DR. STRANGELOVE OR: HOW I LEARNED TO STOP WORRYING AND LOVE THE BOMB (1964)

1. What prompted Kubrick to turn a serious nuclear war story into a satiric comedy?

When Kubrick and his then-partner James B. Harris were first working on a screenplay adaptation of the serious nuclear war novel Red Alert, they would often begin talking about the absurdities of the Cold War and its participants, to lighten the mood and make each other laugh.

Eventually Kubrick began realizing that the story lent itself to dark comedy, and decided to push the film in that direction.

This change also eventually helped distinguish the project from another similar, and popular, novel of the time, Fail Safe, which was made into a movie directed by Sidney Lumet the following year.

2. Which characters was Peter Sellers originally hired to play?

Kubrick originally envisioned Sellers playing President Merkin Muffley, Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, Dr. Strangelove, and Major "King" Kong. However, Sellers had trouble perfecting the Texas accent Kubrick wanted for Major Kong. When Sellers injured an ankle in an automobile accident, he was forced to bow out of the role and Kubrick hired Slim Pickens to play the part.

3. On what real-life military man was George C. Scott’s Buck Turgidson based?

Turgidson’s gung-ho attitude, cigar-chomping and ability to talk about "acceptable casualties" were inspired by Gen. Curtis LeMay, head of the Strategic Air Command during the 1950s. LeMay attempted to run for President in 1968, on the same ticket as controversial Alabama Governor George Wallace.

4. What was the original ending of the film, which Kubrick scrapped after shooting it?

Originally the climax of the film involved a massive cream pie fight among the generals and diplomats in the War Room. The film ended with President Muffley and the Soviet Ambassador playing "pattycake" on the floor and singing "For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow" about Dr. Strangelove. The sequence took nearly two weeks to film.

However, during editing, Kubrick decided the scene was too slapstick and not in keeping with the dark, satiric tone of the rest of the film. He cut the scene and refilmed the ending that now exists, with Strangelove describing how the elite can survive a nuclear war in underground mineshafts.

5. How did James Earl Jones get cast as one of the B-52 crew?

   Jones was acting with George C. Scott in a New York production of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice in 1963 when Kubrick came to see Scott about playing Buck Turgidson. Impressed with Jones’ performance as the Prince of Morocco, Kubrick hired him as well, giving Jones his first motion picture role.

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