On the Beach (1959) [Repost]

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On the Beach (1959) [Repost]

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THERE is an initial impulse to say of Stanley Kramer's "On the Beach," the new film that he and John Paxton have refined from the novel of Nevil Shute, that it is concerned with the imagined annihilation of all mankind on this earth, the slow poisoning of the last pocket of surviving humans by radioactive fall-out from a nuclear war.

And that would be absolutely accurate, so far as the situation and plot are concerned. For the crisis in this deeply moving picture, which opened at the Astor last night—and in theatres in seventeen other places all around the world—is that which confronts a group of people in Australia in 1964 as they helplessly await the inexorable onset of a lethal cloud of atomic dust.

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On the Beach (1959) [Repost]

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Death and complete annihilation of the human race are certainly the menaces that hang over all the characters in this film. They are specified at the beginning in the most candid and awesome terms.

A nuclear war someone started (it is never clarified who) has caused fall-out that has completely decimated the entire northern hemisphere. Now the fall-out is slowly drifting southward; the last people in Australia have five months to enjoy what is left of living and prepare themselves for the end.

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So, as they grasp the situation, as an American submarine and its crew go north as far as Alaska in hopes of finding a clearing atmosphere and as the final days come upon them (when they learn there is no hope), the ever-present realization of themselves—and the audience—is death.

Yet the basic theme of this drama and its major concern is life, the wondrous thing that man's own vast knowledge and ultimate folly seem about to destroy. And everything done by the characters, every thought they utter and move they make, indicates their fervor, tenacity and courage in the face of doom.

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The American submarine captain will not accept that his wife and children are dead, a young Australian naval lieutenant and his wife look forward to having a second child, a worldly and blasé woman who has wasted life tries to find true love, a seasoned and cynical atomic scientist tunes his cherished possession, a racing car.

In putting this fanciful but arresting story of Mr. Shute on the screen, Mr. Kramer and his assistants have most forcibly emphasized this point: life is a beautiful treasure and man should do all he can to save it from annihilation, while there is still time.

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To this end, he has accomplished some vivid and trenchant images that subtly fill the mind of the viewer with a strong appreciation of his theme. The sequence in which the American submarine goes north to Point Barrow, then comes back by deadened San Francisco and puts a well-protected man ashore in empty San Diego to investigate a curious radio signal that comes from there, gives a tremendous comprehension of the waste of an unpeopled world. And scenes of life in Australia, which follow, point up the joy of carrying on. Even a nervetingling sequence representing a suicidal auto race impresses the viewer with the wisdom of man's being careful of his hide.

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Mr. Kramer has brilliantly directed a strong and responsive cast, headed by Gregory Peck as the submarine commander and Ava Gardner as the worldly woman who craves his love. Miss Gardner is remarkably revealing of the pathos of a wasted life. Fred Astaire is also amazing as the cynical scientist, conveying in his self-effacing manner a piercing sense of the irony of his trade.

Anthony Perkins as the young lieutenant, Donna Anderson as his delicate wife, John Tate as an Australian admiral and Lola Brooks as his loyal aide are among the many excellent listed and unlisted actors in the film.

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A fine musical score, which leans heavily on the famous Australian tune, "Waltzing Matilda," has been contributed by Ernest Gold, and the fine black-and-white camera work of Giuseppe Rotunno merits a final word.

The great merit of this picture, aside from its entertaining qualities, is the fact that it carries a passionate conviction that man is worth saving, after all.

The New York Times

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