Dr. Strangelove (Columbia Pictures) (1964)

Review Producer-director Stanley Kubrick’s aptly-titled “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb,” which opened at the Cyapetrescelerers Theatre, can best be described—if it can be described at all —as a nightmare suspense comedy in which a psychotic Air Force General triggers an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable scheme, unleashing his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia. The President of the United States, unable to recall the aircraft, is forced to cooperate with the Soviet Premier in a bizarre attempt to save the world. All of which may seem grimly real and frightening—which it is—but, as presented by a superb cast headed by Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn and Slim Pickens, there is the feeling that the subject and the times demand a measure of madness if we are to remain sane, and such madness is offered in delightful abundance. The new film is wonderful comedy, biting satire, light-handed farce. It is truly worth seeing. The screenplay is based on the suspense novel, “Red Alert,” by Peter George, a former R.A.F. flight lieutenant. Kubrick, George and Terry Southern penned the film version and, obviously, enjoyed blueprinting the picture that was to be made from their happy imaginings. The protean Mr. Sellers, who played three roles in Kubrick’s “Lolita,” tackles the same number in the new Columbia Pictures release; he plays the President of the United States, a German “nuclear wiseman” and an RAF Group Captain. Needless to say, each portrayal is a Peter Sellers gem. Each characterization is a complete entity unto itself—a rare accomplishment even among the well-known professionals. George C. Scott portrays the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. Scott is probably best known for his performances as the prosecuting attorney in “Anatomy of a Murder” and as the pool-room promotor in “The Hustler,” both earning him Academy Award nominations; as the Pentagon general he offers a superb portrait of a man proud of his efforts and beliefs, unable to accept the inevitability of his own destruction. Sterling Hayden gives a tremendously moving performance as the psychotic Air Force General who presses the nuclear button for World War III out of unreasoning fear, and veteran character actor Keenan Wynn plays a frenetic battalion commander who loves to carry out orders. Rodeo rider and Western actor Slim Pickens plays the Texas pilot of the one plane which, though badly crippled, gets through both Russian and American defenses to reach its target. It is reported that the more director Kubrick read on the subject of the Bomb and the absurdity of the nuclear situation, the more experts he talked to and the more paradoxical and terrifying were the solutions offered, the more he was prompted to make the film in its present form, as a “nightmare comedy”. Judging from audience response, he was right. Audiences may not learn to stop worrying and love the bomb — they will love the picture. (Mat IC; Still No. 2910) Peter Sellers as the President of the United States, right, and George C. Scott as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, star in Stanley Kubrick's “Dr. Strangelove or: How | Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Also starred in the Columbia release are Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn and Slim Pickens. Tracy Reed is featured as ''Miss Foreign Affairs." General Advance Peter Sellers and George C. Scott are starred in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” opening ati the) s.2%<5 Theatre. The film, a Columbia release, is called a “nightmare suspense comedy” by the producer-director. Also starred are Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens and screen newcomer Tracy Reed as “Miss Foreign Affairs.” “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” has a psychotic Air Force general triggering an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable scheme, unleashing his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia. The President of the United States, unable to recall the aircraft, is forced to cooperate with the Soviet Premier in a bizarre attempt to save the world. Sellers plays three roles in the film, as he did in Kubrick’s earlier picture, “Lolita.” This one, though, reportedly is different from anything ever before brought to the screen and Sellers’ triple-threat performance is said by Hollywood to offer a trio of characterizations remarkable in both their intensity and in their comedy. The star is seen as the President of the United States, desperately trying to prevent the destruction of the world in the few brief hours between the unleashing of the bombers and the fall of the bomb itself; he appears in the title role as a German “nuclear wiseman” whose cold-blooded approach to the Page 14 bomb is computer-like in its inhumanity: and he appears as an R.A.F. Group Captain acting as liaison with the U. S. Air Force. Sellers reportedly is superb in his three roles, a triplethreat performance which is matched in intensity by the other members of the cast. Scott plays the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a man whose training and beliefs are at war with his own realization of what is happening, and what must happen. It is Scott, too, who shares one of the high spots of the film’s continuing comedy —and the new film is a great comedy, filmdom says!—when he first learns of the bomb’s unleashing while dallying in the mirror lined boudoir of “Miss Foreign Affairs,” the shapely, bikiniclad Pentagon secretary played by Miss Tracy Reed. Hayden plays the Air Force general whose unreasoning fear leads him to his unilateral war, and Keenan Wynn is equally superb as the Army officer unable to think past his battle orders. Western actor and rodeo rider Slim Pickens plays the pilot of the H-bomber which manages to get through both American and Russian defenses, a role Sellers originally was to play but an injured ankle made Picken’s substitution necessary. Screenplay for “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” was written by Stanley Kubrick, Peter George and Terry Southern, based on the novel, “Red Alert,” by Peter George. Stanley Kubrick Their titles and themes are poles apart but “Lolita” and the current “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” have two things in common. One is star Peter Sellers, playing three distinct roles in each of the pictures. The other is Stanley Kubrick, Mr. Kubrick is producer-director and part-writer of the “hot-line suspense comedy” now at the ........ Theatre with Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens and newcomer Tracy Reed as “Miss Foreign Affairs.” Mr. Kubrick also is considered one of filmdom’s most venturesome young movie-makers, a character facet he demonstrated when he first set out to make pictures—moving or still. His “candid” photography, while still in high school, won him a job with Look Magazine. At 19, when he decided he wanted to make motion pictures, Kubrick began saving to pay for his first film; two years later, with the accumulated $3,800, he made a documentary short called “Day of the Fight” which RKO bought for $4000. At 24, Kubrick borrowed money from his family to make his first feature; no major company would buy it. His second feature, ‘“Killer’s Kiss,” which Kubrick also arranged to finance privately, was bought for $75,000. Then Kubrick made “The Killing,” with Sterling Hayden, and reviewers became ecstatic. “Paths of Glory,” starring Kirk Douglas, also won critical applause; “Spartacus” followed, and then “Lolita,” which most of Hollywood considered unfilmable. Now, there is Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” This, Kubrick says, is a nightmare comedy in which a psychotic Air Force general triggers an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable scheme, unleashing his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia. The President of the United States, unable to recall the aircraft, is forced to cooperate with the Soviet Premier in a bizarre attempt to save the world. In addition to producing and directing the new Columbia Pictures release, Kubrick penned the screenplay with Peter George and Terry Southern, based on the best-seller, “Red Alert,” by Peter George. Sellers plays the President of the United States, an R.A.F. Group captain and a German nuclear scientist. Scott is seen as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Hayden as the Air Force general who starts it all. Keenan Wynn plays a battle-eager American officer; Slim Pickens, a Stetson-hatted pilot of one of the bombers, and Miss Reed, a Pentagon secretary who is in bikini-clad “conference” with Scott when he first learns of the H-bomb’s unleashing. Big Theme, Big Title The name of the new Columbia release at the Theatre is, officially, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” Dr. Strangelove himself, a German nuclear scientist, is played by Peter Sellers; Sellers also appears as the President of the United States and as an R.A.F. Group captain. Others in the stellar cast are George C. Scott as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Sterling Hayden as a psychotic Air Force general who launches his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia; Keenan Wynn, as a battleeager American officer; Slim Pickens, as the Stetson-hatted pilot of an HBomb plane and lovely Tracy Reed, as a Pentagon secretary. Producerdirector Stanley Kubrick believes his title is expressive of the film’s “hotline suspense comedy,” in which the President, unable to recall the attacking aircraft, is forced to cooperate with the Soviet Premier in a bizarre attempt to save the world. Producer-director Kubrick penned the screenplay with Peter George and Terry Southern, based on the novel “Red Alert,’”’ by Peter George. (Mat 2A; Still No. 5187) In the War Room of the Pentagon, Peter Sellers as President of the United States makes a desperate effort to save the world from atomic destruction, triggered by a psychotic Air Force General. It's a scene from Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How | Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Also starred are George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn and Slim Pickens. Tracy Reed makes her screen bow in the “hot-line suspense’ comedy, a Columbia release, as ‘Miss Foreign Affairs.” SS TS ES Secretarial Note A bikini may not be exactly the right costume for a secretary, but that is what is worn by tall, slim and beautiful Tracy Reed in the new Columbia release at the Theatre, Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” On the other hand, Miss Reed’s mirror-lined boudoir isn’t exactly an office in the Pentagon. In the “hot-line suspense comedy” at the Theatre, Miss Reed and George C. Scott are among the star cast, topped by Peter Sellers and including Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn and Slim Pickens. Scott, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is relaxing in Tracy’s boudoir when he first learns that a psychotic Air Force general has triggered an ingenious, foolproof and _ irrevocable scheme, unleashing his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia. The President of the United States, unable to recall the aircraft, is forced to cooperate with the Soviet Premier in a bizarre attempt to save the world. Nightmare Comedy When Stanley Kubrick first began work on his “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” he planned a serious screen drama based on a serious novel of the H-Bomb and world holocaust. As he studied his subject, however, reading more than 70 books and building up a voluminous file of magazine and newspaper articles, Kubrick decided “comedy was the only way. It can be more realistic than a straight drama because it takes into account the bizarre.” And so, the new Columbia Pictures’ release at the Theatre is what Kubrick calls “nightmare suspense comedy,” in which Peter Sellers as the President of the United States works with the Soviet Premier in a desperate effort to save the world, after a psychotic Air Force general has unleashed an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable scheme sending his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia. Sellers plays two other roles in the film, an R.A.F. Group captain and a German nuclear scientist. George C. Scott also stars as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brought from a “conference” with bikini-clad Tracy Reed, as “Miss Foreign Affairs,” to help deal with the situation. Sterling Hayden plays the Air Force general who triggers the trouble, and Keenan Wynn, a battle-eager American officer. Western actor Slim Pickens plays a Stetson-hatted B-52 pilot. Producerdirector Kubrick penned the screenplay with Peter George, author of the original best-seller, “Red Alert,” and Terry Southern. George C. Scott In Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” now at the rics Theatre, George C. Scott moves with ease from a mirror-lined bedroom and a bikini-clad beauty to the War Room of the Pentagon where the nation’s top military and political figures are anxiously aware that a wing of B-52 H-Bombers are on their way to attack Russia in an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable scheme triggered by a psychotic Air Force general. Moving with ease from one disparate role to another, is something of a specialty for George C. Scott. He left a revival of “Desire Under the Elms” to play in his current Columbia release. In earlier films, he won Academy Award nominations for his performances as a lawyer in “Anatomy of a Murder” and as a poolroom promoter in “The Hustler.” In New York, he has played considerable Shakespeare and he once won four major theatre awards for his off-Broadway performance in “Children of Darkness.” Scott has appeared on most of the important television shows, and he currently stars in his own, playing a social worker in “East Side, West Side.” A native of Virginia raised in Detroit, Michigan, Scott joined the Marine Corps after his high school graduation, Later, he studied English and drama at the University of Missouri. He spent years in stock companies before his first Broadway “break.” Peter Sellers also stars in “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” along with Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens and screen newcomer Tracy Reed as “Miss Foreign Affairs,” the girl in the bikini. Stanley Kubrick produced and directed the film, which he calls a ‘nightmare suspense comedy,” and wrote the screenplay with Peter George and Terry Southern, based on the novel “Red Alert,” by Peter George. Above the Arctic Important sequences of Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” now at the ...... Theatre, were filmed over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, Canada’s Northwest Territory and the Rockies. These included scenes of a B-52 H-Bomber, unleashed by a psychotic Air Force general, on its way to attack Russia. Peter Sellers stars in the new Columbia release, with George C. Scott. Also starred in what producer-director Kubrick calls a “nightmare suspense comedy’ are Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens and lovely Tracy Reed as “Miss Foreign Affairs.” Peter Sellers eS Currently starred at the Theatre in Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” Peter Sellers claims he doesn’t make nearly as many motion pictures as it appears he does. He simply plays more roles than most. In Kubrick’s “hot-line suspense comedy,” for example, Sellers plays three parts and would have played four if he hadn’t injured an ankle during production of the Columbia release. He appears as the President of the United States, as a German nuclear scientist and as an R.A.F. officer assigned to the U.S. Air Force. The film itself has a psychotic Air Force General triggering an ingenious, foolproof and irrevocable scheme, unleashing his wing of B-52 H-Bombers to attack Russia. As the President unable to recall the aircraft, Sellers cooperates with the Soviet Premier in a bizarre attempt to save the world. The role Sellers’ ankle forced him out of was that of a Stetson-hatted Westerner, pilot of one of the attacking aircraft. A son of show business parents, Sellers was carried onstage when he was two days old, in the best theatrical tradition. As a boy, he sold tickets, operated the spotlights and swept out a theatre operated by an uncle. In World War II, after a spell as a drummer, he joined the R.A.F. and wound up an entertainer, touring India, France and Germany. In 1949, Sellers began heading for international fame. On radio, his “Goon Show” was an immediate success, lasting until 1958, and he began popping up in various television programs. He played five separate roles in the British comedy, “Let’s Go Crazy,” and then moved into such pictures as “The Ladykillers.” ‘The Smallest Show on KEearth,” “Tom Thumb,” “I’m All Right Jack,” “The Mouse That Roared,” “Lolita” and “Only Two Can Play,” among other triumphant films. George C. Scott co-stars with Sellers, playing the Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, called to the Pentagon from his liaison with the bikini-clad Tracy Reed, who makes her film bow as “Miss Foreign Affairs.” Sterling Hayden plays the psychotic Air Force general who sends the planes off, Keenan Wynn is a battle-eager American officer and Slim Pickens also stars as the B-52 H-Bomber pilot, the role Sellers had planned to play until his ankle cut up rough. Stanley Kubrick produced and directed “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” Screenplay for the film was written by Kubrick, Peter George and Terry Southern from the bestseller, “Red Alert,” by Peter George. (Mat 1B; Still No. 4870) Tracy Reed, as “Miss Foreign Affairs’, makes her screen bow in Stanley Kubrick's "Dr. Strangelove or: How | Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb." Peter Sellers and George C. Scott star in the Columbia release and Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn and Slim Pickens are co-starred.