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On the Beach

  • 1959
  • Approved
  • 2h 14m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
15K
YOUR RATING
On the Beach (1959)
After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.
Play trailer4:47
1 Video
99+ Photos
Dystopian Sci-FiPsychological DramaDramaRomanceSci-Fi

After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.After a global nuclear war, the residents of Australia must come to terms with the fact that all life will be destroyed in a matter of months.

  • Director
    • Stanley Kramer
  • Writers
    • John Paxton
    • Nevil Shute
  • Stars
    • Gregory Peck
    • Ava Gardner
    • Fred Astaire
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.1/10
    15K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Stanley Kramer
    • Writers
      • John Paxton
      • Nevil Shute
    • Stars
      • Gregory Peck
      • Ava Gardner
      • Fred Astaire
    • 220User reviews
    • 61Critic reviews
    • 55Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 4 wins & 9 nominations total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 4:47
    Official Trailer

    Photos100

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    Top cast60

    Edit
    Gregory Peck
    Gregory Peck
    • Cmdr. Dwight Lionel Towers
    Ava Gardner
    Ava Gardner
    • Moira Davidson
    Fred Astaire
    Fred Astaire
    • Julian Osborn
    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Lt. Peter Holmes
    Donna Anderson
    Donna Anderson
    • Mary Holmes
    John Tate
    John Tate
    • Adm. Bridie
    Harp McGuire
    Harp McGuire
    • Lt. Sunderstrom
    Lola Brooks
    • Lt. Hosgood
    Ken Wayne
    Ken Wayne
    • Lt. Benson
    Guy Doleman
    Guy Doleman
    • Lt. Cmdr. Farrel
    Richard Meikle
    • Davis
    John Meillon
    John Meillon
    • Ralph Swain
    Joe McCormick
    • Ackerman
    Lou Vernon
    • Bill Davidson
    Kevin Brennan
    Kevin Brennan
    • Dr. King
    Basil Buller-Murphy
    • Sir Douglas Froude
    John Casson
    • Salvation Army captain
    Paddy Moran
    Paddy Moran
    • Stevens
    • Director
      • Stanley Kramer
    • Writers
      • John Paxton
      • Nevil Shute
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews220

    7.115.3K
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    Featured reviews

    7ildimo-35223

    Solid post-apocalyptic old school drama

    Still this one remains perhaps the most effective "end of the world as we know it" american films, cool-headed in frozen cold war times, with an unusually light touch by the Oliver Stone (but a tad more significant in my books) of those days. Not in the least pedantic, never dull (though a bit stretching at 134 minutes), at times almost elegiac and decidedly pessimistic, Kramer's On the Beach boasts a typically strong cast, crowned by a fantastic playing off each other of Peck and Gardner, with the latter being nothing sort of magnificent in her vulnerable first hour in the film. Premiered, among others, in Moscow 58 years ago this month. Peck, a life long supporter of nuclear disarmament, attended.
    lucanujs

    We are all on that beach, on the thin line between life and death.

    And the essence of our lives is expressed in the way we treat each other under the implacable threat of imminent mortality. As Ava Gardner's character says, at the penultimate moment of love's farewell, "It's been nice, Dwight Lionel. It's been everything." And what she says on her beach is true for every last one of us, on ours.

    The primary power of this great movie to me is how well it conveys the idea that for us, on this beach, love and tender kindness are all that matter in the end, and the end is always near. The sheer kindness that Ava and Gregory's characters express for each other is surely the key element of their triumphant relationship.

    The moment in which their relationship most completely triumphs, of course, occurs at the Narbethong Hotel. "On The Beach" achieves a cinematic moment of genius when the chorus singing "Waltzing Matilda" changes from a rowdy crowd of drunks to a magnificently harmonious group of fine male voices. As the sheer beauty of the music overwhelms us, it also overwhelms our characters, and we all unite together in a sublime moment of awareness that true love and kindness give us our only victory over imminent death. "You'll never take me alive," says the ghost.

    The way Gregory Peck's character shifts from fumbling with the fire to turning toward Ava as the music inspires transcendence, and the way Ava smiles at him, make this scene unforgettably great.

    Nearly as wonderful is the scene in which Ava's character learns that the Sawfish will be leaving, with her captain at the helm. She will have to face her death alone. She doesn't waste a moment in argument or recrimination, but expresses the fullness of her love for him and her great courage when she accepts his decision and thanks him: "..it's been everything." And then: "oh, I'm so frightened." This moment is one that I take to heart. It shows the love and courage I wish to have "when the time comes."

    There is still time, brothers and sisters. But we are all on the beach.
    hander27

    simply, one of the finest examples of the genre ever made.

    In an age where sci-fi films seem to rely more on big budget special effects,and spectacular explosions,to hold an audience(usually at the expense of a decent script and plot line),On the beach is here to remind us of how it should be done.Although the plot is simple and uncomplicated, it works well on different levels,almost feeding of the paranoia that abounded at the time, concerning atomic weapons.

    It tells the story of a group of individuals,and their last few months of life.An atomic war has wiped out most of the earth,only Australia and parts of the southern hemisphere are left,but it is only a temporary reprieve,the cloud of dust which has destroyed mankind is heading their way.It is against this backdrop that the film opens,and we get to meet the main characters.Dwight Towers,the american submarine captain,played superbly by Gregory Peck,good time girl Moira Davidson (Ava Gardner),desperately looking for one last chance of love,young naval officer and new dad Peter Holmes played by a young Anthony Perkins,and Fred Astaire as the towns drunken scientist,proving he could act as well as dance.

    As these characters develop,and we start to care about them,(they are all believable and for the most part,likeable),the film starts to ask questions of the viewer.what would i do? what about my family?how would i cope?.Director Stanley Kramer plays on the very real fears of the viewer,much the same way as Byron Haskin did in War of the worlds and Robert Wise in The day the earth stood still,albeit in a more subtle fashion.

    It is in the second half of the film,when the grim reality sets in,that Kramer cranks up the tension,almost scene by scene,we witness the growing despair and anguish of these poor souls,and there are some pretty unsettling scenes,non more so than when we watch people queueing up for "suicide"pills and then again when Anthony Perkins tries to explain to his young wife how to administer them to their young daughter in his absence"when the time comes". But of course,even amidst the doom and gloom,love blossoms,and the most poignant scene in the film for me,is when Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner kiss for the first time.

    A first rate cast and script,together with a haunting soundtrack,(you'll be whistling waltzing matilda for days after watching this)makes this one of my favourite films.Don't just rent this classic,buy it and give it pride of place in your collection.
    10hfelknor

    A great Tour de Force by a fine cast, interpreting a great story

    I watched this movie in a USAF chow hall on the island of Makung in the China Strait with about 20 other airman. The year was 1960. We were stationed there on a missile site. Our targets were 7 Chinese missile sites. Their target was us.

    I was 22 years old and immortal.

    Until I watched this movie.

    When the movie ended, I will never forget the fact that no one moved for perhaps 10 minutes. There was just the bright, blank screen and the sound of the end of the film going around and around. Thiketa-thicketa-thicketa................... No one ever said a word about what we had just seen.

    We, or at least I, never forgot this movie. As said earlier, it was more than scary. It was sad.

    It seems strange now, 40 some years later, to be telling people that you really should watch this film and watch the masters at work, with a script that is chilling. And you know what? We still haven't outlived the possibility...........
    Sanders-4

    I played a bit part in Melbourne. Great fun.

    I was/am not an actor, but I was a Fulbright at the University of Melbourne 1958-1960. When the U.S. Navy and Stanley Kramer fell out, he needed bit players with an American accent. As a result, I was recruited to play the (nameless) part of the planesman ("Depth 45 feet, Sir" and other immortal lines).

    It was great fun. I worked 12 hours a day, 7 days a week (really -- though most of the time was spent playing poker -- made more money playing poker than I did for acting) for two weeks at the Melbourne Fair Grounds. Met and chatted with all the participants other than Ava Gardner, who had no truck with anyone other than her Spanish cameraman.

    I was very impressed by Kramer and his writer. As to the others, it was clear that good brains do not make good actors (though all were nice people, particularly Fred Astaire who could have made millions as a salesman if he had not made them as a dancer/actor).

    I have seen lots of times and think the best movie ever made (even better than "No Time for Sergeants", which I have seen even more times).

    Would like to hear from Jack Boyer (the submarine medical corpsman) if he happens to read this.

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    Related interests

    Clive Owen and Clare-Hope Ashitey in Children of Men (2006)
    Dystopian Sci-Fi
    Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
    Psychological Drama
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
    Romance
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Fred Astaire launched his non-musical, dramatic acting career with this film. Stanley Kramer couldn't decide who to cast in this role until his wife suggested Astaire while watching one of his films on TV.
    • Goofs
      Before the submarine's deployment on its proposed 13,000 mile round trip, Dwight is asked if he has enough power on-board his nuclear sub. A nuclear sub's range is only limited by the amount of food it can carry and the endurance of the crew. The time between refueling a nuclear sub is measured in years if not decades. Plus, the sub could easily cover the 13,000 miles in three weeks or less.
    • Quotes

      Julian Osborne: The war started when people accepted the idiotic principle that peace could be maintained by arranging to defend themselves with weapons they couldn't possibly use without committing suicide.

    • Crazy credits
      The following acknowledgment appears in the opening credits: "We acknowledge with appreciation the assistance given by the Royal Australian Navy and, in particular, by the officers and men of H.M.A.S. Melbourne and H.M.S. Andrew."
    • Connections
      Edited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Waltzing Matilda
      Original music by Christina McPherson, revised music by Marie Cowan and lyrics by A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson (as A.B. Paterson)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 17, 1959 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • La hora final
    • Filming locations
      • Frankston, Victoria, Australia
    • Production companies
      • Stanley Kramer Productions
      • Lomitas Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,900,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $11,271
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 14m(134 min)
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

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