Fail-Safe (1964)

Director:

Sidney Lumet

Writers:

Walter Bernstein (screenplay)
Eugene Burdick (from the novel by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 January 1965 (Finland)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

The screen zeros in on the most suspenseful adventure drama of our age!

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?

Plot Keywords:

Bomber | General | Strategic Air Command | Colonel | Control

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Dan O'Herlihy	...	General Black
Walter Matthau	...	Groeteschele
Frank Overton	...	General Bogan
Edward Binns	...	Colonel Grady (as Ed Binns)
Fritz Weaver	...	Colonel Cascio
Henry Fonda	...	The President
Larry Hagman	...	Buck
William Hansen	...	Secretary Swenson
Russell Hardie	...	General Stark (as Russell Hardy)
Russell Collins	...	Knapp
Sorrell Booke	...	Congressman Raskob
Nancy Berg	...	Ilsa Wolfe
John Connell	...	Thomas
Frank Simpson	...	Sullivan
Hildy Parks	...	Betty Black
Janet Ward	...	Mrs. Grady
Dom DeLuise	...	Sgt. Collins
Dana Elcar	...	Foster
Stewart Germain	...	Mr. Cascio
Louise Larabee	...	Mrs. Cascio
Frieda Altman	...	Jennie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Geri Miller	...	Go-go Dancer (uncredited)
Charles Tyner	...	Jet Fighter Pilot (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Sidney Lumet

Writing credits
Walter Bernstein		(screenplay)
Eugene Burdick		(from the novel by) &
Harvey Wheeler		(from the novel by)
Peter George		uncredited

Produced by
Charles H. Maguire	....	associate producer
Max E. Youngstein	....	producer

Cinematography by
Gerald Hirschfeld		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ralph Rosenblum		(film editor)

Art Direction by
Albert Brenner

Set Decoration by
J.C. Delaney		(as J.C. DeLaney)

Costume Design by
Anna Hill Johnstone		(costumes by)

Makeup Department
Harry Buchman	....	makeup
Bill Herman	....	makeup department head

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Harry Falk	....	assistant director (as Harry Falk Jr.)

Sound Department
Jack Fitzstephens	....	sound editor
William Swift	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Howard Fortune	....	chief electrician
Edward Knott	....	chief grip
Albert Taffet	....	camera operator (as Al Taffett)

Other crew
Marguerite James	....	continuity
Eugene Burdick	....	script consultant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation

Distributors

• Columbia Pictures (1964) (USA) (theatrical) (as Columbia)
• Columbia Films (1964) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Columbia-Bavaria Filmgesellschaft m.b.H. (1964) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Film-Verleih (1965) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Columbia Films (1965) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1966) (USA) (TV)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1983) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Nordic (2007) (Finland) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (video)

Special Effects

• Storyboard Inc. (special and animated effects)

Other Companies

• F. Hillsberg  titles (as F. Hillsberg, Inc.)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-8 | Sweden:15 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | West Germany:16 | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:Approved

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

With one exception (see goofs entry), all shots of US Air Force "Vindicator" bombers are views of the same Convair B-58 Hustler, taken from a stock piece of film after the Department of Defense declined to cooperate with the filmmakers.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The interior shots of the bombers, Convair B-58 Hustlers (see Trivia), actually were shot inside of a commercial airline simulator then under repair at a a New York airport. The three crew members sit within feet of each other, in an open cockpit layout. In an actual B-58, the world's first supersonic bomber (and capable of twice the speed of sound), the three-man crew of pilot, bombardier/navigator, and defense systems specialist were separated by banks of equipment, and had no physical contact with one another. To make survivable ejection possible on such a high-speed aircraft, each compartment was specifically designed as wholly contained clam-shell "pod" that would disengage intact if the need arose. As a result, the crew had to rely on an internal telecommunications system to talk, or a string-and-pulley system that ran along the cabin wall to exchange notes if those systems failed. It's speculated that this early "jettison pod" design was incorporated as a presidential safeguard on modern 747 versions of Air Force One, as implied in the 1997 Harrison Ford movie thriller "Air Force One", and that it also inspired the crew containment compartment of the space shuttle.

Quotes:

Prof. Groeteschele:[viciously slapping a beautiful young woman who has tried to seduce him after a cocktail party] I'm not your kind.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.14" (2011)

One of the very best movies ever made.

I just bought a copy of this movie after hemming and hawing for several years. I have both read the book and seen the film several times.

This is without a doubt one of the very best motion pictures ever made. The cast is exceptional and features actors that went on to be type cast as either comic or hack, Dom De-louis, Walter Matthau, Larry Hagman, in some unbelievably well done dramatic parts.

Along with Henry Fonda as the most realistic president ever put to film, The entire cast is magnificent.

Just as an aside try getting both this film and Kubricks Dr. Strangelove and watch the both. Fail Safe first the Strange Love and enjoy the juxtaposition. Basically the same story, but with a wildly divergent take on the situation.

Get some popcorn and enjoy.

Btw: 1. FAIL SAFE is a very intense film. watch it early in the evening.

2. Dr Strangelove is a comic masterpiece but pails in comparison.

3. Read the book of FAIL SAFE as well. It will chill your soul.