A great satire and a truly great film

Rating: 10/10 (17 March 2014)

"Dr. Strangelove" is among the best satires ever put on film. I only wonder that it didn't receive at least two or three acting nominations for Academy Awards. But, 1965 was a year of heavy competition, with many great films. Still, how could Peter Sellers not get a nomination for his masterful job in handling three completely different roles? The Oscar for best actor that year went to Lee Marvin for "Cat Balou." Marvin was good, but I don't think he was as good as any of the other four nominees. Perhaps it was easier to pick him from the pack with Peter Sellers' name not in the running. I think Hollywood made a sentimental choice that year, but clearly goofed in passing over the superb cast and acting jobs in "Dr. Strangelove."
The best supporting actor Oscar for 1965 went to Martin Balsam for "A Thousand Clowns." He was a worthy choice among great competition. But none of those on the list gave markedly better performances than two actors in "Dr. Strangelove." George C. Scott and Sterling Hayden both had outstanding performances and should have been nominated. Some viewers may be interested to know that Sterling Hayden was in espionage for the Allies during World War II. He worked for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the American wartime intelligence service. He went by the name, John Hamilton. He ferried supplies from Italy to partisans in Yugoslavia and did undercover work in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Hayden was awarded a silver star for his service.
A few roles and scenes in this film are side-splitting funny. The script is a masterpiece of wit throughout, with puns and metaphors galore. The Air Force Base is Burpelson. Would anyone guess that the film was made in England? The base commander was General Jack D. Ripper (played by Hayden). The base deputy commander is an RAF officer, Group Captain Mandrake – one of Sellers' roles. The U.S. President is Merkin Muffley (another Sellers role), and the Soviet Union Premier – who's never seen or heard, is Premier Dmitri Kissoff. The Soviet ambassador is Alexi de Sadesky (reference to the Marquis de Sade), played by Peter Bull. George C. Scott plays the top U.S. Army general, 'Buck" Turgidson (turgid means swollen, congested). Keenan Wynn plays Col. 'Bat' Guano. For those who may not have caught that one, guano is the Spanish word for excrement of cave-dwelling bats. Other names have innuendos as well.
The cap of Sellers' roles was as Dr. Strangelove. In the movie, Turgidson asks Mr. Staines, "Strangelove? What kind of a name is that? That ain't no Kraut name, is it?" Staines replies, "He changed it when he became a citizen. It used to be Merkwurdichliebe." Turgidson responds, "Well, a Kraut by any other name, huh, Stainesy?" Merkwurdichliebe is a compound that isn't readily translatable. "I love remembering wurd." The last scene with Sellers as Strangelove is riotously funny. It may be the funniest scene ever put on film.
A mark of the genius of this film is its script that intersperses serious, sensible and concerned lines with some outlandishly funny ones. These stand out even without video. But the visual scenes, with the facial expressions and contortions, compound the humor. Sellers' last scene without the video would lose much. Even after nearly 50 years, this film is as funny as when it came out. Here are some of my favorite hilarious lines from the movie.
Gen. Ripper: "I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration  and the ultimate Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids." Pres. Muffley: "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here. This is a war room." Muffley, on the phone to Soviet Premier Kissoff: "One of our base commanders went a little funny in the head." And, later, to Kissoff: "I am very sorry. All right, you're sorrier than I am. But I am sorry as well. I am as sorry as you are, Dmitri. Don't say that you're more sorry than I am  because I'm capable of being just as sorry as you are. So, we're both sorry, alright?"
On learning of the Soviet doomsday machine, Pres. Muffley says to Soviet ambassador de Sadesky, "This is absolute madness. Why should you build such a thing?" The ambassador replies, "There are those of us who fought against it, but in the end we could not keep up with the expense involved in the arms race, the space race, and the peace race. At the same time, our people grumbled for more nylons and washing machines. Our doomsday scheme cost us just a small fraction of what we have been spending on defense in a single year."
Strangelove says," Deterrence is the art of producing in the mind of the enemy the fear of attack." Then, to the Soviet ambassador, he says, "The whole point of the doomsday machine is lost if you keep it a secret. Why didn't you tell the world?" Sadesky says, "It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, the premier loves surprises."
The last scene has Strangelove describing how a remnant of the human race could survive thousands of feet underground, and Turgidson suspecting a Soviet move to take over the U.S. deep mines. Strangelove, caught up in the exciting possibilities, rises from his wheel chair and starts walking toward the president. He looks down at his legs and shouts, "Mein Fuhrer, I can walk." The film closes with a musical score set to scenes of distant horizons with bright flashes and mushroom clouds rising. This is a classic satire that should live on for generations to see, heed and enjoy.