Fail-Safe (1964 film)
Encyclopedia
Fail-Safe is a 1964 film directed by Sidney Lumet
, based on the 1962 novel of the same name
by Eugene Burdick
and Harvey Wheeler
. It tells the story of a fictional Cold War
nuclear crisis. The film features an all star cast, including Henry Fonda
, Dan O'Herlihy
, Walter Matthau
, Frank Overton
, and early appearances by Fritz Weaver
, Dom DeLuise
and Larry Hagman
.
, when tensions between the United States
and the Soviet Union
were at their height. At the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command
(SAC), where visiting Congressman Raskob (Sorrell Booke
) is expressing his discomfort with how much of the U.S. defense system is automated without direct human responsibility, an unidentified object is detected approaching North America from Europe. With such incidents a common occurrence, standard procedure is invoked, deploying American fighter aircraft to meet the potential threat. According to routine, American strategic bombers are directed to fly to various predetermined "fail-safe" points outside the borders of the Soviet Union, where they are to remain until receiving either orders to return to base or a special attack code transmitted through an electronic "fail-safe" box in each group commander's bomber.
As is usual, the original "threat" is proven to be innocuous, and orders are issued to have the American bombers recalled. However, the SAC computer system experiences a technical failure which causes a valid attack code to be electronically transmitted to one of the bomber groups. Colonel Jack Grady (Edward Binns), commanding the bomber group, attempts to contact SAC to confirm the order, but is unable to do so, as the group's radio transmissions are being jammed by the Soviets. Having received a valid attack code, and with no known contrary orders, he proceeds with the group's designated attack mission: to drop thermonuclear bombs on Moscow
.
Realizing what has occurred, but still unable to communicate with the bombers, American military commanders advise the President of the United States
(Henry Fonda
) of the situation and urgently invoke measures to avert the attack. After a failed attempt to send American fighter jets to shoot down the bombers, the President contacts the Soviet Chairman to warn him of the growing danger to Moscow and offer American assistance in shooting down the bomber group. The Soviets, both prideful and somewhat suspicious of possible American deception, refuse the help. However, having underestimated the bombers' speed, they are also unable to shoot them down.
With the likelihood increasing that at least one of the bombers will make it to Moscow, the Soviets admit that their jamming has prevented SAC from contacting the bomber group by radio. An American hypothesis is that in addition to preventing them from countermanding the attack order, this Soviet jamming may also have contributed to triggering the mechanical failure at SAC, which caused the transmission of the attack code in the first place. Like the American attack order, the Soviet decision to initiate the jamming had been neither made nor authorized by any human being. Instead, it had been done automatically when computer algorithms, employing what the Chairman calls "their own logic", for some reason determined that the standard American alert maneuvers might on this occasion be a real attack.
The Soviets lift the jamming, enabling the President to speak to Grady. But by this time, the bombers are well beyond the final point at which they are permitted to accept new orders. The crews have been specifically cautioned about possible Soviet trickery, such as radio communications impersonating the voices of American military commanders. Remaining true to his training, Grady disregards the President's order to stand down.
With the Chairman removing himself from Moscow, the Soviets now accept American aid against the bombers. The President orders all American military personnel to fully cooperate with the Soviets and to supply them with any information requested. Mistrust of the Soviets becomes a problem as American officers have difficulty bringing themselves to freely supply the Soviets with valuable military secrets. In the meantime, the President informs the Soviets of his plan to prove conclusively that the attack upon Moscow is an accident, and thus avert a Soviet retaliation that would lead to all-out nuclear war. If Moscow is destroyed, the President will order an equivalent nuclear strike on New York City.
The cooperative effort between the two nations' military personnel yields some success, eliminating most of the bomber group, but Grady's aircraft alone is able to make it through the Soviet defenses. The Soviets' last hope is to detonate their own airborne nuclear explosions in the vicinity of the American bomber, hoping to knock it out of the sky. But Grady anticipates this tactic and is able to decoy the Soviet rockets far enough away that his bomber is then able to withstand the blast. As this happens, SAC makes one last attempt to verbally dissuade him, this time putting Grady's wife on the radio to try to convince him; he remains resolute. Noting that the last Soviet attack subjected him and his crew to lethal doses of radiation, he now decides to drop his bombs on Moscow from a low enough altitude that the bomber will itself be destroyed in the explosion.
As American officials begin planning the post-impact recovery for New York, the President and the Chairman grimly discuss the estimated several million deaths from the pending annihilation of each country's largest city. The Chairman asserts that it is a tragic accident, with no one truly to blame, but the President argues that both governments must accept responsibility for having "let our machines get out of hand". They resolve that they must do anything necessary to prevent any such incident from ever recurring.
Moscow is destroyed, and the President immediately gives the order to bomb New York. The order is given to Brigadier General Warren Black (Dan O'Herlihy
), affectionately known as "Blackie", a personal friend of the President from college—and ironically, one of the military's primary critics of extensive nuclear armament. Black and the President proceed with the plan despite their knowledge that Black's wife and children, as well as the First Lady
, are in New York. Upon releasing the bombs that will obliterate the city, Black injects himself with a suicide pin. The film then ends by showing several normal New York street scenes, depicting a city that is entirely unsuspecting at the moment of destruction, with each scene freezing
at that moment.
The movie is constructed so that the Soviets are never seen. The action is portrayed almost exclusively on the giant maps overlooking the War Room in the Pentagon
and SAC Headquarters, and the Soviet Premier's words are translated by an American interpreter (Larry Hagman
). The war room segments feature dialogs between the President and other officials, including the characters Groeteschele (Walter Matthau
) and, most important, General Bogan (Frank Overton
).
The "Vindicator" bombers (an invention of the novelists) are represented in the film by sometimes awkward stock footage of various real U.S. aircraft, including the B-58 Hustler
, as well as the F-104 Starfighter
, the F-102 Delta Dagger
and the F9F Cougar
. Stock footage was used because the US Air Force would not cooperate with the film's producers due to the risqué subplot and a main plot predicated on fictional Air Force failures.
Underscoring the nightmare quality of the drama, the film features several eerie scenes. For instance, General Black (Dan O'Herlihy
) is bothered in the film's start by a recurring nightmare of a bullfight of which he swears he dreams of constantly and says he knows the matador
, the visual representation of which is deliberately blurred and shaky; then, the "Fail-Safe" main title switches starkly back and forth several times between black letters on a white background, and white letters on a black background. (At the end, as he dies, Black whispers out the words "Matador! Me! Me!", realizing that he, now indirectly responsible for millions of deaths after dropping the bomb on New York, is the unseen matador in the dream.) When the bombers and fighters are shown in flight, the soundtrack is sometimes eliminated entirely. At another point, the stock footage of the aircraft is rendered as a photographic negative.
has protective devices and safeguards that are used all the time to keep the events of the story from happening.
into the mutually assured destruction satire Dr. Strangelove the same year), that George filed a plagiarism lawsuit. The case was settled out of court.
were both produced by Columbia Pictures
in the period after the Cuban Missile Crisis
, when people became much more sensitive to the threat of nuclear war. Strangelove director Stanley Kubrick
insisted the studio release his movie first (in January 1964). Strangelove shares many plot similarities with Fail-Safe (and was legally derived from Red Alert, see above), but added black humor and satire to the mix.
The famous 1964 ad Daisy by the Lyndon B. Johnson
presidential campaign
featured a shot similar to the final one from the movie, with a smash zoom into the face of a young girl playing.
Fail-Safe was parodied on Second City Television
which used a Henry Fonda
imitation and the countdown montage in the episode "CCCP 1", which revolves around a Soviet hijacking of the network's satellite.
In seventh season episode Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming
of the Simpsons
, Sideshow Bob threatens to destroy the city of Springfield with a nuclear warhead. When his plan falls apart, he pushes the detonator and subsequent shots show other citizens casually enjoying their day without ever knowing they are close to annihilation, all as an homage to the final shots from Fail-Safe."
, the novel was adapted again as a televised play also titled Fail Safe, starring George Clooney
, Richard Dreyfuss
, and Noah Wyle
and broadcast live
in black and white
on CBS
.
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
, based on the 1962 novel of the same name
Fail-Safe (novel)
Fail-Safe is a novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, published in 1962.The popular and critically acclaimed novel was first adapted into a 1964 film of the same name directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, and Walter Matthau. In 2000, the novel was adapted again for...
by Eugene Burdick
Eugene Burdick
Eugene L. Burdick , was an American political scientist, novelist, and non-fiction writer, co-author of The Ugly American and Fail-Safe and author of The 480 ....
and Harvey Wheeler
Harvey Wheeler
John Harvey Wheeler was an American author, political scientist, and scholar. He was best known as co-author with Eugene Burdick of Fail-Safe, 1962, an early cold war novel that depicted what could easily go wrong in an age on the verge of nuclear war. The novel was made into a movie, directed...
. It tells the story of a fictional Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
nuclear crisis. The film features an all star cast, including Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
, Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
, Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
, Frank Overton
Frank Overton
Frank Emmons Overton was an American actor.-Career:Overton appeared in numerous television programs during the early 1950s and through the late 1960s, including The Fugitive in 1963...
, and early appearances by Fritz Weaver
Fritz Weaver
Fritz William Weaver is an American actor and voice actor.-Life and career:Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Elsa W. and John Carson Weaver. His mother was of Italian descent and his father was a social worker from Pittsburgh. Weaver attended Peabody High School...
, Dom DeLuise
Dom DeLuise
Dominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
and Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
.
Plot
The film takes place during the Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, when tensions between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
were at their height. At the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command
The Strategic Air Command was both a Major Command of the United States Air Force and a "specified command" of the United States Department of Defense. SAC was the operational establishment in charge of America's land-based strategic bomber aircraft and land-based intercontinental ballistic...
(SAC), where visiting Congressman Raskob (Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke
Sorrell Booke was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He is best known for his role as the heavyset, corrupt politician "Boss" Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard....
) is expressing his discomfort with how much of the U.S. defense system is automated without direct human responsibility, an unidentified object is detected approaching North America from Europe. With such incidents a common occurrence, standard procedure is invoked, deploying American fighter aircraft to meet the potential threat. According to routine, American strategic bombers are directed to fly to various predetermined "fail-safe" points outside the borders of the Soviet Union, where they are to remain until receiving either orders to return to base or a special attack code transmitted through an electronic "fail-safe" box in each group commander's bomber.
As is usual, the original "threat" is proven to be innocuous, and orders are issued to have the American bombers recalled. However, the SAC computer system experiences a technical failure which causes a valid attack code to be electronically transmitted to one of the bomber groups. Colonel Jack Grady (Edward Binns), commanding the bomber group, attempts to contact SAC to confirm the order, but is unable to do so, as the group's radio transmissions are being jammed by the Soviets. Having received a valid attack code, and with no known contrary orders, he proceeds with the group's designated attack mission: to drop thermonuclear bombs on Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Realizing what has occurred, but still unable to communicate with the bombers, American military commanders advise the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
(Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
) of the situation and urgently invoke measures to avert the attack. After a failed attempt to send American fighter jets to shoot down the bombers, the President contacts the Soviet Chairman to warn him of the growing danger to Moscow and offer American assistance in shooting down the bomber group. The Soviets, both prideful and somewhat suspicious of possible American deception, refuse the help. However, having underestimated the bombers' speed, they are also unable to shoot them down.
With the likelihood increasing that at least one of the bombers will make it to Moscow, the Soviets admit that their jamming has prevented SAC from contacting the bomber group by radio. An American hypothesis is that in addition to preventing them from countermanding the attack order, this Soviet jamming may also have contributed to triggering the mechanical failure at SAC, which caused the transmission of the attack code in the first place. Like the American attack order, the Soviet decision to initiate the jamming had been neither made nor authorized by any human being. Instead, it had been done automatically when computer algorithms, employing what the Chairman calls "their own logic", for some reason determined that the standard American alert maneuvers might on this occasion be a real attack.
The Soviets lift the jamming, enabling the President to speak to Grady. But by this time, the bombers are well beyond the final point at which they are permitted to accept new orders. The crews have been specifically cautioned about possible Soviet trickery, such as radio communications impersonating the voices of American military commanders. Remaining true to his training, Grady disregards the President's order to stand down.
With the Chairman removing himself from Moscow, the Soviets now accept American aid against the bombers. The President orders all American military personnel to fully cooperate with the Soviets and to supply them with any information requested. Mistrust of the Soviets becomes a problem as American officers have difficulty bringing themselves to freely supply the Soviets with valuable military secrets. In the meantime, the President informs the Soviets of his plan to prove conclusively that the attack upon Moscow is an accident, and thus avert a Soviet retaliation that would lead to all-out nuclear war. If Moscow is destroyed, the President will order an equivalent nuclear strike on New York City.
The cooperative effort between the two nations' military personnel yields some success, eliminating most of the bomber group, but Grady's aircraft alone is able to make it through the Soviet defenses. The Soviets' last hope is to detonate their own airborne nuclear explosions in the vicinity of the American bomber, hoping to knock it out of the sky. But Grady anticipates this tactic and is able to decoy the Soviet rockets far enough away that his bomber is then able to withstand the blast. As this happens, SAC makes one last attempt to verbally dissuade him, this time putting Grady's wife on the radio to try to convince him; he remains resolute. Noting that the last Soviet attack subjected him and his crew to lethal doses of radiation, he now decides to drop his bombs on Moscow from a low enough altitude that the bomber will itself be destroyed in the explosion.
As American officials begin planning the post-impact recovery for New York, the President and the Chairman grimly discuss the estimated several million deaths from the pending annihilation of each country's largest city. The Chairman asserts that it is a tragic accident, with no one truly to blame, but the President argues that both governments must accept responsibility for having "let our machines get out of hand". They resolve that they must do anything necessary to prevent any such incident from ever recurring.
Moscow is destroyed, and the President immediately gives the order to bomb New York. The order is given to Brigadier General Warren Black (Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
), affectionately known as "Blackie", a personal friend of the President from college—and ironically, one of the military's primary critics of extensive nuclear armament. Black and the President proceed with the plan despite their knowledge that Black's wife and children, as well as the First Lady
First Lady of the United States
First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...
, are in New York. Upon releasing the bombs that will obliterate the city, Black injects himself with a suicide pin. The film then ends by showing several normal New York street scenes, depicting a city that is entirely unsuspecting at the moment of destruction, with each scene freezing
Freeze frame
- Film and Television :*Freeze frame shot, a cinematographic technique*Freeze frame television, a technique making use of freeze frame shots*Freeze Frame, a game on The Price is Right...
at that moment.
Cast
- Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
—the President - Dan O'HerlihyDan O'HerlihyDaniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
—Brig Gen Warren A. Black, USAF - Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
—Prof. Groeteschele - Frank OvertonFrank OvertonFrank Emmons Overton was an American actor.-Career:Overton appeared in numerous television programs during the early 1950s and through the late 1960s, including The Fugitive in 1963...
—Gen Bogan - Ed BinnsEd BinnsEdward Binns was a stage, film, and television actor.Binns was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After appearing in a number of Broadway plays, Binns began appearing in films in the early 1950s...
—Col Jack Grady, USAF - Fritz WeaverFritz WeaverFritz William Weaver is an American actor and voice actor.-Life and career:Weaver was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Elsa W. and John Carson Weaver. His mother was of Italian descent and his father was a social worker from Pittsburgh. Weaver attended Peabody High School...
—Col Cascio - Larry HagmanLarry HagmanLarry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
—Buck, the President's translator - William HansenWilliam Hansen (actor)William Hansen was an American actor.He originated the role of Mr. Lundie in the original Broadway production of Brigadoon in 1947.- Filmography :- External links :...
—Defense Secretary Swenson - Russell Hardie—Gen Stark
- Russell Collins—Gordon Knapp
- Sorrell BookeSorrell BookeSorrell Booke was an American actor who performed on stage, screen, and television. He is best known for his role as the heavyset, corrupt politician "Boss" Hogg in the television show The Dukes of Hazzard....
—Congressman Raskob - Nancy Berg—Ilsa Woolfe
- Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
—Sgt Collins - Frieda Altman—Mrs. Jennie Johnson
- Hildy ParksHildy ParksHildy Parks was an American actress and writer.Born in Washington, D.C., Parks pursued acting following her graduation from the University of Virginia...
—Betty Black - Janet Ward—Helen Grady
- Louise Larabee—Mrs. Cascio
- Dana ElcarDana ElcarDana Elcar was an American television and movie character actor. Although he appeared in about 40 films, his most memorable role was on the 1980s and 1990s television series MacGyver as Peter Thornton, an administrator working for the Phoenix Foundation...
—Mr. Foster
Production
The film is shot in black and white, in a minimalist, documentary-style format, with claustrophobic close-ups, and long silences between the characters. Absolutely no music is heard in the film, either as underscoring or from a source within the film. With a few exceptions, the action takes place largely in bunkers, conference rooms, and a cockpit. Only in the opening two scenes and in the final street scene depictions of New York in the seconds before it is destroyed do people and animals appear active and "alive" in the normal day-to-day world.The movie is constructed so that the Soviets are never seen. The action is portrayed almost exclusively on the giant maps overlooking the War Room in the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
and SAC Headquarters, and the Soviet Premier's words are translated by an American interpreter (Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
). The war room segments feature dialogs between the President and other officials, including the characters Groeteschele (Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau
Walter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
) and, most important, General Bogan (Frank Overton
Frank Overton
Frank Emmons Overton was an American actor.-Career:Overton appeared in numerous television programs during the early 1950s and through the late 1960s, including The Fugitive in 1963...
).
The "Vindicator" bombers (an invention of the novelists) are represented in the film by sometimes awkward stock footage of various real U.S. aircraft, including the B-58 Hustler
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...
, as well as the F-104 Starfighter
F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
, the F-102 Delta Dagger
F-102 Delta Dagger
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was a US interceptor aircraft built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s. Entering service in 1956, its main purpose was to intercept invading Soviet bomber fleets...
and the F9F Cougar
F9F Cougar
The Grumman F9F/F-9 Cougar was an aircraft carrier-based fighter aircraft for the United States Navy. Based on the earlier Grumman F9F Panther, the Cougar replaced the Panther's straight wing with a more modern swept wing...
. Stock footage was used because the US Air Force would not cooperate with the film's producers due to the risqué subplot and a main plot predicated on fictional Air Force failures.
Underscoring the nightmare quality of the drama, the film features several eerie scenes. For instance, General Black (Dan O'Herlihy
Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Oscar nominated Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford, Ireland in 1919. His family moved to Dublin at a young age...
) is bothered in the film's start by a recurring nightmare of a bullfight of which he swears he dreams of constantly and says he knows the matador
Matador
A torero or toureiro is a bullfighter and the main performer in bullfighting, practised in Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Mexico, France and various other countries influenced by Spanish culture. In Spanish, the word torero describes any of the performers who actively participate in the bullfight...
, the visual representation of which is deliberately blurred and shaky; then, the "Fail-Safe" main title switches starkly back and forth several times between black letters on a white background, and white letters on a black background. (At the end, as he dies, Black whispers out the words "Matador! Me! Me!", realizing that he, now indirectly responsible for millions of deaths after dropping the bomb on New York, is the unseen matador in the dream.) When the bombers and fighters are shown in flight, the soundtrack is sometimes eliminated entirely. At another point, the stock footage of the aircraft is rendered as a photographic negative.
Action messages in real life
One of the necessary plot elements in Fail-Safe is the inability of Colonel Grady's group to hear the correct action message because of Soviet jamming of a digital signal. However, by 1964, the U.S. Air Force used single-sideband radio to transmit Emergency Action Messages to air crews; this has the advantage of not being easily jammed. A theoretical means to jam such signals is a key part of the film's plot. The movie's closing credits are followed by a disclaimer stating that the United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
has protective devices and safeguards that are used all the time to keep the events of the story from happening.
Reception
When Fail-Safe opened, it garnered excellent reviews, but its box-office performance was poor. Its failure rested with the similarity between it and Dr. Strangelove, which appeared in theaters first. Despite this, the film later was applauded as a cold war thriller. Over the years, both the novel and the movie were well-received for their depiction of a nuclear crisis. The novel sold through to the 1980s and 1990s, and the film was given high marks for retaining the essence of the novel.Lawsuit
The book so closely resembled the novel Red Alert by Peter George (which was adapted by George and Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
into the mutually assured destruction satire Dr. Strangelove the same year), that George filed a plagiarism lawsuit. The case was settled out of court.
Popular culture
Fail-Safe and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the BombDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, commonly known as Dr. Strangelove, is a 1964 black comedy film which satirizes the nuclear scare. It was directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick, starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott, and featuring Sterling...
were both produced by Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
in the period after the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
, when people became much more sensitive to the threat of nuclear war. Strangelove director Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
insisted the studio release his movie first (in January 1964). Strangelove shares many plot similarities with Fail-Safe (and was legally derived from Red Alert, see above), but added black humor and satire to the mix.
The famous 1964 ad Daisy by the Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
presidential campaign
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
featured a shot similar to the final one from the movie, with a smash zoom into the face of a young girl playing.
Fail-Safe was parodied on Second City Television
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
which used a Henry Fonda
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
imitation and the countdown montage in the episode "CCCP 1", which revolves around a Soviet hijacking of the network's satellite.
In seventh season episode Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming
Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming
"Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons seventh season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 26, 1995. In the episode, Sideshow Bob becomes disturbed when he hears the other inmates laughing at the inane antics of Krusty the Clown's...
of the Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Sideshow Bob threatens to destroy the city of Springfield with a nuclear warhead. When his plan falls apart, he pushes the detonator and subsequent shots show other citizens casually enjoying their day without ever knowing they are close to annihilation, all as an homage to the final shots from Fail-Safe."
2000 adaptation
In 20002000 in television
The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...
, the novel was adapted again as a televised play also titled Fail Safe, starring George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
, Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
, and Noah Wyle
Noah Wyle
Noah Strausser Speer Wyle is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. John Truman Carter III in the Medical drama ER. He has also played Steve Jobs in the 1999 docudrama Pirates of Silicon Valley and Flynn Carsen in The Librarian franchise...
and broadcast live
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
in black and white
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
.