Day One 35 years old
This day will go down in history as a black mark against mankind.
Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard leaves Europe, eventually arriving in the United States. With the help of Einstein, he persuades the government to build an atomic bomb. The project is given to no-nonsense Gen. Leslie Groves who selects physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to head the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, where the bomb is built. As World War II draws to a close, Szilard has second thoughts about atomic weapons, and policy makers debate how and when to use the bomb.
Credits
Day One Cast
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| David Strathairn He was 40, now 75 years old | as J. Robert Oppenheimer |
| Hal Holbrook He was 64, now 99 years old | as Gen. George Marshall |
| Brian Dennehy He was 50, now 86 years old | as Gen. Leslie Groves |
| David Ogden Stiers He was 46, 75 years old when he died | as Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Tony Shalhoub He was 35, now 71 years old | as Enrico Fermi |
| Richard Dysart He was 59, 86 years old when he died | as President Harry S. Truman |
| Olek Krupa He was 33, now 69 years old | as Edward Teller |
| Ken Pogue He was 54, 81 years old when he died | as Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Patrick Breen He was 28, now 64 years old | as Richard Feynman |
| Hume Cronyn He was 77, 91 years old when he died | as James F. Byrnes |
| John McMartin He was 59, 86 years old when he died | as Dr. Arthur Compton |
| Lawrence Dane He was 51, now 87 years old | |
| David Bolt He was 22, 49 years old when he died | as Harry Gold |
| Vlasta Vrána He was 39, now 74 years old | as Hans Bethe |
| Philip Spensley | as British Sr. Officer |
| Michael Sinelnikoff He was 60, now 96 years old | as Lord Rutherford |
| Timothy Webber | as Colonel Lansdale |
| Barnard Hughes He was 73, 90 years old when he died | as Henry Stimson |
| Dee McCafferty | as William 'Deke' Parsons |
| Scott Thomson He was 31, now 67 years old | as Chemist |
| David Ferry He was 37, now 73 years old | as Army Major |
| Anne Twomey She was 37, now 73 years old | as Kitty Oppenheimer |
| Michael J. Reynolds He was 49, 78 years old when he died | as Kenneth Bainbridge |
| Robert Morelli | as T. O. Jones |
| Michael Tucker He was 44, now 79 years old | as Leo Szilard |
| Tom Butler He was 38, now 73 years old | as Captain DeSilva |
| John Pielmeier He was 40, now 75 years old | as Seth |
| Ester Spitz | as Trude Weiss |
| Ron Frazier He was 49, 64 years old when he died | as Colonel Pash |
| Terrence Labrosse He was 56, 70 years old when he died | as Allan Dulles |
| George R. Robertson He was 55, now 91 years old | as Ed Condon |
| John Seitz He was 51, 67 years old when he died | as Ralph A. Bard |
| Bernie McInerney He was 52, now 87 years old | |
| Lia Sargent She was 32, now 67 years old | as Mrs. Wisnovsky |
| Nicholas Kilbertus | as Paul Tibbets |
| Gary Reineke He was 44, now 79 years old | as Groves's Commanding Officer |
| Norris Domingue | as General Pa Watson |
| Jonathan Wise | as Robert Serber |
| Lorne Brass He was 29, now 65 years old | as Klaus Fuchs |
| Harry Standjofski He was 29, now 65 years old | as Robert Wilson |
| Alan Scarfe He was 42, now 78 years old | |
| David Gow He was 32, now 67 years old | as Jack Wisnovsky |
| Kliment Denchev He was 49, 69 years old when he died | as Michael Polanyi |
Day One Crew
| Name | Department |
|---|---|
| David W. Rintels as Writer. He was 51 (now 86) years old | Writing |
| Renée April as Costume Design. | Costume & Make-Up |
Day One (35 years)
This day will go down in history as a black mark against mankind.
- Release day: Friday, May 12, 1989
- Runtime: 141 minutes