BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Wyatt There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

classicsoncall As good as the movie was, there were two significant disconnects in the story for this viewer; both involved Colonel 'Mutt' Henderson (Andrew Duggan). The first was when Henderson made it out of the Econcom desert hideaway with Senator Roy Clark (Edmond O'Brien) in tow. Didn't they make it out of there just a bit too easily? That there was no pursuit by forces on the ground allowing them to get away scot-free, that just didn't ring true for me.The second was that airport lounge scene when Henderson disappeared off screen, having been brought back under control by Major Scott's (Burt Lancaster) saboteurs. How is it that Senator Clark was left alone, virtually in the same location? They must have known he was there and in on the conspiracy in progress. All the more incredible given that Paul Girard (Martin Balsam) had already been murdered by sabotaging a plane load of civilians and covering it up as a crash.But with those couple of question marks hanging out there, the rest of the story was a pretty good one. Maybe not as tension filled as the same year's "Fail-Safe" about an accidental attack on the Soviet Union with no hope of recall, but it had it's moments of suspense and intrigue. Rod Serling's screenplay brought the drama on screen invariably close to a real life Twilight Zone that the American public never got to witness - the takeover of the United States government by a military coup led by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.For me, the best scene was the confrontation between President Lyman (Frederic March) and Lancaster's Major Scott. The dialog between the two men is masterfully written, culminating in that chilling stare down between Scott and Colonel Jiggs Casey (Kirk Douglas) right after Scott leaves the President's office.Which leads to one last remaining question mark about the picture, that was also a hallmark of many of Serling's Twilight Zone scripts. With the crisis for the President over and the three Joint Chiefs generals resigning, what exactly are the repercussions for Major Scott? Presumably the story continues with penalties involved for the perpetrators of the conspiracy, but we never get to know what they are.

Hitchcoc I was a junior in high school when this movie came out. My friends and I had gotten used to seeing kind of fluffy films that showed in our local theater. We weren't ill behaved, but our attention wasn't always on the film. Movies with intense plots got some of the same treatment. I remember this film because I was mesmerized from the first scene. The plot was intricate and the acting superb. I remember telling my friends to be quiet because I was engrossed. This is the story of a coup within the U.S. government. The President had signed a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. This led to a mutinous response from the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Soon it was determined that the President must die as the only way to stop what he was doing. We are immersed in the intrigue of the plot to kill the chief of state. Outstanding movie I could watch a hundred times.

cmcastl but I would still like to cast a ten out of ten vote for this film!I often re-watch it in part or in whole. One of my favourite scenes not just in this film but in any political thriller is the tense scene between Kirk Douglas' Colonel "Jiggs" Casey, Frederic March's President Jordan Lyman and Martin Balsam's Presidential Chief of Staff Paul Girard when Kirk Douglas' character first outlines his suspicions to his initially sceptical interlocutors. Each actor brings nuances to the excellent script, both verbally and in their physical expressions, which mark them out as actors of the highest class. Not only is it a dramatic scene but it and indeed the entire film is a masterclass in ensemble screen acting. That particular scene, I often wonder, if the director had been influenced by Stanley Kubrick, in making it simultaneously seem both clinical, mannered and yet also highly dramatic. I would also like to highlight the tender but ultimately poignant scene between Douglas' Colonel Casey and Eleanor Holbrook, played by Ava Gardner, the former lover of the would-be US junta-style leader General Scott played with menacing charisma by Burt Lancaster. It is obvious that in other circumstances Douglas' and Gardner's characters could have become lovers but the details concerning her relationship with General Scott which the colonel had reluctantly agreed to ferret out through betraying her confidence must spoil the possibility. Once again, a beautiful scene beautifully acted and what a gorgeous women Ava Gardner still was even in middle age. They sure do not make films like that anymore! There are neither the actors, the producers, the directors or the scriptwriters! Or, it would seem, the mass audience.Could a coup happen in the US? There is no historical guarantee that the US has been given denied to any other nation. All democracies are vulnerable given the right, or rather the wrong, circumstances.

Jankoman Yep...could not believe the opening credits when I saw "The Twilight Zone Guy"'s name: Rod Serling!!! After watching the movie, I could tell...it didn't have the "wierd camera angle's" or "the bizarre suspense music scenes"...but, the brilliant agony-of-the-edge-of-your-seat anxiety and deep-dark-lurking-monster's-in-some-man's-soul intensity is just, well...Serling. And, Alfred Hitchcock too! As an ACTOR!?! Whoa! this movie is STELLAR!!! I Loved the "Good Guys" and I hated the "Bad Guys", and, most importantly BOTH were as insightful and aggressive as their counterparts. And, yes...I am "PARTIAL"... I Loved Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" series, and, with this movie, he "hit the mark" again. Brilliant screenplay,...Brilliant acting...Brilliant movie.