A stark Cold War thriller where metallic silence and claustrophobic dread collide. This cinematic pressure cooker transforms human error into a global funeral pyre, visualized as a melting telephone receiver screaming into the void.
Fail Safe
"It will have you sitting on the brink of eternity!"
Director:
Sidney Lumet
Cast:
Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Larry Hagman, Frank Overton
Drama
War
Thriller
Fail Safe - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
The 'Vindicator' flight simulator footage
Because the Department of Defense refused to cooperate with the filmmakers, they had to use a commercial flight simulator and stock footage of B-58s to create the bomber interior, which contributes to the film's gritty, low-budget realism.
Relationship to 'Red Alert'
Both Fail Safe and Dr. Strangelove are based on books (Fail-Safe and Red Alert) that were so similar they were also the subject of a plagiarism lawsuit, highlighting how pervasive this specific nuclear anxiety was in the early 60s.