A U.S. Army colonel alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.
Burt Lancaster
Gen. James Mattoon Scott
Kirk Douglas
Col. Martin "Jiggs" Casey
Fredric March
President Jordan Lyman
Ava Gardner
Eleanor Holbrook
Edmond O'Brien
Sen. Raymond Clark
Martin Balsam
Paul Girard
Andrew Duggan
Col. William "Mud" Henderson
Hugh Marlowe
Harold McPherson
Whit Bissell
Sen. Frederick Prentice
Helen Kleeb
Esther Townsend
George Macready
Christopher Todd
Richard Anderson
Col. Murdock
Bart Burns
Secret Service White House Chief Art Corwin
John Alban
Party Guest (uncredited)
Monya Andre
Party Guest (uncredited)
Malcolm Atterbury
Horace the White House Physician (uncredited)
Walter Bacon
Reporter (uncredited)
Sam Bagley
Reporter (uncredited)
Al Bain
Reporter (uncredited)
Bill Baldwin
Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
John Barton
Reporter (uncredited)
Jack Berle
Reporter (uncredited)
Robert Brubaker
Gen. Diefenbach (uncredited)
William Challee
Gen. Riley (uncredited)
Dick Cherney
Reporter (uncredited)
Charles Cirillo
Reporter (uncredited)
Harry Denny
Party Guest (uncredited)
Mimi Dillard
Mother at Dulles Airport (uncredited)
Alphonso DuBois
Reporter (uncredited)
Fred Fisher
Waiter (uncredited)
Wesley Gale
Reporter (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton
Reporter (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes
Senate Committee Member (uncredited)
John Houseman
Vice Adm. Farley C. Barnswell (uncredited)
Rodolfo Hoyos Jr.
Capt. Ortega (uncredited)
Clegg Hoyt
Diner Operator (uncredited)
Colette Jackson
Bar Girl (uncredited)
Jim Jacobs
Helicopter Commando (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp
Senate Committee Member (uncredited)
Paul King
Party Guest (uncredited)
Joseph La Cava
Party Guest (uncredited)
John Larkin
Col. Broderick (uncredited)
Kent McCord
Presidential Aide (uncredited)
Tyler McVey
Gen. Hardesty (uncredited)
William Meader
Reporter (uncredited)
Tina Menard
Reporter (uncredited)
Charles Meredith
Senate Committee Member (uncredited)
Ernesto Molinari
Reporter (uncredited)
Jack Mullaney
Lt. Dorsey Grayson (uncredited)
Joe Ploski
Reporter (uncredited)
José Portugal
Party Guest (uncredited)
Fred Rapport
Party Guest (uncredited)
Paul Ravel
Party Guest (uncredited)
Ron Rich
Reporter (uncredited)
Owen Song
Reporter (uncredited)
Norman Stevans
Senate Commitee Member (uncredited)
Charles Watts
Stewart Dillard (uncredited)
Fredd Wayne
Henry Whitney (uncredited)
Ferris Webster
Gen. Bernard "Barney" Rutkowski (uncredited)
Director
John Frankenheimer
Novel
Fletcher Knebel
Novel
Charles W. Bailey II
Screenplay
Rod Serling
December 2, 2024
8
This is an enthralling political drama that pitches Fredric March ("Pres. Lyman") against the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff - Burt Lancaster ("Gen. Scott") in a battle for control of the United States. When an aide to the General - "Jiggs Casey" (Kirk Douglas) notices some odd goings on, he begins to suspect that his boss is plotting - and plotting on a treasonous scale. When he brings this to the attention of the President, a race is on between the elected authorities and their military commanders to stop the scheming general from achieving his goal. Lancaster is superb as the imperious 4-star general, as are Douglas and March. The star, for me at any rate, though, is Edmond O'Brien as the regularly sozzled Senator "Clark", who is despatched to investigate the existence of a secret base - and potentially thwart the entire rogue operation. The pace is excellent, the dialogue thoughtful and penetrating leaving us with a worrying degree of paranoia - might this actually be possible?
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00