The US nuclear sub Sawfish was on patrol in the mid-Pacific in early 1964 when the great nuclear war destroyed much of the Northern Hemisphere. It made its way to Melbourne, Australia, where radiation levels were still comparatively low. Commanding Officer Dwight Towers (Peck) goes ashore and falls in love with aging free spirit Moira Davidson (Gardner) while trying to not to think of his wife and children, recently killed in the war. Lt. Commander Peter Holmes of the Australian Navy (Perkins), a young husband and new father, is assigned to the Sawfish as a liaison officer when the sub heads north again to check on radiation levels and a mysterious, unintelligible Morse code signal emanating from the San Diego area. Back in Melbourne, everyone prepares -- more or less -- for the inevitable in the next four months as ambient radiation slowly but surely rises above tolerable levels. This 1959 film by director Stanley Kramer and writer John Paxton, based on Neville Shute's bestselling novel, is largely free of thrills and action, but is instead a stately character study of a variety of individuals. Fred Astaire has a brief but memorable role as a cynical scientist who lives out his dream of driving a racing Porsche.
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The review of this Movie prepared by David Loftus
