Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

An insane general starts a process to nuclear holocaust that a war room of politicians and generals frantically try to stop.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Terry Southern (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden

Top 250 #38 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Sellers	...	Group Capt. Lionel Mandrake / President Merkin Muffley / Dr. Strangelove
George C. Scott	...	Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson
Sterling Hayden	...	Brig. Gen. Jack Ripper
Keenan Wynn	...	Col. 'Bat' Guano
Slim Pickens	...	Maj. 'King' Kong
Peter Bull	...	Russian Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky
James Earl Jones	...	Lt. Lothar Zogg
Tracy Reed	...	Miss Scott
Jack Creley	...	Mr. Staines
Frank Berry	...	Lt. Dietrich
Robert O'Neil	...	Adm. Randolph
Glenn Beck	...	Lt. Kivel (as Glen Beck)
Roy Stephens	...	Frank
Shane Rimmer	...	Capt. 'Ace' Owens
Hal Galili	...	Burpelson AFB Defense Team Member

Storyline

Paranoid Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper of Burpelson Air Force Base, he believing that fluoridation of the American water supply is a Soviet plot to poison the U.S. populace, is able to deploy through a back door mechanism a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union without the knowledge of his superiors, including the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Buck Turgidson, and President Merkin Muffley. Only Ripper knows the code to recall the B-52 bombers and he has shut down communication in and out of Burpelson as a measure to protect this attack. Ripper's executive officer, RAF Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (on exchange from Britain), who is being held at Burpelson by Ripper, believes he knows the recall codes if he can only get a message to the outside world. Meanwhile at the Pentagon War Room, key persons including Muffley, Turgidson and nuclear scientist and adviser, a former Nazi named Dr. Strangelove, are discussing measures to stop the attack or mitigate its blow-up into an ...

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Plot Keywords:

general | bomber | war room | u.s. president | doomsday | 

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Taglines:

the hot-line suspense comedy

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Genres:

Comedy | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some violent content, sexual humor and mild language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Russian

Release Date:

29 January 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Delicate Balance of Terror

Filming Locations:

Arctic

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Hawk Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The ending in the novel was similar to the novel and movie Fail-Safe. Author Peter George detested the conversion of his book to a satire, but wrote a tie-in novelization of the film anyway.

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Goofs

In the cockpit scenes, when the aircraft banks during evasive maneuvers, no change appears in the instruments: they continue indicating straight and level flight (notably the attitude indicator).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: For more than a year, ominous rumors had been privately circulating among high-level Western leaders that the Soviet Union had been at work on what was darkly hinted to be the ultimate weapon: a doomsday device. Intelligence sources traced the site of the top secret Russian project to the perpetually fog-shrouded wasteland below the Arctic peaks of the Zhokhov Islands. What they were building or why it should be located in such a remote and desolate place no one could say.

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Crazy Credits

The screenplay title is incorrectly spelled. It reads: 'Base' on the book "Red Alert" by Peter George. This is pointed out on the DVD supplement about the making of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in The Muppet Show: Episode #2.5 (1977)

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Soundtracks

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home"
(1863) (uncredited)
Music by the Union Army bandmaster, Louis Lambert
In the score often during the flight of Major 'King' Kong's aircraft

User Reviews

" Mr. President , . . We Must Not Allow a Mine-Shaft Gap!!! "

In all the years of film making, Peter Sellers never disappointed an audience. No matter what the part, he always seem to find the perfect voice and therefore, his character. If you put him together with other equally great character actors like, George C. Scott who plays maniacal Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson and Sterling Hayden as the insane Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper (Jack The Ripper?) and the Slim Pickens as Maj. T.J. 'King' Kong, James Erle Jones as Lt. Lothar Zogg, the bombardier and Peter Bull as the Russian Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky, then you not only have an award winning film, but the secret formula for a Classic. The story is set in the sixties, during the Cold War and a lunatic Air Wing Commander intentionally gives the "Gold Code Signal for his wing to attack Russia. What follows is a dramatic minute ticking film, designed to illuminate the military's ignorance, stupidity and final acquiescence of the doomsday, 'Fail-Safe' device. The entire movie is a comedy of errors and one reflected of Standly Kubrick's genius. The one sequence where Major Kong rides a nuclear missal to its target is synonymous with the mentality of the pentagon. Through the passage of time, this superb movie has not only become a Dark Classic, but a possible statement of the future reality of the human race. ****