Review of On the Beach (1959) by William J — 10 Apr 2009

This creaks a bit, and REALLY could've done with a little more subtlety at the end, but it remains an effective cautionary tale and the granddaddy of all post-nuclear apocalypse films. Captain Gregory Peck sails his lone surviving American submarine into Melbourne, Australia, where the last remnants of civilization are trying to hold it together before radioactivity from the destroyed northern hemisphere wipes everyone out.

What follows is a bit of melodrama, a few glimpses of the spooky remnants of the rest of the world, and a lot of regret and foreboding. I've always found a low-key approach in this genre far more unnerving than a lot of chaos and rubble, and the midway scenes of an intact-yet-desolate San Francisco remain pretty chilling.

The final act does seem a little rushed, but then again I suppose the end of all mankind probably would. The refrain of 'Waltzing Matilda' throughout the soundtrack can get overbearing at times, but when it works, it's also pretty effective.