On The Beach (1959)

Set in a then slightly futuristic 1964, WWIII has decimated the world with radiation from nuclear bombs. An American submarine heads to Australia where there is still human life untouched by the nuclear fallout although it's only a matter of time before it reaches Australia. Based on the novel by Nevil Shute and directed by Stanley Kramer. Yes, another self important Stanley Kramer production. Having touched on racism (THE DEFIANT ONES, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER), Nazism (JUDGMENT AT NUREMBURG, SHIP OF FOOLS), creationism vs. the Bible (INHERIT THE WIND), here he address nuclear war and the end of mankind. Actually, it's one of his better films but it's still not very good. The performances are good, notably Ava Gardner and Fred Astaire (in an atypical role) but Kramer pads his film with characters like an Australian Navy Admiral (John Tate) and his secretary (Lola Brooks) who don't add anything to the narrative (they weren't in Shute's book either) and a needless auto race. Kramer lays it on with a trowel and pushes it over the two hour mark. Ernest Gold's insistent use of Waltzing Matilda in his score quickly becomes annoying. With Gregory Peck, Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson.