‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ Isn’t George Clooney’s First Live TV Play — 25 Years Ago, He Did One With His ‘ER’ Co-Star Noah Wyle

George Clooney made history last weekend when CNN aired a livestream of his penultimate performance in Good Night, and Good Luck — the Broadway play based on his 2005 film of the same name. While other plays and musicals like Hamilton have been recorded and shown on television, Good Night, and Good Luck is the first time that a Broadway play was televised while it was still in its run. The fact that this was a one-night event only adds to the historic flavor, but it’s not the first time Clooney has done a live broadcast on TV. 25 years ago, he starred in a live broadcast of Fail Safe, which was based on the novel by Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler (and was previously adapted into a film by Sidney Lumet.)

Fail Safe shares many similarities with Good Night, and Good Luck​​​​​​. Both take place during the Cold War era, with a heavy emphasis on black and white footage. But while Good Night, and Good Luck is a passionate parable about the importance of speaking truth to power, Fail Safe is a tense thriller that stars Clooney as a pilot who mistakenly receives orders to carry out a bombing run on Moscow. As tensions run high, both the United States and the Soviet Union race to stop a nuclear apocalypse from happening. What makes Fail Safe special is that much like Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney made TV history.

‘Fail Safe’ Was the First Live Television Movie in Years

Fail Safe was a throwback to the 1960s — not just in terms of its story’s setting but as a live production. It was the first live television movie on CBS since the 1960s. The production of the film also sought to emulate Sidney Lumet’s film and the live productions of the ’60s by filming with the stage lights that were used in those productions. Up to 22 cameras were employed during Fail Safe‘s broadcast, making most of the narrative feel seamless and engrossing the audience in the story. It might have been an extremely challenging task to film Fail Safe like this, but the end result is a white knuckle thriller that could rival other war-based films or television series.

Director Stephen Fears was able to build tension throughout Fail Safe‘s runtime, as he cuts between scenes in the White House, the Soviet Union, and the bomber being piloted by Clooney’s Colonel Grady. The camera also lingers on close-up shots of characters’ face, letting the actors’ facial expressions say what they don’t convey with their words.

George Clooney Poured His Heart and Soul Into Making ‘Fail Safe’

Fail Safe came into production thanks to George Clooney, who named it as his passion project. It was a genuinely surprising move, especially considering where Clooney’s career was at that point. A year earlier, Clooney had left his star-making role on ER to pursue a career in film, and he was succeeding; 1999 saw him landing roles in Three Kings, From Dusk Til Dawn, and Out of Sight, which are now regarded as classics.

He could have any project he wanted…and he chose to do Fail Safe, as Sidney Lumet’s film was one of his favorite movies of all time. He said, “The first time I saw Fail Sage was on TV when I was still in high school and I was just blown away… I just loved the story and I thought the look of the film, in black-and-white and with no musical score, was just stunning. I’ve literally seen it a 100 times.” That Clooney was able to use his clout to get Fail Safe and Good Night, and Good Luck onto television speaks to the influence he wields — and his desire to push his career into unexpected territory.

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‘Fail Safe’ Brought In a Star-Studded Cast, Including Noah Wyle

The biggest draw of Fail Safe is its cast, especially because it’s stacked with heavy hitters. Clooney was joined by Richard Dreyfuss, Sam Elliott, James Cromwell, Don Cheadle, and Clooney’s fellow ER alum Noah Wyle. Surprisingly, Clooney plays a smaller role than expected: Colonel Grady is only in a handful of scenes, and he’s often wearing his full pilot gear. But once again, thanks to Stephen Fears, there are plenty of close-ups on Clooney’s face, letting his emotions play out through his eyes. On top of that, his signature baritone is easy to identify, especially when Grady comes to terms with the gravity of his mission (without knowing that said mission is part of a computer error). While Fail Safe didn’t crack the ratings when it first aired, it still showed that George Clooney is a talent to be reckoned with, and alongside Good Night, and Good Luck is an example of how he is one of the few actors that continues to shape TV history.

Watch Fail Safe on Tubi in the U.S.

Fail Safe

Release Date

April 9, 2000

Runtime

86 Minutes

Writers

Eugene Burdick, Harvey Wheeler, Walter Bernstein