Fail-Safe is a 1964 film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. It tells the story of a fictional Cold War nuclear crisis, and the US President's attempt to end it.
The film takes place during the Cold War, when tensions with the Soviet Union were at their height. The movie starts with a dream sequence of a bull being killed by a matador. When the dreamer wakes, we learn that he is...
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Fail-Safe is a 1964 film directed by Sidney Lumet, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler. It tells the story of a fictional Cold War nuclear crisis, and the US President's attempt to end it.
The film takes place during the Cold War, when tensions with the Soviet Union were at their height. The movie starts with a dream sequence of a bull being killed by a matador. When the dreamer wakes, we learn that he is Air Force General Warren Abraham "Blackie" Black (Dan O'Herlihy), and he believes that the dream is some sort of personal omen. The scene shifts to the headquarters of the Strategic Air Command (SAC), where a Congressman (Sorrell Booke) and defense industry executive are being given a tour of the facility by General Bogan (Frank Overton). During the tour, SAC detects an unknown aircraft approaching North America from Europe. American fighter planes are deployed to meet the potential threat. As a fail-safe protection, American strategic...
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