Fail-Safe
Movie · Thriller · Drama

One of the greatest anti-war thrillers ever, Fail-Safe stars Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Dan O'Herlihy, Larry Hagman and Fritz Weaver (in his film debut) as a group of military men on the verge of World War III. When a military computer error deploys a squadron of SAC bombers to destroy Moscow, the American President (Fonda) tries to call them back. But their sophisticated fail-safe system prevents him from aborting the attack, so he must convince the Soviets not to retaliate. In desperation, the President offers to sacrifice an American city if his pilots succeed in their deadly mission over Moscow. A four-star techno-thriller that builds tension and suspense with every tick of the nuclear clock.

1964 · 1h 51m
  • 93%
Starring Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Dan O'Herlihy
Director Sidney Lumet

Trailers

  • Fail-Safe
    Fail-Safe
    Thriller

Related

  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
  • Seven Days in May
  • The Atomic Cafe
  • Oppenheimer
  • Fat Man and Little Boy
  • The Plot Against America
  • Countdown to Zero
  • The Looming Tower
  • Oppenheimer

Cast & Crew

  • Henry Fonda
    The President
  • Walter Matthau
    Mr Groeteschele
  • Dan O'Herlihy
    General Black
  • Sorrell Booke
    Congressman Raskob
  • Larry Hagman
    Buck
  • F‌O
    Frank Overton
    Gen. Bogan (SAC, Omaha)
  • Dom DeLuise
    TSgt. Collins
  • W‌H
    William Hansen
    Secretary Swenson
  • Sidney Lumet
    Director
  • Sidney Lumet
    Producer
  • M‌E
    Max E. Youngstein
    Producer

About

Fail-Safe

Thriller

One of the greatest anti-war thrillers ever, Fail-Safe stars Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Dan O'Herlihy, Larry Hagman and Fritz Weaver (in his film debut) as a group of military men on the verge of World War III. When a military computer error deploys a squadron of SAC bombers to destroy Moscow, the American President (Fonda) tries to call them back. But their sophisticated fail-safe system prevents him from aborting the attack, so he must convince the Soviets not to retaliate. In desperation, the President offers to sacrifice an American city if his pilots succeed in their deadly mission over Moscow. A four-star techno-thriller that builds tension and suspense with every tick of the nuclear clock.

93%

TOMATOMETER
Average 8.1
Reviews 30
Fresh 28
Rotten 2

Information

Studio
Max E. Youngstein Ent. Inc
Released
1964
Run Time
1 hr 51 min
Rated
NR
Region of Origin
United States
© 1963 renewed 1991 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Languages

Original Audio
English
Audio

English (AAC)

Subtitles

English (CC)

Accessibility

Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.
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Africa, Middle East, and India

  • Armenia
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  • Bahrain
  • Botswana
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  • Lebanon
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  • Mozambique
  • Namibia
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