Fail Safe

A technical failure in the American military system sends a devastating order to a bomber crew: attack Moscow with nuclear weapons. Once the command is received, the crew is bound by protocol and cannot be contacted or recalled, leaving the United States president with only hours to find a way to stop the mission before it triggers a full-scale atomic conflict. As Washington scrambles for options, Soviet leaders are alerted to the incoming strike, and the crisis deepens with each passing moment.

Stephen Frears directed this television thriller, the eleventh of twenty-three features in his filmography, arriving between High Fidelity and Liam. Richard Dreyfuss plays the president, with Brian Dennehy as Gen. Bogan, Noah Wyle as Buck, Sam Elliott as Congressman Raskob, James Cromwell as Gordon Knapp, and Walter Cronkite appearing as the host. Warner Bros. Television and Maysville Pictures produced the 86-minute drama.

On IMDb, the film holds a 7.4 rating from roughly 6,900 votes, while on TMDB it has a 6.9 from a much smaller base of 89 votes. A critics' rating of 8.2 from five reviews places it above both audience measures, though the small sample sizes and the film's television origins are worth noting when weighing those figures.