FAIL SAFE

FAIL SAFE
   Film (1964). Max E. Youngstein-Sidney Lumet. Dir Sidney Lumet, starring Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Frank Overton, Fritz Weaver. Screenplay Walter Bernstein, based on Fail-Safe (1962) by Eugene L. BURDICK and Harvey WHEELER. 111 mins. Colour.
   A mistaken US nuclear attack on Moscow nearly initiates WWIII, a quandary resolved only by the US President's decision to bomb New York as an apologetic gesture. FS had the misfortune to be released soon after DR STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1963), and the public preferred the vigorous black farce of Stanley KUBRICK's film to the wordy, low-key documentary style of Lumet's. The unlikely premise is lent conviction by some good performances, but this "message" film is at once too diagrammatic and too like soap opera in such simplistic portrayals as Hawkish Professor, Liberal President and Conscience-Stricken Air-Force General.
   PN

Science Fiction and Fantasy Encyclopedia. . 2011.

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  • Fail-Safe — oder dt. Ausfallsicher ( Trotz Fehler sicher wörtlich: zusammengesetzt aus engl. fail – hier: ausfallen und safe – hier: gefahrlos ) bezeichnet jede Eigenschaft eines Systems, die im Fall eines Fehlers zu möglichst geringem Schaden führt. Bei… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fail safe — To revert to a safe condition in the event of failure • • • Main Entry: ↑fail * * * fail safe «FAYL SAYF», adjective, verb, safed, saf|ing. or failed , fail|ing . –adj. 1. having a …   Useful english dictionary

  • Fail-safe — or fail secure describes a device or feature which, in the event of failure, responds in a way that will cause no harm or at least a minimum of harm to other devices or danger to personnel. Definitions*“A device that will provide its intended… …   Wikipedia

  • fail-safe — adj 1.) a fail safe machine, piece of equipment etc contains a system that makes the machine stop working if one part of it fails 2.) a fail safe plan is certain to succeed …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • fail-safe — fail ,safe adjective designed to make a machine or piece of equipment stop working if part of it stops operating normally: a fail safe mechanism ╾ fail ,safe noun count …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Fail-Safe — était un groupe musical de Montréal. Ils ont principalement occupé la scène montréalaise entre 1986 et 1988. Ils n ont eu qu un seul album homonyme. Très influencé par le groupe Black Flag mais moins rapide et plus émotif, ils avaient un côté… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • fail-safe — fail′ safe adj. 1) elo equipped with a secondary system that ensures continued operation even if the primary system fails 2) mil denoting a system of safeguards in which bombers may not proceed past a prearranged point or nuclear weapons may not… …   From formal English to slang

  • fail-safe — ► ADJECTIVE 1) causing machinery to revert to a safe condition in the event of a breakdown. 2) unlikely or unable to fail …   English terms dictionary

  • fail-safe — [fāl′sāf΄] adj. [ FAIL, v. + SAFE, adj.] designating, of, or involving a procedure designed to prevent malfunctioning or unintentional operation, often specif. of nuclear armed aircraft, through an intricate system of protective devices …   English World dictionary

  • fail-safe — [adj] guaranteed not to fail confident, covered, foolproof, protected, reliable, reliant, safeguarded, secure, sound, sure; concepts 535,542,544 …   New thesaurus

  • fail-safe — I noun a mechanism capable of returning to a safe state in case there is a failure or malfunction • Hypernyms: ↑mechanism II adjective 1. guaranteed not to fail a fail safe recipe for cheese souffle • Similar to: ↑secure …   Useful english dictionary

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