Still Watching the Skies: Episode 138 “On the Beach”

By Robert Reineke

This month, Cody, Robert, and Nat are joined by Miloš Tomin to explore Cold War fears and the end of the world in Stanley Kramer’s ON THE BEACH.

ON THE BEACH was Stanley Kramer’s big statement on the prospect of nuclear annihilation and our ability to stop it before it happens. Linus Pauling said “It may be that some years from now we can look back and say that On the Beach is the movie that saved the world.” That may be hyperbole. On the other hand, we’re still here. Who’s to say he was wrong?

But does that make On the Beach a great film? That’s kind of the crux of the episode. We discuss the all star cast full of 1950s and future heavyweights including Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, and a young, still being touted as a romantic lead, Anthony Perkins.

And we discuss the melodrama of it all. We all agree that you’ll know how it ends after the first 15 minutes. Humanity is staring down extinction. But how they respond is the personal stakes of the film that makes it something not easily dismissed.

And we discuss the added love story involving Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and how it led to the disavowal of the film by book author Nevil Shute. And whether the change to the original story ultimately pays off.

Just remember, there is still time, brother. At least for the audience if not for the characters in the film.

No need to summon your ultimate dignity to enjoy the podcast; give us a play below or download the episode. Also, feel free to let us know what you think by commenting on our page at Facebook or you can Email Us at skiespocast@gmail.com as we appreciate feedback.

Time tracks:
0:00:00 – ON THE BEACH Discussion
1:14:37- Next Movie and Outro

Next month, we will be joined by Hunter Fagan from Dis-Order as we deal with Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island from 1961 and Ray Harryhausen. We hope you’ll join us.

Subscribe: RSS iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher

Robert Reineke

Robert Reineke was born in the dark era before cable television, but somehow survived based on a steady diet of Universal Monsters, Hammer Horror, 1950s science fiction, and Godzilla on his local UHF station. As a college student, he discovered the works of David Lynch and Akira Kurosawa which opened up different vistas for him. When he’s not doing useful things like heading up environmental investigations and cleanups or designing sewers, you can find him watching movies, writing about them, and talking about them. He’s a booster of the Milwaukee Film Festival. Somehow he puts up with young whippersnappers Nat Almiral and Cody Lang on the Still Watching the Skies podcast.