In Australia, the last survivors of an atomic war headed by Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and Anthony Perkins prepare for a terrifying end in Stanley Kramer's On the Beach.

John Paxton and James Lee Barrett wrote the screenplay and Stanley Kramer directed in this haunting film adaptation of the Nevil Shute novel. Starring Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Anthony Perkins and Fred Astaire, United Artists' On the Beach tells the story of the aftermath of an atomic war and how the last survivors in Melbourne, Australia, prepare to meet their fate as deadly radioactive fallout gradually makes its way Down Under.

Based on the Novel by Nevil Shute

On the Beach is based on the novel of the same name by Nevil Shute (1899-1960). First published in London by William Heinemann Ltd. in 1957, On the Beach is a literary product of its era, presenting one writer's Cold War vision of the world following a nuclear exchange in the Northern Hemisphere.

Big Name Cast

Heading the cast is Gregory Peck as Commander Dwight Lionel Towers, with Ava Gardner as Moira Davidson, Anthony Perkins as Lt. Commander Peter Holmes and Fred Astaire as Julian Osborne. In able support are Donna Anderson (Mary Holmes), John Tate (Admiral Bridie), Harp McGuire (Lt. Sunderstrom), Lola Brooks (Lt. Hosgood), Ken Wayne (Lt. Benson), Guy Doleman (Lt. Commander Farrrel), Richard Meikle (Davis), John Meillon (Yeoman Ralph Swain), et al.

Filmed in Australia and California

On the Beach was filmed on location in various parts of Victoria, Australia, including Melbourne, Frankston and Port Phillip. California locations included the Mission Inn and Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, with the latter serving as the site for the suicidal automobile race depicted in the picture. Also used were the oil refineries in San Diego.

The submarine used in the film was the Royal Navy's diesel-powered HMS Andrew, as both the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense refused to cooperate in the production of the picture.

The USS Swordfish Arrives in Melbourne

The movie opens in January of 1964 with the nuclear-powered submarine USS Swordfish breaking the waves and sailing into Melbourne Harbor. Riding high atop the conning tower is the Swordfish's skipper, Commander Dwight Towers, United States Navy. As the American submarine prepares to dock, a radio announces that the atomic war is over, and that life is thought to exist nowhere else but in Australia.

Admiral Bridie of the Royal Australian Navy learns of the Swordfish's arrival, and assigns one of his junior officers, Peter Holmes, to serve as liason aboard the sub. Holmes is a family man, with a young wife Mary and a baby daughter named Jennifer.

Holmes and his wife later host a party, with Commander Towers as one of the guests. Also in attendance are Moira Davidson, a lonely local woman, and British scientist Julian Osborne. The conversation soon turns to the inevitable, with Julian telling the partygoers that they are all doomed as the radioactivity in the room is already nine times higher than it should be.

San Francisco Is a Ghost Town

With Holmes and Julian aboard, the Swordfish heads back into the war zone in order to check fallout levels and to investigate a mysterious radio signal. Surfacing off San Francisco, they discover a ghost town devoid of any life. As for the radio signal in San Diego, it turns out to be a window shade tugging on a Coke bottle.

As the fallout continues to make its way Down Under, the Australian government readies its citizens for the end, passing out suicide pills in order to spare them the agonies of acute radiation sickness. Commander Towers, who has been unable to accept the loss of his wife and two children back in New London, Connecticut, returns to Melbourne following the mission north, discovering that he has fallen in love with Moira.

Release, Reviews, Awards

On the Beach opened on December 17, 1959, premiering in over 20 major cities, including New York, London, Paris, Lisbon and Moscow.

"Deserves to be seen. It is an honest and provoking picture..." reported Variety (12/2/59).

"Deeply moving..." opined The New York Times (12/18/59).

On the Beach was nominated for two Oscars: Best Film Editing and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. The latter was especially deserved, with Ernest Gold delivering a fine score leaning heavily on the famous Australian song, "Waltzing Matilda."

On the Beach, remade in 2000 as a two-part feature for Showtime, would later be followed by other nuclear nightmare movie fare, including Dr. Strangelove (1964), Fail Safe (1964), Testament (1983) and Crimson Tide (1995).

"You remember when we first met? It was on the beach. I thought you were everything I'd always wanted," Peter tells his young wife Mary as they make final preparations.

There's no happy ending in this one...