Review of On the Beach (1959) by Ashram R — 30 Mar 2008

Unusually for a Hollywood movie this one doesn't have a happy ending. Also (very unusual for an American post-apocalyptic film) it concentrates more on human drama than on thrills, action, and/or big-budget special effects. I can't help thinking that the Aussies seem to take their impending deaths with unbelievable aplomb. Only Mary (Donna Anderson) goes a little bit nuts. And even she calms down. This must have been an easy gig for the composer, since the musical score essentially consists of nothing but variations on the tune of Waltzing Matilda. You can just imagine the movie execs: "How do we convey to the audience that this movie is set in Australia?" "I know, we'll play Waltzing Matilda over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over...".

Atom-bomb paranoia was rife in the 50s and early 60s, and maybe there was good reason for that, but 50 years later the human race has yet to destroy itself. Did people actually heed the warnings, maybe? Or was it just a too-pessismistic estimation of human nature?