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Pommin varjossa

Original title: Fail Safe
  • 1964
  • K-8
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
25K
YOUR RATING
Pommin varjossa (1964)
Watch Trailer [OV]
Play trailer2:56
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaThriller

A technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?A technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?A technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?

  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writers
    • Walter Bernstein
    • Eugene Burdick
    • Harvey Wheeler
  • Stars
    • Henry Fonda
    • Walter Matthau
    • Fritz Weaver
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.0/10
    25K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writers
      • Walter Bernstein
      • Eugene Burdick
      • Harvey Wheeler
    • Stars
      • Henry Fonda
      • Walter Matthau
      • Fritz Weaver
    • 197User reviews
    • 53Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 3 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer [OV]
    Trailer 2:56
    Watch Trailer [OV]

    Photos180

    Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Dan O'Herlihy in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Dan O'Herlihy and Hildy Parks in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Dan O'Herlihy and Hildy Parks in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Walter Matthau in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Dana Elcar in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Walter Matthau and Dana Elcar in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Nancy Berg in Pommin varjossa (1964)
    Pommin varjossa (1964)

    Cast26

    Edit
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • The President
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Dr. Groeteschele
    Fritz Weaver
    Fritz Weaver
    • Col. Cascio
    Dan O'Herlihy
    Dan O'Herlihy
    • Gen. Black
    Frank Overton
    Frank Overton
    • Gen. Bogan
    Edward Binns
    Edward Binns
    • Col. Grady
    Larry Hagman
    Larry Hagman
    • Buck
    William Hansen
    William Hansen
    • Secretary Swenson
    Russell Hardie
    Russell Hardie
    • Gen. Stark
    Russell Collins
    Russell Collins
    • Knapp
    Sorrell Booke
    Sorrell Booke
    • Congressman Raskob
    Nancy Berg
    Nancy Berg
    • Ilsa Wolfe
    John Connell
    John Connell
    • Thomas
    Frank Simpson
    • Sullivan
    Hildy Parks
    Hildy Parks
    • Betty Black
    Janet Ward
    Janet Ward
    • Mrs. Grady
    Dom DeLuise
    Dom DeLuise
    • Sgt. Collins
    • (as Dom DeLouise)
    Dana Elcar
    Dana Elcar
    • Foster
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writers
      • Walter Bernstein
      • Eugene Burdick
      • Harvey Wheeler
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The "computer-generated" image on the control-room screen (including the map of the world, the planes and the explosions) was entirely drawn and animated by hand.
    • Goofs
      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 fly-by-wire and supersonic bomber (and capable of twice the speed of sound), the three-man crew of pilot, bombardier/navigator, and defense systems specialist were seated in-line 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 be ejected 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 pod design was incorporated as a presidential safeguard on modern 747 versions of Air Force One, as implied in the film Air Force One (1997).
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Brigadier General Warren A. Black: The Matador, the Matador... me... me

    • Crazy credits
      [FINAL CREDIT]: The producers of this film wish to stress that it is the stated position of the Department of Defense and the United States Air Force that a rigidly enforced system of safeguards and controls insure that occurrences such as those depicted in this story cannot happen
    • Connections
      Featured in Henry Fonda: The Man and His Movies (1982)

    User reviews197

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    Brilliant
    I saw this movie via two instances of serendipity. First I just happened to be living in an area that offered The Disney Channel in the basic cable package (which is all I ever get) and that as a Bruce Springsteen fan I was excited that the Disney Channel was going to broadcast a special concert short on The Boss. Of course I'm an older Springsteen fan, so instead of staying up late to watch it I just put a tape in and pressed record. The next day I enjoyed the concert, but forgot to hit stop when it ended. What followed next was "Fail Safe". After a few minutes it caught my interest, and now is one of my favorite films.

    I'm not sure if this was a precursor to "Strangelove" or vice versa, for they are both listed as 1964 releases. Oddly they both have the same texture about them which leads me to believe that there was more than coincidence in their respective productions. Both are piece de resistances in Cold War studies. The main sundering is that where "Strangelove" excels in parody, "Fail Safe" is rich in tension.

    Of course an anxious film about nuclear war on the brink can easily invoke tension (remember "War Games"?), but this film exceeds a good plot. The filmmakers use a backdrop of soceital depravity to create neurasthenia and presentiment; as shown by the strange and erotic scene with Walter Matthau and the woman in the car (kind of a mass-sadisim, lust thing) and the implied domestic violence in the apartment scene. The movie is also deliciously philosophical (the clever "criminals and file clerks will survive" theory) as well as adroit phsycological character development for all the main characters.

    The picture is also darkly filmed, remarkedly minimalist and low-budget as if to show the limits of technology, in order to symbolize the sophistry of our trust in it. BTW I love the Matthau character's (the political science professor) line as he explains the faults of missles that have no human intuition. "The rockets have the defect of their virtues" he says in explaining how they cannot make a conscious decision to abort after receiving an order. But the message in this film is clear; even if technology breaks down it is only a symptom of our doom, ultimately it is humans who are responsible.
    helpful•32
    5
    • XRANDY
    • Nov 24, 2001

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    FAQ16

    • How long is Fail Safe?Powered by Alexa
    • What is this movie's connection to Dr. Strangelove?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 15, 1965 (Finland)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • Fail Safe
    • Filming locations
      • Westbury, Long Island, New York, USA(Roosevelt Field: President's bunker)
    • Production company
      • Columbia Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $3,924,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 52 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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