Kramer was a first rate producer and a moderately talented director but he could never resist over kill. This is a well acted cautionary tale with a message from the 50's liberal point of view. Peck and Astair are particularly good. The script is literate and interesting. The science is nonsense but I was perfectly willing to suspend logic for the sake of the story. I think most everyone is the theatre when I saw this film all those years ago "got it" early in the playing time. The banner flapping in the breeze that seemed to stick with several people was just plain silly! My feeling at the time was essentially, "Yeah, Stan, WE ALREADY UNDERSTOOD!" When I saw the film in '59 a segment of the audience actually laughed at that closing shot. It would have been far more powerful had the shot been the same, but without the banner. That would have prompted some thought. Certainly well worth seeing, but it is a flawed film.
Review of On the Beach
