Some films of the nuclear age include "On the Beach", "The Bedford Incident", "Fail Safe", and perhaps most well-known, "Dr. Strangelove". Each of these took a slightly different approach to portraying the nuclear threat.

"On the Beach" (1959) is a sci-fi thriller depicting the end of the world as broughtabout by nuclear devastation. Survivors flock to Australia, which serves as thelast temporary safe haven from the nuclear fallout. In the end of  the film, theradiation reaches Australia and the survivors kill themselves in order to sparethemselves from death by radiation. Interestingly, the film does not statewho attacked or how the nuclear explosion happened, possibly making astatement on the danger of possessing nuclear weaponry in any capacity. Also, the final scene sends a bold warning to viewers, "There is still time, brothers!" 

"The Bedford Incident" (1965) is a thriller about a U.S. submarine crew and an "incident" that takes place between them and a Soviet vessel off the coast of Greenland.  This movie presents Cold War conflict as a cat and mouse game. One wrong move could create an escalation that ends in nuclear war. Unfortunately for the Americans, the captain makes a careless move, fires upon the Soviet sub, and brings destruction upon his own crew when the Soviets counter with a nuclear attack. Similar to "On the Beach", this film portrays the nuclear threat as something incredibly dangerous and volatile. 

"Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb" (1964) is one of the most popular movies to emerge from the Cold War. With dark humor, this film satirizes the nuclear threat focusing on MAD and the arms race. Although originally intended to be a serious thriller based on the American public's fear, it turned instead to a comedy ending with a montage of nuclear bomb explosions. "Dr. Strangelove" proved to be a unique take on the nuclear threat and caused Americans to laugh at the widespread chaos and fears of MAD at the time, something that no previous film had done quite as effectively. 

For further information regarding the context behind "Dr. Strangelove", see the following documentary.