re: #506 Decatur Deb

“Strangelove” worked off “Failsafe” and “Red Alert” (the other serious one of the time).

Quick Wiki:
Red Alert (novel) - 1958
Fail Safe (novel) - 1962
Fail Safe & Dr Strangelove (movie) - 1964

The novels play the issue straight. Dr Strangelove is an adaption of Red Alert converted into a black comedy. Fail Safe was held to be close enough to Red Alert that there was a law suit with an out of court settlement.