Red Alert (novel)
OCLC 50737632 | |
Red Alert is a 1958 novel by Peter George about nuclear war. The book provided the underlying narrative structure for Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.[1] Kubrick's film differs significantly from the novel in that the film is a black comedy.
Originally published in the UK as Two Hours to Doom, with George using the pseudonym "Peter Bryant" (Bryan Peters for the French translation, 120 minutes pour sauver le monde), the novel deals with the apocalyptic threat of nuclear war and the almost absurd ease with which it can be triggered. A genre of such topical fiction, of which Red Alert was among the earliest examples that sprung up in the late 1950s, led by Nevil Shute's On the Beach.[citation needed]
Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler's later best-seller, Fail-Safe, so closely resembled Red Alert in its premise that George sued on the charge of copyright infringement, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. Both novels would go on to inspire very different films that would both be released in 1964 by the same studio (Columbia Pictures).
Plot
In a
When the U.S. President and cabinet become aware the attack is underway, they assist the Soviet government in intercepting the rogue U.S. Air Force bombers, to little effect, because the Soviets destroy only two bombers and damage one, the Alabama Angel, which remains airborne and en route to its target.
The U.S. government reestablishes the SAC airbase
In a last effort to avert a Soviet–American nuclear war, the U.S. President offers the Soviet Premier the compensatory right to destroy Atlantic City, New Jersey; at the final moment, the Alabama Angel is shot down, and nuclear catastrophe is averted.
Dr. Strangelove and Fail Safe
Red Alert author George collaborated on the
During the filming of Dr. Strangelove, Kubrick learned that Fail Safe, a film with a similar theme, was being produced. Although Fail Safe was to be a realistic thriller, Kubrick feared that its plot resemblance would damage his film's box office potential, especially if Fail Safe were released first. Indeed, the novel Fail-Safe (on which the film is based) is so similar to Red Alert that Kubrick and Peter George sued on charges of copyright infringement.[2] The case was settled out of court.[3] What worried Kubrick most was that Fail Safe boasted acclaimed director Sidney Lumet and first-rate dramatic actors Henry Fonda as the American President and Walter Matthau as the advisor to the Pentagon, Professor Groeteschele. Kubrick decided to throw a legal wrench into Fail Safe's production gears. Lumet recalled in the documentary Inside the Making of Dr. Strangelove: "We started casting. Fonda was already set.... which of course meant a big commitment in terms of money. I was set, Walter [Bernstein, the screenwriter] was set.... And suddenly, this lawsuit arrived, filed by Stanley Kubrick and Columbia Pictures."[citation needed]
Kubrick argued that Fail Safe's own 1962 source novel, Fail-Safe, had been copied from Red Alert, to which Kubrick owned creative rights. He pointed out unmistakable similarities in intentions between the characters Groeteschele and Strangelove (although there is not a Strangelove character in the novel). The plan worked, and the suit was settled out of court, with the agreement that Columbia Pictures, which had financed and was distributing Strangelove, also buy Fail Safe, which had been an independently financed production.[4] Kubrick insisted that the studio release his movie first,[5] and Fail Safe opened eight months behind Dr. Strangelove, to critical acclaim but mediocre ticket sales.[citation needed]
References
- ISBN 978-1-59654-582-3.
- ^ Scherman, David E. (8 March 1963). "in Two Big Book-alikes a Mad General and a Bad Black Box Blow Up Two Cities, and then— Everybody Blows Up!". Life. p. 49. Retrieved 18 August 2017.
- ISBN 9780143125785.
- ^ Schulman, Ari N. (7 October 2014). "Doomsday Machines". Slate. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- ^ Jacobson, Colin. "Review:Fail-Safe: Special Edition (1964)." dvdmg.com, 2000. Retrieved: 21 November 2010.
Publication information
- George, Peter (1988) [c. 1963], Strangelove, or, How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, Oxford [Oxfordshire]; New York: Oxford University Press.