Day 167: "What makes us worth surviving, Groeteschele? That we are ruthless enough to strike first? "

Made during the height of the Cold War, Fail Safe had the misfortune of being produced at the same time as the Stanley Kubrick classic: Dr. Strangelove.  Whereas Strangelove took the source material and twisted it into dark satire, Fail Safe retains the tension and drama of the novel.  This is one of the most suspenseful Cold War dramas I have seen.  An unidentified craft is seen flying in the direction of Detroit, and the Strategic Air Command (SAC) goes on high alert.  Aircraft are scrambled, and eventually the issue is resolved...almost.  A defective replacement part in a computer system has sent out orders to Bomber Group Six for an attack run, on Moscow.  The President then has to get on the direct line to the Soviets and attempt to abort/divert/destroy the bombers before World War Three is started.  From here, all hell breaks loose.  Unfortunately, the resolution at the conclusion of the movie is a bit...unorthodox, to be sure.

An all-star cast is headed up by Henry Fonda as the President.  Played as a man who is now haunted by what has happened and will, through the course of events, happen, his performance is unforgettable.  Larry Hagman is Jack Buck, the man who translates for the President what the Soviet Chairman is saying.  He has the unfortunate privilege of knowing what the Soviets are saying before even the President.  Walter Matthau, Sorrell Booke, and Fritz Weaver are also very good in their roles as well.

This is as dark a film as Strangelove, but the fact that it is shown as the high drama it is, Fail Safe is the scarier of the two.  Kubrick's movie used humor to diffuse and deflect the horror of nuclear war, while Lumet's gives the horror to the audience raw, and then let us do with it as we will.  A truly dark film, dated a bit by today's standards, but worth seeing nonetheless.  8.5/10.

See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!