Top billed cast

1. 

   Henry Fonda

   The President

2. 

   Walter Matthau

   Prof. Groeteschele

3. 

   Fritz Weaver

   Col. Cascio

4. 

   Larry Hagman

   Buck

5. 

   Frank Overton

   Gen. Bogan

6. 

   Edward Binns

   Col. Jack Grady

7. 

   Dan O'Herlihy

   Brig. Gen. Warren A. Black

8. 

   William Hansen

   Defense Secretary Swenson

9. 

   Russell Hardie

   Gen. Stark

10. View more

Reviews

A review by badelf

Written by badelf on 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...read the rest

Recommendations

1. Unthinkable68%
2. Operation Crossbow67%
3. No Way Out68%
4. United 9371%
5. Sudden Death60%
6. The Siege63%
7. Panic in Year Zero!63%
8. Eye in the Sky70%
9. Vantage Point64%
10. Man Down60%
11. Ike: Countdown to D-Day66%
12. The Devil's Double66%
13. Zero Dark Thirty69%
14. Shock and Awe63%
15. Backstabbing for Beginners62%
16. A House of Dynamite64%
17. Tom Clancy's Without Remorse69%
18. Fuze64%
19. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit61%
20. The Contract58%

Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$0.00

Revenue
$0.00

Keywords

• new york city
• usa president
• general
• atomic bomb
• missile
• cold war
• interpreter
• pentagon
• bunker
• hydrogen bomb
• strategic air command
• bomber
• fighter pilot
• destroy
• moscow, russia
• air attack
• airborne attack
• armed attack
• ww3