Revisiting 'Fail-Safe'

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Coming to you live from CBS,

your host, Mr. Walter Cronkite.

Ladies and gentlemen,

you're at an opening night.

Tonight, television takes a giant step.

For the next two hours...

...this network will be presenting

the first feature-length story...

...to be broadcast live on CBS in 39 years.

Tonight's show, Fail Safe...

...is based on the best-selling novel

by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler...

...and written for the screen

by Walter Bernstein.

You're tuned to CBS.

The clocks are turned back,

and our story begins in just one minute.

What time is it?

Too early.

The Secretary's bringing some...

...muckamuck to lecture to all of us brass.

Taking the train?

No, I'll fly down.

Be back in time for dinner.

That would be fine.

I'll take the children to Manhattan.

We're going to see My Fair Lady.

She's in New York?

The movie.

You had that dream again, didn't you?

Blackie.

Maybe I should quit my job.

The dream's related, I know.

Why don't you come with us to see

My Fair Lady? Audrey Hepburn.

And leave Swenson and General Stark

in a room alone?

No?

No.

Let's take that vacation, Blackie.

-And get you away from all of this.

-Soon.

How did I get so lucky

to stumble onto you?

Come home early.

How long have you been stationed

in Omaha, Colonel Cascio?

Three years, Congressman.

This is the control center to the War Room.

How far down are we?

Six stories.

That seems a little extreme

even for the War Department.

Yes, sir. I'm sure it does.

What we are seeing here

is the naval situation in the Pacific.

Those white ones are our surface vessels

and our submarines.

And those are Russian submarines.

So close to our shoreline?

International waters.

Anyone's got a right to be there.

The Russians aren't just anyone.

What are they doing there,

or is that a foolish question?

Same thing we're doing to them

over there.

General?

Surveillance. Don't worry, Mr. Knapp.

We keep a very close eye on them.

-Thanks to you and your company.

-We just make the computers.

You people do the important work.

Congressman. Follow me, gentlemen.

-Your computers are the best in the world.

-Thank you.

They ought to be. They cost enough.

This is about more than just money.

I got elected to watch

the dollars, Mr. Knapp.

Like Mr. Jefferson said:

''Patriotism is the last refuge

of the profligate.''

Or was it Will Rogers?

-Where you from, Colonel?

-New York City, sir.

New York City.

Your Congressman's Sam Noonan, right?

I wouldn't know. I'm in the Air Force.

Congressman.

Give me the polar projection, please.

Yes, sir.

What we're seeing now is a projection

of the Northern Hemisphere.

It's like looking down at the Earth

from the North Pole...

...at an altitude of about 100 miles.

Those are our bombers

patrolling the Russian perimeter.

Shortly they'll be returning

to their base in Alaska.

They'll be replaced by other bombers

with fresh crews.

Men chosen very carefully, sir.

The cream of the cream.

He's got a good arm.

His fielding skills are a little suspect, but....

-He's 10, Jack.

-No, I know.

We'll see. Next spring.

He can hit. I could never hit.

Stands in there,

puts the bat on his shoulder...

...looks the pitcher right in the eye,

takes his cuts.

Five minutes to ready planes.

The other kids duck when the pitch

comes in. He doesn't flinch.

-Brave little--

-Got that from his mom.

Yeah. She was something.

How's he doing?

Better.

Tommy?

-Dad! How long will this one be?

-Shouldn't be too late.

-You sure?

-Positive.

Only fools are positive.

-Are you sure?

-Positive.

-Dad?

-Yes, Sport.

You know that chameleon you got me?

I know him well.

We talk about you all the time.

Four minutes to ready planes.

Can you get me another one?

Why, you think he needs a friend?

No, it's just that he's dead.

He was alive yesterday. What happened?

He got cooked.

-You cooked the chameleon?

-Not me, the sun.

We're supposed to keep the shade down

so the sun doesn't get on him.

I forgot, and he got cooked.

When I get home,

we'll give him a proper burial.

You mad at me, Dad?

-Of course not. This weekend--

-Tell Tommy I said hey.

Flynn says hey. I'm flying with him today.

-Is he flying Number 6?

-Are you flying Number 6?

I got to go. I'll be home soon, Sport.

-You sure?

-I'm positive.

Only fools are positive.

-I'll see you.

-I'll see you, Dad.

Three minutes to ready planes.

They're all armed with nuclear bombs.

Two kinds of bombs. Air-to-air missiles

for use against enemy planes...

...and two 20-ton hydrogen bombs

designed to detonate over land targets.

Each one more powerful

than what we dropped on Hiroshima.

No comparison.

And you guys are the finger on the trigger.

I think I know what you're worried about.

Somebody goes nuts in here,

the bombs go off and the world blows up.

No way. We have checks upon checks.

Fail Safe procedures--

That don't depend on humans.

That's the scariest thing I've heard

since I came in here.

What Colonel Cascio meant

was that we bypass human error.

Even the best people make mistakes.

We've got the very best.

They get tired, angry,

their minds can wander.

We've compensated for that.

Thanks again to Mr. Knapp

and his systems.

We make them as foolproof as we can.

Maybe you ought to have

a ''fool safe'' procedure.

Protect us from the fools in the world.

-I'd sleep a lot better.

-So would I, but unfortunately--

Excuse me.

What's going on, General?

We've come up

with an unidentified flying object.

Until we know what it is for sure,

we consider it hostile.

So what do you do about it?

We've gone to Condition Blue.

That's our lowest level of readiness.

As you saw, we always have

a certain number of bombers in the air.

They have been told

we're at Condition Blue...

...so now they'll now fly

to their Fail Safe points.

-Put that up for me, please.

-Yes.

Different for each group

and changes from day to day.

The Fail Safe is a fixed point in the sky...

...where the bombers orbit

till they get a positive order to go in.

Without that order, they come home.

No bomber can proceed

on its own discretion.

-You get that order by radio, right?

-But not verbally.

This is of course highly classified.

The attack order is transmitted

to a small box...

...on the aircraft

that we call the Fail Safe box.

This box is operated by a code...

...which can function

only at the express order of the President.

Seven minutes to Fail Safe.

When we go to Condition Blue

it goes on automatically...

...at seven minutes and starts

a countdown. Nothing unusual.

Why don't you just give them

a direct verbal yes or no...

...and save yourselves all this trouble?

Voices can be imitated.

An enemy comes up on

the same radio frequency...

...imitates the voice of the President,

it can send whatever message it wants.

No, there can't be any interference

with the box. We've seen to that.

There's nothing unusual

about Condition Blue?

No. This is Standard Operating Procedure.

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