A giant meteor is headed toward the Earth. The US will attempt to blast it from the heavens with a satellite armed with nuclear weaponry. The device, named Hercules, was intended as a failsafe against large Earth-bound chunks of rock falling from space onto the planet but the Pentagon altered the satellites purpose by pointing it toward the Soviets instead.
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The President (Fonda) demands a solution from ex-NASA satellite designer Dr. Bradley (Connery) and NASA Director Sherwood (Malden) to the approaching catastrophe and is shocked to hear NASA experts say the American made warheads will not do the job. The Soviets are summoned, as they too have put into orbit an unauthorized (and not-so-secret) nuclear-armed satellite named Peter the Great.
Soviet space satellite designer and expert Dr. Dubov (Keith) through his beautiful Russian translator Tatiana Donskaya (Wood) is forced to admit they too have placed atomic weaponry in space.
Dr. Bradley can't help falling for the lovely Russian interpreter. Due to leaked BBC news story of the impending disaster, the President is forced to tell the American people and the world of the satellites, the meteor and the joint US-Soviet enterprise to save the world. Against General Adlon's (Landau) judgment, a nervous spirit of cooperation is needed to save the planet from certain annihilation. Just in time, the missiles from both orbiting craft are fired and "Orpheus" (the meteor) is made smaller and less lethal but not gone completely. Humankind's extinction is averted.
The review of this Movie prepared by David Fletcher
