Tagline: It Will Have You Sitting on the Brink of Eternity!

Fail-Safe (1964)

Directed by Sidney Lumet Writing credits Eugene Burdick (novel) & Harvey Wheeler (novel) ...

Tagline: It will have you sitting on the brink of eternity!

Plot Outline: American planes are sent to deliver a nuclear attack on Moscow, but it's a mistake due to an electrical malfunction. Can all-out war be averted?

Cast overview, first billed only: Dan O'Herlihy.... Brigadier General Warren A. Black Walter Matthau.... Professor Groeteschele Frank Overton.... General Bogan S.A.C. Ed Binns.... Col. Jack Grady Fritz Weaver…Colonel Cascio Henry Fonda.... The President Larry Hagman.... Buck William Hansen.... Secretary Swenson Russell Hardie.... General Stark Russell Collins (I).... Gordon Knapp Sorrell Booke.... Congressman Raskob Nancy Berg (I)... Ilsa Wolfe John Connell (I).... Radionman Thomas Frank Simpson (I).... Sullivan Hildy Parks.... Betty Black Janet Ward (I).... Helen Grady Dom DeLuise.... Tech. Sgt. Collins Dana Elcar.... Mr. Foster Stewart Germain.... Lou Cascio Louise Larabee.... Mrs. Cascio Frieda Altman.... Jennie, President's secretary rest of cast listed alphabetically Charles Tyner.... Jet Fighter Pilot (uncredited) (voice) JoeytheBrit Cambridgeshire, England

Date: 15 July 2002 Summary: A first-rate movie

FAIL-SAFE suffers from something of a confusing opening ten minutes, introducing too many characters too quickly; however, if you can overcome this weak start I can assure you that you will be amply rewarded. OK, this movie does contain flaws, as mentioned by other reviewers: the stock footage is weak, but it occupies about 20 seconds of screen time, and most viewers don't know – or care – whether they are looking at a F-104, a B-58 or a UB40 – it's not important to the plot, and the quality of footage is hardly surprising considering the lack of co-operation the makers received from the US defence department (and isn't such lack of co-operation nearly always good reason to view the movie in question?); it's true that the US president wouldn't be isolated with just a translator for assistance, but this works as a powerful dramatic device, highlighting the pressures and isolation of the man who must make the decisions that will affect the future of all mankind, and who, despite all his advisors, must bear sole responsibility for making that ultimate decision; also, Walter Matthau appears miscast as the hawk-like ‘political scientist' with a chillingly ruthless streak only because he is now better known as a comedian, whereas in 1964 he was more of a dramatic actor.

All these flaws pale into insignificance, however, in the face of Sidney Lumet's assured direction. Lumet creates an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, with the majority of scenes taking place in either small, windowless and sparsely furnished rooms, dark control centres dominated by the screen upon which the drama in the sky is unfolding, and aboard a small, cluttered bomber. Not one single note of music is heard throughout the entire movie. The conversations between the president of the United States and the Soviet premier are tense and believable, an effect achieved largely through the use of Larry Hagman as an interpreter rather than having the two men speak to each other directly. As time passes, and the stakes grow higher, the tension is cranked up to unbearable heights until Henry Fonda, the US President, is forced to make a horrific decision in order to assuage Soviet suspicions. (If you don't know what that decision is don't read any of the reviews below: it's given away on a number of occasions).

The movie is also packed with numerous memorable scenes: the opening bullfight; the US control room staff cheering spontaneously when one of their own planes is destroyed by a Soviet fighter plane; the poignant conversation between General Bogan and his Soviet counterpart as they realise all is lost; Matthau's clinical recommendation that, in the event of a nuclear strike, search efforts should be focused on retrieving corporation records instead of recovering the dead and dying; the superb climax that captures perfectly the sudden senseless obliteration of a city and it's people, and irrefutably proves that multi-million dollar special effects aren't required to make a powerful, deeply affecting, impact on the viewer.