Fail-Safe (1964 film)

Fail-Safe
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sidney Lumet
Produced by	Sidney Lumet Charles H. Maguire Max E. Youngstein
Written by	Walter Bernstein
Starring	Henry Fonda Dan O'Herlihy Walter Matthau Frank Overton Larry Hagman
Cinematography	Gerald Hirschfeld
Editing by	Ralph Rosenblum
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	October 7, 1964 (1964-10-07)
Running time	112 minutes
Language	English

Fail-Safe is a 1964 film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1962 novel Fail-Safe written by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. It portrays a fictional account of a Cold War nuclear crisis. The film features an all-star cast, including impressive performances by veteran actors Henry Fonda (The Grapes of Wrath, 12 Angry Men, On Golden Pond), Dan O'Herlihy (Adventures of Robinson Crusoe), Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple, The Fortune Cookie), and Frank Overton (TV series Twelve O'Clock High). Early film appearances include Fritz Weaver, Dom DeLuise, and Larry Hagman as the interpreter.

Plot

The genesis of the movie arises out of the Cold War tensions existing between the United States and the Soviet Union during the early 1960’s. The film is a dramatic fictionalized account of a series of coincidental events leading up to an accidental thermonuclear first-strike attack by a group of United States “Vindicator” Bombers (portrayed by B-58 Hustler aircraft) against the capital of Russia, Moscow.

Amidst an ordinary tour for VIP’s at the U.S. headquarters of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), in Omaha, Nebraska, an alert is initiated when SAC radar indicates intrusion into American airspace of an unidentified flying object. A standard procedure of SAC at the time was to keep several groups of bombers constantly flying around the clock as a most immediate response to a nuclear attack on the country. Upon any initial alert from headquarters, these airborne groups would then proceed to pre-identified aerial points around the globe called “fail-safe”points to await an actual “Go code” before proceeding towards Russian targets. Shortly after reaching those points, the flying object is identified as an off-course airliner and the attendant alert is cancelled. However, a technical electronic fault occurs sending an errant “Go code’’ to one group of bombers to proceed and attack their target. Coincidentally and simultaneously, a new Russian jamming device begins radio jamming of communications between SAC headquarters and the bomber group with the result that the group commander, Colonel Jack Grady, played by (Edward Binns), begins to lead the attack on Moscow.

Pressure mounts as the President of the United States, portrayed by (Henry Fonda), and his advisers attempt to recall the group or shoot them down. Communications are begun with the Soviet Chairman whereupon mistakes on both sides (the accidental launch of the mission and the coincidental jamming) are acknowledged and reversed. However, SAC training and protocols cause the crew to reject counter-orders to abort the mission. Realizing the severity of the situation and seeking balance of the matter, while avoiding an all-out nuclear holocaust, upon confirmation of the success of the accidental attack on Moscow the President orders an immediate similar nuclear strike on New York City .

Cast

• Henry Fonda—the President
• Dan O'Herlihy—Brig. Gen. Warren A. Black, USAF
• Walter Matthau—Prof. Groeteschele
• Frank Overton—Gen. Bogan, USAF
• Ed Binns—Col. Jack Grady, USAF
• Fritz Weaver—Col. Cascio, USAF
• Larry Hagman—Buck, the President's translator
• William Hansen—Defense Secretary Swenson
• Russell Hardie—Gen. Stark
• Russell Collins—Gordon Knapp
• Sorrell Booke—Congressman Raskob
• Nancy Berg—Ilsa Woolfe
• Dom DeLuise—TSgt. Collins, USAF
• Frieda Altman—Mrs. Jennie Johnson
• Hildy Parks—Betty Black
• Janet Ward—Helen Grady
• Louise Larabee—Mrs. Cascio
• Dana Elcar—Mr. Foster

Production

The film was shot in black and white, in a documentary-style, theater stage play format with claustrophobic close-ups and pondering silence occasionally between several characters. There is no musical underscoring nor is any music played in any scenes within its run. With few exceptions, the action takes place largely in the White House underground bunker, the Pentagon war conference room, the SAC war room and a single bomber cockpit. "Real" world life is seen only after the title opening credits and in the final scene depicting an ordinary New York City day, it's occupants entirely unsuspecting of imminent destruction; each scene freezing at the moment of impact. No mushroom clouds appear nor are any exterior views of buildings, areas or cities shown.

The Soviets are never seen in the film. The progress of the attack is followed almost exclusively on giant, electronic maps overlooking the War Room in the Pentagon and SAC Headquarters. Conversations with the Soviet Premier (Russian language occasionally heard in the background on the "Hot-Line") are translated by an American interpreter (an early role by Larry Hagman (Dallas). Suspense builds through dialog between the President and other officials, significantly including the character representing advisor to the Department of Defense, Prof. Groeteschele (Walter Matthau), an old college ally, General Black (Dan O'Herlihy) and, most importantly, SAC commander General Bogan (Frank Overton).

The "Vindicator" bombers (an invention of the novelists) are represented in the film by sometimes awkward stock footage of a real U.S. aircraft, the Convair B-58 Hustler. Fighters sent to attack the bombers are illustrated by film clips of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger and McDonnell F-101 Voodoo. Stock footage was used inasmuch as the United States Air Force declined to cooperate with the film's producers fearful of possible negative publicity from a fictional plot predicated on an inability to positively control its forces.

Reception

When Fail-Safe opened, it garnered excellent reviews, but its box-office performance was poor. Its failure rested with the similarity between it and Dr. Strangelove, which appeared in theaters first. Despite this, the film later was applauded as a cold war thriller. Over the years, both the novel and the movie were well-received for their depiction of a nuclear crisis. The novel sold through to the 1980s and 1990s, and the film was given high marks for retaining the essence of the novel.

Lawsuit

The book so closely resembled the novel Red Alert by Peter George (which was adapted by George and Stanley Kubrick into the mutually assured destruction satire Dr. Strangelove the same year), that George filed a plagiarism lawsuit. The case was settled out of court.

Popular culture

Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove were both produced by Columbia Pictures in the period after the Cuban Missile Crisis, when people became much more sensitive to the threat of nuclear war. Strangelove director Stanley Kubrick insisted the studio release his movie first (in January 1964).

The famous 1964 ad Daisy by the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential campaign featured a shot similar to the final one from the movie, with a smash zoom into the face of a young girl playing.

Fail-Safe was parodied on Second City Television which used a Henry Fonda imitation and the countdown montage in the episode "CCCP 1", which revolves around a Soviet hijacking of the network's satellite.

2000 adaptation

In 2000, the novel was adapted again as a televised play also titled Fail Safe, starring George Clooney, Richard Dreyfuss, and Noah Wyle and broadcast live in black and white on CBS.

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Dolan Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
• Evans, Alun. Brassey's Guide to War Films. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2000. ISBN 1-57488-263-5.
• Harwick, Jack and Ed Schnepf. "A Viewer's Guide to Aviation Movies". The Making of the Great Aviation Films, General Aviation Series, Volume 2, 1989.
• Lobrutto, Vincent. Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. New York: Da Capo Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0306809064.

External links

• Fail-Safe at the Internet Movie Database
• Fail-Safe at AllRovi