals that he saw evidence that they dipped the bombs in germs to infect the population with measles to kill them off.
National Health Service stalks Penelope and her family and gives Mother her death certificate although she's still alive, and attempts to capture her with a net. Mother wanders away from her family, slips into Shelter Man's home, and transforms into a cupboard.
Lord Fortnum calls Martin, informing him that he is at 29 Cul de Sac Place, and actually does become a bed-sitting room. Mate, a fireguard with nothing left to burn, tricks Martin into leaving so he can move furniture inside. Character "Mao Tse-tung", or Chinaman moves Mother into the room.
Father is measured by the Police and Martin asks to court Penelope. Despite her love for Alan, Father agrees to Martin as it will help him when he becomes Prime Minister, a position he is believed to get "his inside leg measurements". Penelope is uninterested in the date. They hold the wedding ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral, which is mostly submerged underwater. Underwater Vicar weds them. Martin runs off to get his virility test, leaving Penelope, who soon goes into labour. Father is selected to become the Prime Minister.
National Health Service insists that Penelope's baby stay in her womb, but she delivers it. When she shows it to her father, he is found to be transformed into a parrot. Penelope learns that the cupboard is her mother.
Father kills himself and his body is cooked due to the starvation conditions that prevail. Mate warns everyone of the radiation and people head inside the bed-sitting room. Penelope and Alan find their baby dead. Rubber Man repents as the Police knock down the bed-sitting room, Lord Fortnum speaks up and impersonates God, but is quickly shut down by Martin.
The police bring back the chest and reunite Nigel with Martin. Penelope is pregnant with her next child, which is normal and healthy. The Police Inspector delivers a speech as an indication of hope for the future of the country amidst the devastation when it transpires that a team of surgeons have developed a cure for the mutations involving full-body transplant. Finally, a military band pays homage to Mrs. Ethel Shroake of 393A High Street, Leytonstone, the late Queen's former charwoman, and closest in succession to the throne.
