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IMDbPro

On the Beach

  • 19591959
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
531
4,618
On the Beach (1959)
After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.
Play trailer4:47
1 Video
76 Photos
DramaRomanceSci-Fi
After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
14K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
531
4,618
    • Stanley Kramer
    • John Paxton(screenplay)
    • Nevil Shute(novel)
  • Stars
    • Gregory Peck
    • Ava Gardner
    • Fred Astaire
    • Stanley Kramer
    • John Paxton(screenplay)
    • Nevil Shute(novel)
  • Stars
    • Gregory Peck
    • Ava Gardner
    • Fred Astaire
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 195User reviews
    • 57Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 4:47
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos76

    Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner in On the Beach (1959)
    Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson in On the Beach (1959)
    Ava Gardner in On the Beach (1959)
    Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, and Anthony Perkins in On the Beach (1959)
    Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, Anthony Perkins, and Ava Gardner in On the Beach (1959)
    Fred Astaire, Gregory Peck, and Anthony Perkins in On the Beach (1959)
    Fred Astaire and Gregory Peck in On the Beach (1959)
    On the Beach (1959)
    Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson in On the Beach (1959)
    Paddy Moran in On the Beach (1959)
    Ava Gardner in On the Beach (1959)
    Gregory Peck and John Tate in On the Beach (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gregory Peck
    Gregory Peck
    • Cmdr. Dwight Lionel Towers
    Ava Gardner
    Ava Gardner
    • Moira Davidson
    Fred Astaire
    Fred Astaire
    • Julian Osborn
    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Lt. Peter Holmes
    Donna Anderson
    Donna Anderson
    • Mary Holmes
    John Tate
    John Tate
    • Adm. Bridie
    Harp McGuire
    Harp McGuire
    • Lt. Sunderstrom
    Lola Brooks
    • Lt. Hosgood
    Ken Wayne
    Ken Wayne
    • Lt. Benson
    Guy Doleman
    Guy Doleman
    • Lt. Cmdr. Farrel
    Richard Meikle
    • Davis
    John Meillon
    John Meillon
    • Ralph Swain
    Joe McCormick
    • Ackerman
    Lou Vernon
    • Bill Davidson
    Kevin Brennan
    Kevin Brennan
    • Dr. King
    Basil Buller-Murphy
    • Sir Douglas Froude
    John Casson
    • Salvation Army captain
    Paddy Moran
    Paddy Moran
    • Stevens
      • Stanley Kramer
      • John Paxton(screenplay)
      • Nevil Shute(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Fred Astaire launched his non-musical, dramatic acting career with this film. Stanley Kramer couldn't decide who to cast in this role until his wife suggested Astaire while watching one of his films on TV.
    • Goofs
      At the beginning of the film, a radio announcer is heard reporting that no life survives anywhere but Australia. Later Admiral Bridie suggests that it might be possible for life to continue in Antarctica, indicating that that continent also is not yet affected by radiation. In any event, the basic premise - that Australia would still harbor life while every other site on the globe has been destroyed or rendered lifeless, including New Zealand, which is farther south and much less of a target than Australia would be - is physically a virtual impossibility. (By contrast, in the novel the entire Southern Hemisphere is untouched by the atomic war itself, though the radioactivity gradually drifts southward.)
    • Quotes

      Julian Osborne: The war started when people accepted the idiotic principle that peace could be maintained by arranging to defend themselves with weapons they couldn't possibly use without committing suicide.

    • Crazy credits
      The following acknowledgment appears in the opening credits: "We acknowledge with appreciation the assistance given by the Royal Australian Navy and, in particular, by the officers and men of H.M.A.S. Melbourne and H.M.S. Andrew."
    • Connections
      Edited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Waltzing Matilda
      Original music by Christina McPherson, revised music by Marie Cowan and lyrics by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson (as A.B. Paterson)

    User reviews195

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    10/10
    A great Tour de Force by a fine cast, interpreting a great story
    I watched this movie in a USAF chow hall on the island of Makung in the China Strait with about 20 other airman. The year was 1960. We were stationed there on a missile site. Our targets were 7 Chinese missile sites. Their target was us.

    I was 22 years old and immortal.

    Until I watched this movie.

    When the movie ended, I will never forget the fact that no one moved for perhaps 10 minutes. There was just the bright, blank screen and the sound of the end of the film going around and around. Thiketa-thicketa-thicketa................... No one ever said a word about what we had just seen.

    We, or at least I, never forgot this movie. As said earlier, it was more than scary. It was sad.

    It seems strange now, 40 some years later, to be telling people that you really should watch this film and watch the masters at work, with a script that is chilling. And you know what? We still haven't outlived the possibility...........
    helpful•316
    21
    • hfelknor
    • Apr 13, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 17, 1959 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Frankston, Victoria, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Stanley Kramer Productions
      • Lomitas Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 2 hours 14 minutes
      • Black and White

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