Dr Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Excellent choice, OP!

George C Scott”s scenery chewing is a major annoyance.

Sterling Hayden as the cigar chomping daddy always gets my attention...Yes, SIR!

Were many of these scenes produced without the actors being together in the same room/studio during filming? It seems like in a lot of scenes, the actors in that scene are not seen together. As if they actors’ scenes were all shot separately and then put together to seem as if the actors are together.

Not Scott's fault, R2. Kubrick used takes that Scott was made to believe were just improvisational warm-ups.

[quote]George C. Scott had some really difficult experiences with the director. George was headstrong by nature. It is what fueled his particular talent. Stanley was very much the same kind of man. The irresistible force met the immovable object when Stanley asked George to do over-the-top performances of his lines. He said it would help George to warm up for his satiric takes. George hated this idea. He said it was unprofessional and made him feel silly. George eventually agreed to do his scenes over-the-top when Stanley promised that his performance would never be seen by anyone but himself and the cast and crew. But Kubrick ultimately used many of these "warm-ups" in the final cut. George felt used and manipulated by Stanley and swore he would never work with him again.

The stumble and fall Scott does in the film was also accidental, and wasn't intended to be part of the scene. Kubrick used it anyway.

WSJ story is paywalled.

One of the all-time great films. Sadly, the fear of nuclear armageddon is more with us today than when the film was released.

[quote] the actors in that scene are not seen together.

That is also true of 'Lolita' and Kubrick's other stuff.

I think both Kubrick and Losey were expatriates and over-praised for their sloppy movies.

Archive for org has many of Joan Crawford's delicious, over the top films to view. A favorite..

I thought Scott's hamminess was fine for Buck Turgidson, as the character is a big old military ham. One of the few comedies that makes me cry at the end.

Gentlemen, you can’t in fight here! This is the War Room!

Fun fact: Tracy Reed, who played Buck Turgison's piece of ass, was IRL British showbiz royalty. Married to Edward Fox, Oliver Reed's cousin, etc.

She made some pretty shitty movies

Kubrick was a martinet when he wanted to achieve a certain vibe. The village dance scene in "Barry Lyndon" did close to one hundred takes because he wanted the dancers to look like they'd been doing it every day all their lives. It's too bad he wasn't such a perfectionist about Ryan's anaemic acting. It's still a brilliant film.