On the Beach

On the Beach (1959)

Timing: 2:14 (134 min)

6.6/10
199

7.088/10
2859

7.1/10
16000

All about film

Video 1

Photo 10

Actors and characters

Release date

1959-12-16

Country

United States

Production

United Artists, Stanley Kramer Productions

Genre

Science Fiction, Drama, Romance

Budget

$2 900 000

Revenue

$11 011 271

Website

Director

Stanley Kramer

Actors

Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins, Donna Anderson, Guy Doleman, John Meillon, Harp McGuire, Lola Brooks, Ken Wayne
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Stanley Kramer

Operator

Giuseppe Rotunno

Composer

Ernest Gold

Artist

Audition

Editing

Frederic Knudtson
All team (17)

• Based on the novel "On the Beach" by Nevil Shute.
• Some streets in the Australian suburb of Berwick, where filming took place, were subsequently named after members of the project: Gardner Street, Schute Avenue, Kramer Drive.
• The Strugatsky brothers mention this film in their "A Tale of Three" and "Distant Rainbow."
• The film is also mentioned in Stephen King's novel "Needful Things." It is playing on television when one of the characters, Netty Cobb, is posting notes in Danforth Keaton's house. Another character, Wilma Jerzyk, also wants to watch the film after Sunday service.
• The film is mentioned in the first volume of Haruki Murakami's novel "1Q84."
• With this film, Fred Astaire began his non-dancing career in cinema. Director Stanley Kramer couldn't decide who to give the role to, and Kramer's wife, who was watching one of Astaire's films on television at the time, suggested Astaire to him.
• This was Ava Gardner's first film after completing her 20-year contract with MGM, during which she worked for a weekly salary and received nothing if she was 'loaned' to other studios. After fulfilling her contract with MGM, she was able to choose her own roles and negotiate fees.
• The US Department of Defense and the US Navy refused to assist the filmmakers with the project. They also denied the filmmakers access to a nuclear submarine, so they had to film with the non-nuclear British submarine 'HMS Andrew'. (Until 1967, submarines of the Royal Navy were based in Australia, after which the Australians acquired their own submarine fleet.) Scenes at the naval base were filmed at the Williamstown Naval Dockyard in the Australian state of Victoria.
• Director Stanley Kramer was greatly inconvenienced by the thousands of onlookers who watched the filming, wading into the water up to their shoulders and applauding the actors after each take. The audience's enthusiasm was often frankly irritating, especially when they constantly wandered into the frame, wanting to get a closer look at Ava Gardner.
• Before filming the finale, Stanley Kramer appealed to the city's residents via radio and local publications, asking them to stay home to capture footage of deserted streets.