Fail Safe
“It will have you sitting on the brink of eternity!”
Synopsis
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.
Trailers, Teasers & Extra Featurettes
Official promotional previews, behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive clips.
Fail-Safe (1964) - Trailer
Type: Trailer • Published 2017-05-20
Top Cast
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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
Russell Hardie
Gen. Stark
Janet Ward
Helen Grady
Dom DeLuise
TSgt. Collins
Russell Collins
Knapp
Sorrell Booke
Congressman Raskob
Nancy Berg
Ilsa Wolfe
John Connell
Thomas
Frank Simpson
Sullivan
Hildy Parks
Betty Black
Dana Elcar
Foster
Release History & Theatrical Window
New York Film Festival
Festival / Special Debut
October 7, 1964
Wide Cinema Exhibition
June 16, 2020
Physical Home Media
Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Sidney Lumet
- Screenplay & Story
- Walter Bernstein
- Original Title
- Fail Safe
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Spoken Languages
- English, Russian
- Runtime
- 1h 52m
- Production Studios
- Columbia Pictures
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Sidney Lumet
Walter Bernstein, Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler
Gerald Hirschfeld
Ralph Rosenblum
Sidney Lumet, Max E. Youngstein, Charles H. Maguire
Department Leadership Roster
Sidney Lumet
Director
Walter Bernstein
Screenplay
Max E. Youngstein
Producer
Charles H. Maguire
Producer
Gerald Hirschfeld
Director of Photography
Ralph Rosenblum
Editor
Anna Hill Johnstone
Costume Design
Age Classification & Content Advisories
Official viewer rating standards and content warnings across international classification boards.
NR: Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.
International Certification Matrix
FSK 16 — Restricted to viewers aged 16 and older.
Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.
Production Stills & Gallery
Official cinematic photography and background stills for Fail Safe.
Featured In Curated Collections
Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring Fail Safe.
Movie Collection
Letterboxd's Top 500 Films
Letterboxd's Top 500 Films. Ranks narrative feature films by average member rating (minimum 25,000 ratings). Excludes documentaries, shorts, and TV series. Letterboxd 官方 Top 500 电影榜单： 根据用户平均评分排名的剧情长片（最低2.5万评价门槛）。已排除纪录片、短片及剧集。 *(Updated via Automated ETL Pipeline: 2026-10-18 07:35:27 UTC+8)*
Limelight Not Seen
Criterion Collection
The Complete Criterion Collection. The Criterion Collection is a video distribution company that sells 'important classic and contemporary films' in editions that offer the highest technical quality. This list contains only the featured films released on DVD, BluRay and 4K Criterion releases — no supplements are included. Organized by spine number with the newest releases first. CC标准收藏完整收录版： 收录标准收藏（Criterion Collection）发行的重要经典及当代电影。仅包含正片（涵盖 DVD、蓝光及 4K 版本），已排除花絮补充内容。按 CC 发行编号倒序排列（最新发行在前）。 *注：榜单源数据中包含部分剧集/迷你剧，由于本片单只收录纯电影，故不再收录以下非电影条目：* • [#214] Mangrove (2020) • [#215] Lovers Rock (2020) • [#216] Red, White and Blue (2020) • [#217] Alex Wheatle (2020) • [#486] Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day (1972) • [#647] Dekalog (1989) • [#944] World on a Wire (1973) • [#1187] Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) • [#1338] Fanny and Alexander (1984) • [#1341] Tanner '88 (1988) • [#1371] Scenes from a Marriage (1973) *注：以下影片因 TMDB 尚未收录，暂不在此片单中展示：* • [#531] First (2012) • [#1699] Ulysse (1983) *(Updated via Automated ETL Pipeline: 2026-10-11 07:39:08 UTC+8)*
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Frequently Asked Questions About Fail Safe
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is Fail Safe about?
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.
Who directed Fail Safe?
Fail Safe was directed by Sidney Lumet.
Who stars in Fail Safe?
The principal cast of Fail Safe includes Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Larry Hagman, Frank Overton.
When was Fail Safe released and how long is it?
Fail Safe was released in 1964 with a total runtime of 1h 52m.
Is Fail Safe based on a book or true story?
Fail Safe is adapted from the following source material: Novel: "Eugene Burdick", Novel: "Harvey Wheeler".
What is the age rating and content advisory for Fail Safe?
Fail Safe holds official age classifications: DE: 16 (FSK 16 — Restricted to viewers aged 16 and older.); FR: TP; US: NR (Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.).