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On the Beach (1959)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
17 December 1959 (USA)
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Plot:
The residents of Australia after a global nuclear war must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 3 wins
&
6 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Eric Roberts: The Hollywood Interview
(From The Hollywood Interview. 2 November 2009, 10:23 AM, PST)
He’s Not Coming Back: Point Break 2 Stays On The Beach
(From FilmShaft.com. 10 September 2009, 10:05 AM, PDT)
(From The Hollywood Interview. 2 November 2009, 10:23 AM, PST)
He’s Not Coming Back: Point Break 2 Stays On The Beach
(From FilmShaft.com. 10 September 2009, 10:05 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Powerful Without Being Pretentious
more (121 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Gregory Peck | ... | Cmdr. Dwight Lionel Towers, USS Sawfish |
 | Ava Gardner | ... | Moira Davidson |
 | Fred Astaire | ... | Julian Osborne |
 | Anthony Perkins | ... | Lt. Cmdr. Peter Holmes, Royal Australian Navy |
 | Donna Anderson | ... | Mary Holmes |
| John Tate | ... | Adm. Bridie |
| Harp McGuire | ... | Lt. Sunderstrom (ashore in San Diego) |
| Lola Brooks | ... | Lt. Hosgood (Bridie's secretary) |
| Ken Wayne | ... | Lt. Benson |
| Guy Doleman | ... | Lt. Cmdr. Farrel |
| Richard Meikle | ... | Davis |
| John Meillon | ... | Ralph Swain (ashore in San Francisco) |
| Joe McCormick | ... | Ackerman (radiation sickness) |
| Lou Vernon | ... | Bill Davidson (Moira's father) |
| Kevin Brennan | ... | Dr. King (radiation diagnosis) |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
134 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Germany:16 |
UK:PG |
USA:Approved (PCA #19372) |
Canada:PG (video rating) |
Norway:16 |
Australia:PG
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
According to Philip R. Davey, author of the book "When Hollywood Came to Melbourne: The Story of the Making of Stanley Kramer's 'On The Beach'", director Stanley Kramer experienced many problems with the thousands of bathers who stood in shoulder-deep water to watch the proceedings, and who applauded the cast after each take. Their enthusiasm was gratifying in this respect if not in others, such as when thousands of people began crowding forward to get a closer look at Ava Gardner, they repeatedly moved into camera range, thus necessitating many frustrating retakes.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: Dwight tells Peter that he has to bunk him with a fellow (Julian Osborne) from "the C.S.I.R." The correct initials of the group Dwight is referring to are "C.S.I.R.O." - "Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation". "C.S.I.R." is inaccurate.
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Quotes:
Movie Connections:
Referenced in A Conversation with Gregory Peck (1999)
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Soundtrack:
Onward, Christian Soldiers
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This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (121 total)
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"On The Beach", despite it's heavy subject of a nuclear holocaust wiping out all human life, succeeds because Stanley Kramer is mercifully more restrained and less pretentious than he would later be in "Inherit The Wind" and "Judgment At Nuremberg", which are memorable more for their polemics than their characters, in my opinion. Except for one minor speech by Fred Astaire at one point (which as the previous reviewer noted is somewhat ironic in light of the fact that the very thing Astaire rails against, the idea that large nuclear stockpiles could keep the peace, turned out to be absolutely true) the film is for the most part about people and how they react to the knowledge that their world and their lives will soon come to an end. This is what makes the film so compelling as far as I'm concerned. The cast is excellent, with fine performances by Astaire (his first non-musical part), Anthony Perkins and Gregory Peck. But the real strength of the movie is Ava Gardner's touching performance as the lonely, alcoholic Moira Davidson who manages for one brief moment before the end to find true love with Peck. Having read much about her life, there is something almost hauntingly autobiographic in Gardner's portrayal, and that only adds to the movie's overall poignance.