Thriller

Twilight's Last Gleaming

- We have invaded Silo 3. We are prepared to launch nine nuclear missiles. We demand ten million dollars, Air Force One... and you, Mr President.

A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell, escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of a secret meeting held just after the start of the Vietnam War between Dell and the then President's most trusted advisors.

Release Date : 1977-02-09

Language :FrenchEnglish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Lorimar ProductionsBavaria FilmGeria ProductionsAllied Artists Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Gen. Lawrence Dell

Original Name : Burt Lancaster

Gender : Male

Character Name : James Forrest

Original Name : Roscoe Lee Browne

Gender : Male

Character Name : President David T. Stevens

Original Name : Charles Durning

Gender : Male

Character Name : Arthur Renfrew - Secretary of State

Original Name : Joseph Cotten

Gender : Male

Character Name : Zachariah Guthrie

Original Name : Melvyn Douglas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Capt. Stanford Towne

Original Name : Richard Jaeckel

Gender : Male

Character Name : William Klinger - Attorney General

Original Name : William Marshall

Gender : Male

Character Name : Brig. Gen. O'Rourke

Original Name : Gerald S. O'Loughlin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gen. Martin MacKenzie - Commanding General SA

Original Name : Richard Widmark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Willis Powell

Original Name : Paul Winfield

Gender : Male

Character Name : Augie Garvas

Original Name : Burt Young

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bernstein

Original Name : Charles Aidman

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ralph Whittaker - CIA Director

Original Name : Leif Erickson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Air Force Gen. Peter Crane

Original Name : Charles McGraw

Gender : Male

Character Name : First Lt. Louis Cannellis

Original Name : Morgan Paull

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gen. Phil Spencer - Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Original Name : Simon Scott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hoxey

Original Name : William Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sgt. Fitzpatrick

Original Name : William Hootkins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Willard

Original Name : Bill Walker

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sgt. Willard

Original Name : David Baxt

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lieutenant

Original Name : Glenn Beck

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sgt. Kopecki

Original Name : John Ratzenberger

Gender : Male

Character Name : Col. Franklin

Original Name : Shane Rimmer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gen. Stonesifer

Original Name : Don Fellows

Gender : Male

Character Name : Rev. Cartwright

Original Name : Phil Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maj. Fox

Original Name : Ed Bishop

Gender : Male

Character Name : Capt. Jackson

Original Name : Gary Cockrell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maj. Winters

Original Name : David Healy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Briefing Officer

Original Name : Robert O'Neil

Gender : Male

Character Name : State Trooper Chambers

Original Name : Robert MacLeod

Gender : Male

Character Name : Col. Horn

Original Name : Lionel Murton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Alfie/Driver

Original Name : Garrick Hagon

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Gentlemen, we are now a superpower. Twilight's Last Gleaming is directed by Robert Aldrich and collectively written by Ronald M. Cohen, Edward Huebsch and Walter Wager (novel "Viper Three"). It stars Burt Lancaster, Burt Young, Richard Widmark, Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Cotten, Charles Durning, Melvyn Douglas, Richard Jaeckel and William Marshall. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Robert B. Hauser. A renegade USAF general, Lawrence Dell (Lancaster), escapes from a military prison and takes over an ICBM silo near Montana and threatens to provoke World War 3 unless the President reveals details of what the Vietnam War was really all about... Twilight's Last Gleaming is the sort of tight gripping politico thriller that we could do with more of these days. Aldrich, a damn fine director of ensemble casts, slips on his angry hat and gets subversive as he implores the U.S. Presidency of the 70s to make do on the promise of an open armed government. At over two hours and twenty minutes in length, Aldrich asks his audience to buy into every single sentence being spoken. With so many characters involved in the story, we are treated to a number of split screen scenarios, this is where we can follow what is being said in the various key areas of the plot at the same time - and it's high quality. The pace never sags, and as the president (Durning) and his advisors sweat on Dell's very real threat, so too do we the audience as the paranoia of the story seeps out from every camera Aldrich uses. Still relevant today, this demands to be seen and evaluated by more like minded film fans. With a cast responding in full to a shrewd director, and a story of great worth that builds to a crushing finale, Twilight's Last Gleaming is well worth your time. 8/10

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2023-06-04

40-odd years on, and this still has a certain resonance about it even now. Burt Lancaster in a disgraced US Air Force General who, along with two colleagues, escapes from jail and takes control of an active nuclear missile silo with 9 deadly missiles at his disposal. Richard Widmark, his former commanding officer is now on the opposing side as they play a cleverly constructed, well paced and genuinely quite menacing game of cat and mouse. The plot thickens significantly when the President (Charles Durning) learns that aside from the usual money and aeroplane demands from their antagonists, there is a requirement from him to make a statement condemning the brutality of war in South East Asia; a secret document stating the facts of which, horrify this decent, honourable fellow. The story is compelling and the three principals generate a considerable degree of tension for much of the film. Unfortunately it really does run out of steam after about 100 minutes, as the moralising and frankly rather depressing politics kick in taking the story down a big road marked "preposterous" to a really disappointing - indeed, implausible, conclusion that undoes quite a bit of the earlier quality of this Robert Aldrich film. It is certainly worth watching though - I suppose it could happen!!