Directed by:
Sidney LumetCinematography:
Gerald HirschfeldCast:
Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Henry Fonda, Larry Hagman, Frank Overton, Edward Binns, William Hansen, Russell Hardie, Russell Collins, Sorrell Booke (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
This unnerving procedural thriller painstakingly details an all-too-plausible nightmare scenario in which a mechanical failure jams the United States military’s chain of command and sends the country hurtling toward nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Working from a contemporary best seller, screenwriter Walter Bernstein and director Sidney Lumet wrench harrowing suspense from the doomsday fears of the Cold War era, making the most of a modest budget and limited sets to create an atmosphere of clammy claustrophobia and astronomically high stakes. Starring Henry Fonda as a coolheaded U.S. president and Walter Matthau as a trigger-happy political theorist, Fail Safe is a long-underappreciated alarm bell of a film, sounding an urgent warning about the deadly logic of mutually assured destruction. (Criterion)
(more)Cast
![Dan O'Herlihy](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/507/507418_bf313c.jpg)
Dan O'Herlihy
Ireland
![Walter Matthau](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/162/482/162482260_cafc48.jpg)
Walter Matthau
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
JFK (1991)
Barbra: The Concert (1994) (concert)
![Henry Fonda](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/164/296/164296957_834716.jpg)
Henry Fonda
USA
Best movies:
12 Angry Men (1957)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Fail-Safe (1964)
![Larry Hagman](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270629_5a8fc8.jpg)
Larry Hagman
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
Superman (1978)
![Frank Overton](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/161/175/161175845_8c0147.jpg)
Frank Overton
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
No Way Out (1950)
![Edward Binns](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/256/159256254_26bc5f.jpg)
Edward Binns
USA
Best movies:
12 Angry Men (1957)
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Fail-Safe (1964)
![William Hansen](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/273/160273755_339adc.jpg)
William Hansen
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
Birdman of Alcatraz (1962)
1776 (1972)
![Russell Hardie](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/160/896/160896229_3b25f1.jpg)
Russell Hardie
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
Camille (1936)
The Frogmen (1951)
![Russell Collins](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/159/000/159000231_62eb56.gif)
Russell Collins
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
The Enemy Below (1957)
![Sorrell Booke](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/030/247/30247514_ad23ce.jpg)
Sorrell Booke
USA
Best movies:
Producers' Showcase (1954) (series)
Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992)
Fail-Safe (1964)
Hildy Parks
USA
![Dom DeLuise](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/270/270930_c564a8.jpg)
Dom DeLuise
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
'Weird Al' Yankovic: The Videos (1996) (video compilation)
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
![Dana Elcar](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/000/273/273949_407619.jpg)
Dana Elcar
USA
![Charles Tyner](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/157/966/157966681_0e56aa.jpg)
Charles Tyner
USA
Best movies:
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Fail-Safe (1964)
Harold and Maude (1971)
![Janet Ward](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/158/321/158321510_141934.gif)
Janet Ward
USA
Best movies:
Fail-Safe (1964)
Night Moves (1975)
The Anderson Tapes (1971)
![Fritz Weaver](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w88h116crop/files/images/creator/photos/163/755/163755470_a61fb3.jpg)
Fritz Weaver
USA
Best movies:
The X-Files – File 7: Tunguska (1996) (video compilation)
Fail-Safe (1964)
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)