10 Average Questions about Dr. Strangelove

Answer: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

The subtitle appears in the opening credits of the movie. Before I first saw the movie, I saw the preview which included several readings of the subtitle with an emphasis on the phrase "Love the Bomb". Does the movie make the case for loving the bomb? You be the judge.

Answer: Peter Sellers

In addition to the title character, Peter Sellers played Group Captain Lionel Mandrake and President Muffley. This wasn't the first time he played three roles in a movie. Five years earlier he played three roles in "The Mouse That Roared", another classic but unusual movie.

James Earl Jones' role as the bombardier was his first credited role in a motion picture.

Answer: George C. Scott

Scott's role as General Buck Turgidson may have been his first military role but certainly not his last, as he is best known for his role as the title character in the movie "Patton". In the war room in "Dr. Strangelove", he is in favor of a full scale attack on the Russians before they can strike back.

Answer: Jack D. Ripper

Sterling Hayden, who later went on to play Captain McCluskey in "The Godfather", plays General Ripper who decides on his on accord to send the planes at his command on an atomic bomb mission to targets inside Russia. He has the authority to counterattack in cases where the country's leaders in Washington have been incapacitated by a sneak attack, but he aims for a pre-emptive first strike.

Unfortunately, he is also the only one who knows the code to recall the attack. As General Turgidson states in the first war room scene, "It's beginning to look like General Ripper has exceeded his authority."

Answer: When Johnny Comes Marching Home

"When Johnny Comes Marching Home" is used it stir patriotism during the scenes where the B-52 is involved in the attack. It can also be thought of as the longing for home the airmen must be feeling during this time.

Answer: False

It is the Russian ambassador who is invited in. When he and General Turgidson start to come to blows, the president utters the famous line, "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the war room." The Russian ambassador also knows how to get in touch with the premier when he is not in his office but is instead enjoying an evening out on the town.

Answer: Doomsday Machine

The Doomsday Machine was supposed to deter a nuclear attack by creating a completely hopeless situation for the attacker. Unfortunately, while the device has already been activated, it has not yet been publicized which takes away its effectiveness as a deterrent. (It was going to be announced to the world the following Monday.) It can't be turned off which means that if the nuclear strike works, the population of Earth will be wiped out.

Answer: The Coca-Cola Company

Mandrake needs to talk to the president in order to tell him the recall code which he believes he knows. The only working phone they can find is a pay phone but Mandrake doesn't have enough change to make the call. When he spots a nearby Coca-Cola vending machine and tells the colonel to shoot off the lock, the colonel warns him that the machine is private property and that if he doesn't get the president on the phone he'll have to answer to the Coca-Cola company.

Answer: OPE

OPE is an anagram of the first letters of "Purity of Essence", three words that General Ripper used in the communist conspiracy theories he proposes to Mandrake. They are also an anagram of the initials of "Peace on Earth" which Ripper doesn't actually say in the film but which Mandrake writes down while trying to figure out the code. By limiting the code to three letters, that means that there are only six codes to try rather than over 17,000 combinations of all 26 letters.

Answer: It did not receive the code because its communication system had been destroyed.

Prior to the recall code being issued, the plane is able to evade a missile and only take a partial hit. The hit knocks out their communication system so they are unable to receive the recall command. They also lose enough fuel so that they are unable to reach their primary or secondary target. This means they aim for a different target than anyone expects and since they are flying below radar, the Russians are unable to intercept them.

If you want to see how they actually drop their payload and how the movie ends, you'll just need to watch it.