John Frankenheimer followed up his great film The Manchurian Candidate with another Cold War political thriller that's almost as good. It's about a plot amongst military leaders to overthrow the President. The catch is that the plot isn't about seizing power so much as preventing the President from signing it away with a nuclear disarmament treaty with the Soviets. The tension is wound tight, and there are intriguing moral complexities at play. There is also some powerhouse acting her: the cast, led by Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Fredric March, and Ava Gardner, are all outstanding.