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Fail-Safe (1964)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
7 October 1964 (USA)
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Tagline:
It will have you sitting on the brink of eternity!
Plot:
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? full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
3 nominations
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User Comments:
Frightening
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Dan O'Herlihy | ... | General Black | |
| Walter Matthau | ... | Groeteschele | |
| Frank Overton | ... | General Bogan | |
| Edward Binns | ... | Colonel Grady | |
| Fritz Weaver | ... | Colonel Cascio | |
| Henry Fonda | ... | The President | |
| Larry Hagman | ... | Buck | |
| William Hansen | ... | Secretary Swenson | |
| Russell Hardie | ... | General Stark | |
| Russell Collins | ... | Knapp | |
| Sorrell Booke | ... | Congressman Raskob | |
| Nancy Berg | ... | Ilsa Wolfe | |
| John Connell | ... | Thomas | |
| Frank Simpson | ... | Sullivan | |
| Hildy Parks | ... | Betty Black |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
112 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)
Certification:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The big screen in the control room at Omaha was entirely front-projection, and had to be very carefully contrasted to appear clearly on black and white film. This posed a problem for the crew, as the air in the room had to be totally clear of dust so as not to disrupt the image (and make the projection obvious). The screen in the war-room used the same film-stock but was rear-projection.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Just before Mrs Grady tries to speak to her husband, the Ultimate 1 war room display shows 3 Vindicator bombers when at this time there is only one left.
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Quotes:
US Ambassador:
[over the phone] I can hear the sound of explosions from the north east. The sky is very bright. All lit up.
[phone melts and high pitched whining sound starts]
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[phone melts and high pitched whining sound starts]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Twilight Zone: Shatterday/A Little Peace and Quiet (#1.1)" (1985)
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FAQ
What is this movie's connection to Dr. Strangelove?more
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I'm a child of the 1970s, but this movie still scared me. You didn't have to grow up during the 50s or 60s to appreciate this. Anways in the 1980s, when Reagan was in office, nuclear war seemed a very real prospect. This movie is deadly serious, NO humor at all, and lit very sparsely. The battles between Russian and US planes seen as blips on a huge screen, is just as scary as if we had seen it realistically. Frightening, harrowing...hard to believe this film still has that effect now. Well worth watching but it's very very grim. Also, Fonda is superb as the President.