The Beginning or the End (1947)

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
	Brian Donlevy	...	Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves
	Robert Walker	...	Col. Jeff Nixon
	Tom Drake	...	Matt Cochran
	Beverly Tyler	...	Anne Cochran
	Audrey Totter	...	Jean O'Leary
	Hume Cronyn	...	Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer
	Hurd Hatfield	...	Dr. John Wyatt
	Joseph Calleia	...	Dr. Enrico Fermi
	Godfrey Tearle	...	President Franklin D. Roosevelt
	Victor Francen	...	Dr. Marre
	Richard Haydn	...	Dr. Chisholm
	Jonathan Hale	...	Dr. Vannevar Bush
	John Litel	...	K.T. Keller
	Henry O'Neill	...	Gen. Thomas F. Farrell
	Warner Anderson	...	Capt. William S. Parsons

Storyline

Docudrama on the development of the first atomic bomb. Told from the perspective of a film recovered from a time capsule several hundred years into the future, the story is narrated by Robert Oppenheimer (Hume Cronyn) and Major General Leslie Groves (Brian Donlevy) beginning with the Nazis stated goal of developing an atomic bomb. Along with Britain and Canada, the U.S. reacts by beginning its own atomic program. The major developments are all presented: Fermi's successful atomic chain reaction; building the huge complex at Oak Ridge, Tenn.; the production of the first supply of plutonium; the testing in the Nevada desert; and finally the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Written by garykmcd  

Details

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Did You Know?