Ever wondered what you should do in the event of a nuclear attack? Why, duck and cover of course. It must be true, it's from the US Civil Defense Administration.

It is the darkest hours of the cold war. The United States and the Soviet Union stand poised to unleash nuclear megadeath at a moment's notice. U.S. General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden) is obsessed with the idea that fluorine in the water supply is a communist plot to corrupt the "purity of the bodily fluids". Despite the efforts of a visiting British officer (Sellers), he launches a pre-emptive bomber strike against the hated commies.

When the government is alerted, the President (Sellers again) manages to recall all but one of the bombers. The Soviets are warned about the attacking plane but the stakes are raised - The Soviet Union has built a "Doomsday bomb" which will automatically detonate if it detects a nuclear explosion. The ultimate deterrent.

While the bomber heads towards its target, the President's scientific advisor (gee, I wonder who) suggests that even if the doomsday bomb goes off, there may be enough time to get "essential personnel" into the safety of deep mineshafts and the Russians may have already begun - there must not be a "mineshaft gap"!

Masterfully directed by Stanley Kubrick, this blackest and funniest of black comedies is one of the greatest statements of the utter insanity of nuclear weapons. Peter Sellers leads an excellent cast with another multiple role tour-de-forces. Dr. Strangelove was made in a time when the threat of atomic Armageddon seemed a lot closer than it does now, but seeing as all we hear about in the news these days are "weapons of mass destruction", maybe we need a little reminder.