Fail Safe

1964 • 1h 52m •

Thriller Drama War

MOVIEVIBE Rating

★ 7.8/10

495 reviews

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Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring.

"It will have you sitting on the brink of eternity!"

Top Billed Cast

Henry Fonda

The President

Walter Matthau

Prof. Groeteschele

Fritz Weaver

Col. Cascio

Larry Hagman

Buck

Frank Overton

Gen. Bogan

Edward Binns

Col. Jack Grady

Dan O'Herlihy

Brig. Gen. Warren A. Black

William Hansen

Defense Secretary Swenson

Detailed Critic & Audience Reviews

B badelf Verified TMDB Critic

2026-04-25

**Fail Safe (1964)**

_Directed by Sidney Lumet_

Sidney Lumet's Fail Safe is one of the first Hollywood films to seriously propose that nuclear Armageddon could be brought about by system error. A technical malfunction sends American bombers to Moscow with orders to attack, and the President (Henry Fonda) must work desperately to stop catastrophe before it's too late. Based on a novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler, the screenplay is excellent, the tension relentless, the performances more than sufficient to create the desired effect.

As far as nuclear war goes, we as a world app...