Which novel inspired Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove?

Peter George’s novel Red Alert inspired Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove.

Red Alert was published in 1958 and tells a serious story about an unauthorized nuclear attack and the international crisis that follows. George wrote under the pseudonym Peter Bryant, a detail that can cause confusion when the book is listed in reference sources.

Kubrick acquired the screen rights while considering a thriller about nuclear war. As he and George developed the screenplay, Kubrick recognized that the logic of deterrence and military planning could be presented as dark comedy. Terry Southern later helped reshape the screenplay’s tone and dialogue.

The film retains the novel’s central nuclear-crisis premise but changes its characters, tone, and plot details substantially. It should not be confused with Fail Safe, a separate 1962 novel and 1964 film about a nuclear command error.