Aug. 19, 1964 - Pentagon officials, who have been concerned by a supposedly antimilitary tone of some recent motion pictures, will derive little pleasure from some of Hollywood’s forthcoming films.
The Pentagon has adamantly refused to cooperate in any way with the production of two films that deal with nuclear accidents. One, “Fail-Safe” (pictured), will be released in the fall. A second, “The Bedford Incident,” will go into production shortly in England.
“We had hoped the Navy would lend us several vessels and some stock footage,” said Richard Widmark, “but at this point it’s no deal.” Widmark stars in the picture and is co-producer with James B. Harris.
“The Bedford Incident” concerns a right-wing naval officer whose belief in “total victory” precipitates the accidental firing of a nuclear weapon.
Some producers in Hollywood are having better luck with the Pentagon. Otto Preminger, producer of “In Harm’s Way,” has obtained naval assistance for his film, despite the fact that it contains uncomplimentary references to the activities of naval officers before World War II.
It is understood that Preminger made some changes in his script to accommodate the Navy, but the producer has declined to discuss them. One change was to eliminate the scenes showing “excessive drunkenness” of an executive officer, a naval source said.
Max Youngstein, co-producer of “Fail-Safe,” says he has obtained the promise of Pentagon aid in filming his forthcoming “The Green Beret,” which deals with the activities of special forces in Vietnam.
In general, the Pentagon declines to cooperate with films that show the military in an unfavorable light. The Pentagon is understood to have further tightened its acceptability standards since the release of “Dr. Strangelove” and “Seven Days in May,” two pictures that took an especially severe look at the military.
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