Peter Sellers plays multiple roles -- crippled German expatriate scientist, consternated British military man, U.S. president -- in this black comedy about a U.S. Air Force general who goes berserk and orders all the bombers under his command to fire nuclear warheads at their Soviet targets. Only he knows the recall code -- and because he's convinced that the Soviets are trying to contaminate the world with fluoridated water, he refuses to give it up. Hilarity ensues as scenes from the Pentagon's war room are juxtaposed against Slim Pickens' determination to get his B-52 to its target, despite the comedic obstacles before him.

When "Dr. Strangelove" first appeared in theaters, the Cold War was no laughing matter. Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, and the world had coined the term "nuclear deterrent" and was learning to accept its possible consequences. With the country placing such an emphasis on nuclear hegemony, director Stanley Kubrick's satirical take on the issue might have seemed inevitable. But in fact, he had originally intended the movie to be a thriller. Basing the screenplay on the serious novel "Red Alert" by Peter George, he says he came to realize that some of the scenes he'd written were rather humorous. The end result is history.

Next time: "Red Dawn" awaits in all its glory.