CONSENSUS #12. Dr. Strangelove

 

SYNOPSIS: "Dr. Strangelove" is a satire set in the Cold War. An insane American general launches a nuclear attack by B-52 bombers. The President orders an assault on the general's base to acquire the recall code and tries to negotiate with the Russian leader to avoid nuclear annihilation. The debate in the War Room features an aggressive military advisor and a mad scientist giving the President advice. Meanwhile attempts are made to shoot down the bombers before they reach their targets in the Soviet Union. One bomber manages to get through.

BACK-STORY: The full title is “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb”. It was released in 1964 at the height of the Cold War. The director was the esteemed Stanley Kubrick using a screenplay adapting the thriller Red Alert . The movie was originally meant to be serious, but Kubrick transformed it into a black comedy. The production revolved around Peter Sellers (the film was done in England because Sellers could not leave due to divorce proceedings) as Columbia Pictures insisted on him playing four roles. Sellers was removed from the Kong role because of a fortuitous sprained ankle (he was uncomfortable with the Southern accent and did not want to play it). The movie is a satire of real Cold War personalities and paranoia. The U.S. Air Force did not cooperate with the production because of the screenplay.

TRIVIA:  Wikipedia, imdb, TCM

 

1.  Possible titles included:  “Dr. Doomsday or:  How to Start World War III Without Even Trying”, “Dr. Strangelove’s Secret Uses of Uranus”, or “Wonderful Bomb”.

 

2.  Peter George (who wrote Red Alert) collaborated with Kubrick on the screenplay, but as the process moved along, Kubrick decided to change it to a satire.  He brought in Terry Southern to add humor.  George was not happy with the finished product.

 

3.  Columbia Pictures refused to bankroll the film unless Peter Sellers played multiple roles.  He had done so in Kubrick’s previous film “Lolita” to good box office effect.  Sellers was reluctant, but Kubrick twisted his arm.  Sellers was especially reluctant to play Maj. Kong, partly because he was uncomfortable with the Texas accent.  When Sellers sprained his ankle, it gave him an excuse to get out of the role.  He was paid $1 million which was 55% of the total budget.

 

4.  Sellers modelled his Mandrake after superiors he had encountered in the RAF during WWII.  He also channeled Terry-Thomas and legless ace Douglas Bader.  His President Muffley was based on Adlai Stevenson.

 

5.  Turgidson was inspired by Gen. Curtis LeMay of WWII fire-bombing of Japan fame.  Ripper was inspired by LeMay’s protégé Gen. Thomas Power who succeeded him as commander of the Strategic Air Command.  Power once argued that nuclear war with the Soviet Union was not such a bad thing.  “At the end of the war, if there are two Americans and one Russian, we win!”

6.  Dr. Strangelove (who does not appear in the novel) is based on, among others, the rocket scientist Werner von Braun and Edward Teller, the Father of the Hydrogen Bomb.

 

7.  Maj. Kong was written with John Wayne in mind.  When Sellers got out of the role, Wayne was asked, but did not respond.  Dan Blocker (Hoss of Bonanza) turned it down because the script was “too pinko”.  Slim Pickens was given only his scenes in the script and was led to believe the movie was serious.  He showed up in his regular attire of cowboy clothes and did not have to stretch in his acting.  The role bumped up his career and his pay checks.

 

8.  George C. Scott did not want to play Turgidson as bonkers, so Kubrick convinced him to warm up in practice takes by playing it over the top.  Kubrick would then use the “practice takes” in the film.  Scott was upset when he found out and never worked with Kubrick again.  He later admitted that Turgidson was his favorite role.

 

9.  Seller ad-libbed a lot of his lines.

 

10.  The B-52 interior was recreated using a B-29 interior and a single photo of the inside of a B-52.  When some Air Force personnel visited the set, they admitted it was amazingly accurate.

 

11.  Kubrick sued the producers of “Fail Safe”, claiming the book (and thus the script) was plagiarized from Red Alert.  The suit was settled out of court, but it resulted in “Fail Safe” being released eight months after “Dr. Strangelove” and to box office indifference.

 

12.  Vera Lynn’s WWII hit “We’ll Meet Again” was chosen for the end credits because Sellers friend and “Goon Show” alumni Spike Milligan suggested it.

 

13.  The original intent was for the movie to end with a pie fight in the war room, but Kubrick decide it crossed the line from satire to farce.

 

14.  The first test screening was on Nov. 22, 1963 – the day Kennedy was assassinated.  This caused the movie’s release to be pushed back to Jan., 1964.  The assassination also resulted in the changing of a line.  When Kong looks at the survival package (which include condoms, lipstick, nylons, uppers, and downers), he said “a fella could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas [changed to Vegas] with that stuff”. 

 

15.  Ripper’s ranting about fluoride was a reference to the ultra-conservative and very anti-communist John Birch Society’s campaign against fluoridation of the water supply.

 

16.  Kubrick read about 50 books on nuclear war to prepare to write the script.

 

17.  It has the longest title of any Best Picture nominee in history.

 

18.  Only one woman appears in the movie - the bikini-clad Tracy Reed.  She is the centerfold in the Playboy magazine Maj. Kong is “reading” in the B-52.

 

19.  Sterling Hayden came out of retirement to make the movie.  He had not made a movie is five years.  Ironically, Hayden had fought with Tito’s partisans in Yugoslavia and briefly joined the American Communist Party.  When he was called before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee during the Red Scare, he testified as a friendly witness and ratted out associates.  He later regretted this.  Speaking of irony, Kubrick made “Spartacus” from a script from someone who did not rat – Dalton Trumbo.

20.  The movie was filmed at a studio outside London because Sellers could not leave Great Britain due to a divorce he was going through.  The attack on Ripper’s base was filmed outside the sound stages.  Kubrick shot most of those scenes using a hand-held camera.

 Belle and Blade  =  5.0

Brassey’s              =  5.0

Video Hound       =  5.0

War Movies         =  5.0

Military History  =  #84

Channel 4             =  #18

Film Site                =  yes

101 War Movies  =  no

Rotten Tomatoes  =  #7

ACCURACY: The screenplay is based on a novel and thus is not based on any incident from the Cold War. As far as we know, there was never any accidental launch of a nuclear attack. Plus the scenario that exists in the movie with a rogue general ordering bombers to proceed into Russia was impossible because of safeguards put in by the civilian-controlled government. Only the President could give launch orders. There were some scary moments, but they were due to technology errors, not human errors. The Hot Line was only used once, and not because of a nuclear incident.

The movie is realistic in many aspects. Mutually Assured Destruction was the policy of both the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., so a single nuclear strike even by accident could have triggered a massive retaliation that would have ended life as we know it. Although there was no “Doomsday Machine”, there were literally thousands of ICBMs that would have brought doom, including 100 megaton behemoths in the Soviet arsenal.

We did have B-52s on alert throughout the 60s including some that were always airborne just in case. By the way, although the Air Force understandably gave no assistance to Kubrick, he was able to create a mock-up of the inside of a B-52 that was quite accurate. The idea that they would have been sent on a preemptive strike is far-fetched, but the probable reaction of the President (especially a Democrat) is spot on. I can envision the President using the “Hot Line” to apologize and help shoot down our own planes. Having the military leadership argue for taking advantage of the situation also seems logical, albeit stereotypical.

Since the movie was released there has been an ongoing debate about who each of the main characters is based on. Dr. Strangelove appears to be an amalgam of Nazi scientist Werner Von Braun who helped develop our space program and Edward Teller who is considered to be the Father of the Hydrogen Bomb and was not totally against its use. Pres. Muffley behaves like you would have expected an Adlai Stevenson to have behaved under similar circumstances. Scott could be channeling Curtis Lemay in his portrayal of Turgidson.

Two seemingly made up ideas in the movie are actually accurate. The John Birch Society of the 1960s pushed the idea of fluoridation of water being a Communist plot. Believe it or not, there actually is a condition called “alien hand syndrome” (sometimes called “Dr. Strangelove syndrome”) that causes a person to lose control of their right arm!

OPINION: Once again we have an all-time great movie (like “The Manchurian Candidate”) that does not fit comfortably into the war movie category. It is better classified as a political satire set in the Cold War. It taps in skillfully to the paranoia of the early 60s. Keep in mind that the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred just a year before filming began. Somewhat surprisingly, considering that it was set and produced in a thankfully bygone era, it holds up very well for modern audiences. It is still very funny.  Unlike many dated comedies that are not funny today, Kubrick’s humor still seems fresh. It is also a movie that bears repeated viewings. It has some of the greatest lines in movie history including President Muffley quelling a scuffle by saying “Gentlemen, you can’t fight here. This is a war room.” It has several famous scenes including Keenan Wynn’s assault on a Coke machine.  And, of course, it has the iconic Slim Pickens  

The acting is great. Seller’s performances are a tour-de-farce. He ad-libbed many of his lines as well as the evil arm stuff. It is unbelievable that he lost the Oscar to Rex Harrison of “My Fair Lady”! The cast is uniformly grand in its ability to keep a straight face throughout (the same could not be said for the crew, from what I have read). The directing is outstanding, as is to be expected from Kubrick.  He divides the movie into three arcs:  the President and his advisers in the war room, the assault on the mad general, and the B-52.  The first is brilliant satire, the second is a tour de farce, and the third is played straight and levies the levity with suspense. 

Is it the funniest war movie of all time? It has competition from others on the list like “Hail the Conquering Hero”, “The General”, “MASH”, “Duck Soup”, and “Good Morning, Vietnam”.  In my opinion, it is funnier than those others.  And more consequential.   It is the mustest-see of the lot.  It deservedly is ranked the highest of them.  In fact, it probably belongs in the top ten.  Its ranking was hurt by the inexplicable #84 ranking by Military History magazine.  I don’t have any problems with it at #12.