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

An insane general triggers a path to nuclear holocaust that a War Room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.

Director:

Stanley Kubrick

Writers:

Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Terry Southern (screenplay)

Stars:

Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden

Top Rated Movies #58 | Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 7 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 D. 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, 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 all ...

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Plot Keywords:

war room | u.s. president | bodily fluids | nuclear holocaust | nuclear weapons | 

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Taglines:

The wild hot-line suspense comedy.

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Genres:

Comedy

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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:

Okaloosa County, Florida, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,800,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,751, 17 July 1994, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$9,440,272, 31 December 1994

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

Shortly after the release of the movie, Stanley Kubrick met with Arthur C. Clarke to talk about making the "proverbial good science-fiction movie". During a discussion of ideas (that eventually became 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)), the two men saw what they at first thought was a satellite moving in a polar orbit, but it abruptly changed direction. When Clarke suggested calling in a UFO report, Kubrick said, "After 'Dr. Strangelove', the Air Force doesn't want to hear from me."

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Goofs

Although General Turgidson says (in the War Room) that "the aircraft will begin penetrating Russian radar coverage in about 20 minutes," the map of Russia on the Big Board shows several aircraft either very close to, or in some cases actually over, the Russian border, well within the range of Soviet military radar.

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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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Alternate Versions

The US version opens with the following text being displayed before the Columbia lady appears: "It is the stated position of the U.S. Air Force that their safeguards would prevent the occurence of such events as are depicted in this film. Furthermore, it should be noted that none of the characters portrayed in this film are meant to represent any real persons living or dead."

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Connections

Referenced in Me Myself and I (1992)

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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

Russians In The War Room

Spectacular and chilling to watch Dr. Strangelove in May 16, 2017. I'm not going to talk about prophecy not even coincidence. Art has a way to warn, express or simply entertain in a way that its relevance will always be renewed. That opening with George C Scott's secretary, in her underwear, answering the phone for her boss in the most professional tone imaginable, is a masterful way to introduce us to the normal absurdity we're about to embark on. Terry Southern's extraordinary script (sharing credit with Peter George and Stanley Kubrick himself) is a masterpiece of intention and execution. The film doesn't have a moment of emptiness nor a single cheap shot. Everything works with the irrational logic of tradition and set standards. How can something so serious and ultimately terrifying can be so funny. I think that's the definition of film art. I don't want to sound pompous but that's exactly how I feel. I've seen a 1966 movie by Stanley Kubrick in 2017 that's better, more relevant, ingenious and even revolutionary than anything we've seen in a long, long time. Peter Sellers, fantastic three times over (and he was also going to play the Slim Pickens part) George C Scott in one of the greatest comic performances ever put on film and Sterling Hayden in a frighteningly credible show of abuse of power, complete the pleasures of this remarkable film.