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IMDbPro

Fail Safe

  • 19641964
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 52m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
22K
YOUR RATING
Fail Safe (1964)
Watch ’Trailer [OV]’
Play trailer2:56
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Drama
  • Thriller
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?
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
22K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writers
    • Walter Bernstein(screenplay)
    • Eugene Burdick(from the novel by)
    • Harvey Wheeler(from the novel by)
  • Stars
    • Henry Fonda
    • Walter Matthau
    • Fritz Weaver
Top credits
  • Director
    • Sidney Lumet
  • Writers
    • Walter Bernstein(screenplay)
    • Eugene Burdick(from the novel by)
    • Harvey Wheeler(from the novel by)
  • Stars
    • Henry Fonda
    • Walter Matthau
    • Fritz Weaver
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 188User reviews
    • 67Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 3 nominations total

    Videos1

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

    Photos106

    Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau in Fail Safe (1964)
    Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau in Fail Safe (1964)
    Fail Safe (1964)
    Henry Fonda in Fail Safe (1964)
    Larry Hagman in Fail Safe (1964)
    Walter Matthau in Fail Safe (1964)
    Janet Ward in Fail Safe (1964)
    Henry Fonda and Larry Hagman in Fail Safe (1964)
    Fritz Weaver in Fail Safe (1964)
    Dom DeLuise in Fail Safe (1964)
    Walter Matthau, William Hansen, and Russell Hardie in Fail Safe (1964)
    Dan O'Herlihy in Fail Safe (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Henry Fonda
    Henry Fonda
    • The Presidentas The President
    Walter Matthau
    Walter Matthau
    • Dr. Groetescheleas Dr. Groeteschele
    Fritz Weaver
    Fritz Weaver
    • Col. Cascioas Col. Cascio
    Dan O'Herlihy
    Dan O'Herlihy
    • Gen. Blackas Gen. Black
    Frank Overton
    Frank Overton
    • Gen. Boganas Gen. Bogan
    Edward Binns
    Edward Binns
    • Col. Gradyas Col. Grady
    • (as Ed Binns)
    Larry Hagman
    Larry Hagman
    • Buckas Buck
    William Hansen
    William Hansen
    • Secretary Swensonas Secretary Swenson
    Russell Hardie
    Russell Hardie
    • Gen. Starkas Gen. Stark
    • (as Russell Hardy)
    Russell Collins
    Russell Collins
    • Knappas Knapp
    Sorrell Booke
    Sorrell Booke
    • Congressman Raskobas Congressman Raskob
    Nancy Berg
    Nancy Berg
    • Ilsa Wolfeas Ilsa Wolfe
    John Connell
    John Connell
    • Thomasas Thomas
    Frank Simpson
    • Sullivanas Sullivan
    Hildy Parks
    Hildy Parks
    • Betty Blackas Betty Black
    Janet Ward
    Janet Ward
    • Mrs. Gradyas Mrs. Grady
    Dom DeLuise
    Dom DeLuise
    • Sgt. Collinsas Sgt. Collins
    Dana Elcar
    Dana Elcar
    • Fosteras Foster
    • Director
      • Sidney Lumet
    • Writers
      • Walter Bernstein(screenplay)
      • Eugene Burdick(from the novel by)
      • Harvey Wheeler(from the novel by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Columbia Pictures produced both this movie and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). Director Stanley Kubrick insisted his movie be released first, and it was, in January 1964. When Fail-Safe was released, it garnered excellent reviews but audiences found it unintentionally funny because of "Strangelove", and stayed away. Henry Fonda later said he would never have made this movie if he had seen "Strangelove" first, because he would have laughed, too.
    • 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

      Defense Secretary Swenson: General Stark, are there any papers or documents in New York which are absolutely essential to the running of the United States? General Stark?

      Gen. Stark: No sir. There are important documents, but none of them absolutely essential.

      Admiral Wilcox: Will there be any warning given? A lot of lives could be saved if people had a few minutes.

      Defense Secretary Swenson: On this short notice, an alert to a big city would do more harm than good. It only produces panic.

      Admiral Wilcox: What about this?

      [Wilcox tosses a newspaper onto the table, showing the First Lady in NYC, prominently featured on the main page. Swenson sees it, then gives the paper to General Stark]

      Gen. Stark: Maybe... maybe he doesn't know his wife is there.

      Defense Secretary Swenson: [shaking his head] He knows.

      [Groeteschele finishes writing something onto some paper]

      Prof. Groeteschele: Gentlemen, we are wasting time.

      Prof. Groeteschele: [walking to the podium] I've been making a few rough calculations based on the effect of two twenty megaton bombs dropped on New York City in the middle of a normal workday. I estimate the immediate dead at about three million. I include in that figure those buried beneath the collapsed buildings. It would make no difference, Admiral Wilcox, whether they reached a shelter or not. They would die just the same. Add another million or two who will die within about five weeks. Now our immediate problem will be the joint one of fire control and excavation. Excavation not of the dead, the effort would be wasted there. But even though there are no irreplaceable government documents in the city, many of our largest corporations keep their records there. It will be necessary to... rescue as many of those records as we can. Our economy depends on this.

      Prof. Groeteschele: [walking disgustedly back to his seat before noisily opening and closing his briefcase] Our economy depends on this.

      [after closing briefcase]

      Prof. Groeteschele: And the Lord said, gentlemen, "He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone."

    • 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 reviews188

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Shocking, brilliant, frightening, wonderful.
    See "Fail- Safe."

    I couldn't sleep without the light on after I saw this fantastically fabricated film. When a machine malfunctions and signals a U.S bomber to drop atomic missiles over Moscow, the Soviet Premier and the U.S President struggle to save the world from nuclear holocaust. The last three minutes are among the most powerful I've seen in a movie.
    helpful•18
    1
    • iisaiah
    • Jan 31, 2002

    FAQ2

    • What is this movie's connection to Dr. Strangelove?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 7, 1964 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Angriffsziel Moskau
    • Filming locations
      • Westbury, Long Island, New York, USA
    • 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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