Review of Fail Safe (1964) by Millo T — 26 Oct 2013

Fail-Safe is mostly remembered because it was released the same time as Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, and as a consequence, failed tremendously at the box office.

Both films feature the same subject matter and even the same sort of story, but this one plays it completely straight and in a very bleak way. It doesn't feature a whole lot of big names other than Walter Matthau and Henry Fonda (both of whom are great), but it's troubled by a lax pace.

That's the only thing really holding it back, because the performances, the dialogue, the cinematography and the direction are all really great. Sidney Lumet did well with this one and even though I love Dr.

Strangelove, this a more suitable tackling of the subject matter, I suppose... that is, if you're wanting to take it more seriously.