Fail Safe Centered On An Accidental Thermonuclear First Strike
Several films touched upon the Cold War during the 1960s. Fail Safe, directed by Sidney Lumet, was a 1964 movie based on the novel of the same name. The movie centers on a nuclear crisis and how Cold War tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union result in an accidental thermonuclear first strike when U.S. bombers are inadvertently sent to Moscow. Henry Fonda, Dan O’Herlihy, Walter Matthau and Frank Overton star. The movie hit theaters after Dr. Strangelove, dampening its success at the box office. While some criticized its premise that a breakdown in communication could cause a nuclear war, many praised its content.
