“Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (1964) directed by Stanley Kubrick; starring Peter Sellers and George C. Scott / Z-View
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George; based on RED ALERT by Peter Bryant (pseudonym of Peter George)
Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull, James Earl Jones, Tracy Reed, Jack Creley, Robert O’Neil, Glenn Beck, Shane Rimmer, Hal Galili and Keenan Wynn.
Tagline: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!”
The Plot…
Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper is mentally unstable. Nobody realizes this until Ripper has put his plan into motion. Ripper believes the Soviets are poisoning Americans through the use of fluoride in the water supply. Ripper’s solution is to put his base on a condition red alert (so no one can get in or out). Armed guards with shoot to kill orders will ensure this. Ripper also confiscated all personal radios and shut down outside communication. Ripper then ordered two Bombers carrying nuclear weapons to drop them on cities in Russia. Since they can only communicate with him, the pilots believe the US is under attack. They fly towards Russia intent on dropping their payload.
Once Merkin Muffley, the US President, gets word of what is happening, there is little time before the bombs drop. President Muffley knows Russia will respond in kind. That would trigger an all-out war. Mutually assured destruction.
President Muffley brings General Buck Turgidson, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other officials into the War Room to formulate a plan. Included in the group is a former Nazi, now a US scientist named Dr. Strangelove and Soviet Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky. They get Soviet Premier Dimitri Kisov on the hotline. Kisov promises if a single bomb is detonated on Russian soil, they will unleash their doomsday device!
The clock is ticking.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
Dr. Strangelove was nominated for four 1965 Academy Awards…
- Nominee for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium – Stanley Kubrick, Peter George, Terry Southern
- Nominee for Best Director – Stanley Kubrick
- Nominee for Best Actor in a Leading Role – Peter Sellers
- Nominee for Best Picture – Stanley Kubrick
George C. Scott as General Turgidson trips in the War Room and then quickly gets up and continues talking. Scott really tripped but didn’t break character. Kubrick thought he was just acting. The accident stayed in the film.
Peter Sellers was paid $1 million or 55% of the film’s budget. In the film Sellers plays three characters so maybe the producers got a bargain.
Peter Sellers improvised most of his lines including the classic he yelled as Dr. Strangelove, “Mein Führer! I can walk!” Peter Bull as the Soviet Ambassador can be seen breaking character when Sellers says it.
James Earl Jones thought that Slim Pickens stayed in character even off camera. It wasn’t until later that Jones leaned that Pickens always talked like that. Speaking of James Earl Jones, Dr. Strangelove was his feature film debut.
Dr. Strangelove is a classic. Everyone should see it at least once. (And it gets better with each repeated viewing.)
Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) rates 5 of 5 stars
