Fail Safe

Now, stay tuned for a live CBS Special Presentation

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.

We've sent fighter aircraft up to identify the bogie.

You said it could be hostile.

We have to regard it as hostile. That doesn't mean that it is.

-Doesn't mean it isn't. -This happens five or six times a month.

After Blue, we still have to go to Condition Yellow, Condition Green...

...and then Condition Red.

And Condition Red is?

War.

Maybe this time it's a real UFO.

From outer space? I wouldn't mind that.

Give us something to worry about besides the Russians.

I read your memo on counterforce credibility.

I don't think that's what Groteschele is going to talk about today.

You mean you don't want me to bring it up.

Maybe not today.

Someone's got to talk about it.

This whole policy of overkill, piling bombs on top of bombs...

...figuring even if they hit us first, we can still destroy them.

-It's crazy. -It's a crazy world.

-Good morning, gentlemen. -Good morning, Mr. Secretary.

I think you all know Mr. Groteschele, here.

He's been gracious enough to give us more of his valuable time...

...on a subject we're all naturally concerned about.

So, Mr. Groteschele, the floor is all yours.

Thank you.

I shall try not to waste your valuable time.

The subject today is ''Nuclear War.'' Specifically, ''Winning a Nuclear War.''

We know in a exchange between the Soviets and Americans...

...100 million people, more or less, would be killed.

A 100 million or more?

Yes, Mr. Secretary. That would be nothing but a tragedy...

...nobody here denies that.

Every war, even a thermonuclear war, must have a victor and a vanquished.