In the early 1960s, the Cold War was no laughing matter. But Stanley Kubrick’s remarkable Cold War black comedy, “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” (“Dr. Strangelove” for short) is considered one of the funniest films ever made. Kubrick began working on the script intending to write a serious drama but discovered that there was “inherent comedy in the idea of mutual assured destruction.” The result is a movie that the American Film Institute rated as the third funniest American comedy ever made, and Roger Ebert described as "arguably the best political satire of the century.”

The plot of Dr. Strangelove considers the question many of us have pondered – what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button­ – but in this case the story is played out for laughs. U.S. Air Force General Jack Ripper goes completely insane, and sends his bomber wing to destroy the U.S.S.R. He thinks that the communists are conspiring to pollute the "precious bodily fluids" of the American people. But what makes the movie the classic it is, is the casting – George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, James Earl Jones, and most importantly, Peter Sellers, Peter Sellers, and Peter Sellers.

So please join us at Harbor Theater on Thursday, Jan. 12 or Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. to revisit a time of fear, and marvel at the power of laughter to disarm us. Once again, we will start the showing with Bates Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Film, and Screen Studies, Dr. Jon Cavallero’s, expert commentary. Considering this film is one of his favorites, we know that we will settle in to watch this masterpiece with a fresh and deeper perspective.

Finally, don’t forget that our second half of this year’s classic series includes “Charade” on Feb. 9 and 11, “Manchurian Candidate” on March 9 and 11, and “The Graduate” on April 13 and 15. Th Harhor Theater is at 185 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor.