This picture was a Movie Place favorite and one of the scariest films ever made, especially if you live in New York. This picture is so openly anti war that assistance from the Department of Defense was denied. You wouldn’t know it to look at it. Although the movie takes place in Washington D.C. and the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command in Nebraska (and its environs) it was all shot in New York, even the exteriors. Again, you wouldn’t know it to look at it.

The premise is similar to Doctor Strangelove ; it is the height of the cold war and a group of bombers, all carrying nuclear weapons, are not called back in time. Once these planes are beyond a certain point, a Fail Safe point, they are to continue on to their targets and disregard any communication as it might be our enemy trying to sabotage the mission. All efforts are made to stop these planes from reaching their target. One by one the planes are shot down but one plane is left and it is heading for it’s target, Moscow. The Premier of the Soviet Union and the President come to a horrific resolution; what will be done if the plane gets to Moscow, what will the eye for an eye give back be.

The picture unfolds very quickly, many characters are introduced at once, there is a great deal happening all at once. The malfunction that sets the planes loose happens very early in the picture. The President (Henry Fonda) is informed and goes to a bunker far below the White House with a Russian interpreter (a young Larry Hagman). The President not only wants a translation but also a conveyance of what the Premier feels by his choice of words. An embarrassed Air force Colonel is picked up from his parents rundown house near the S.A.C. headquarters. A dinner party in Washington has gone on till the wee small hours of the morning where ultra right wing Professor Groeteschele (Walter Mathau) is espousing some ultra right wing rhetoric. And a group of B58 bombers are starting off on their routine (albeit armed) patrols of the north Pacific, just in case.

One of the many great things about this movie is the reaction that the characters have when they put two and two together and realize what is going on, that the end of the world as we know it is at hand. Larry Hagman’s character, Buck, is no exception and Mr. Hagman is great in the role. The putting it together in his mind is incredibly believable. The President orders total cooperation with the Russians. The giving over of secrets is painful for some. It obviously goes against their training. A young Dom DeLuise (that’s right Dom DeLuise and he is excellent in this small role) is practically in tears as he reveals secrets to his Soviet counterpart. The suspense builds and as the first plane is dispatched to the Pacific Ocean the people at S.A.C. cheer as if at a football game. There are too many moments of greatness and writing about them does not do any service to the picture, one has to see it – trust me.

This picture was made while the cold war was going strong. Director Sidney Lumet creates an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia, with the almost all of scenes taking place in either small, windowless rooms, dark control centers dominated by the big board upon which the planes are being watched, or in the cramped cockpit of a bomber. There is not one single note of music is heard throughout the entire movie. All the acting is superb. The message of the movie is suspensefully delivered

TCM is showing this picture on Memorial Day. I wonder if there is any hidden message in that. Hidden or not, the message of the movie is important. The kids should watch this one, it should be shown in schools.

Saturday November 17 at 4:00 PM on TCM

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This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2007 at 12:07 am and is filed under Drama. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.