Peck starred next in "On the Beach" (1959) alongside Ava Gardner in their third and final film together. The film is considered to be Hollywood's first major movie about the implications of nuclear warfare. Directed by Stanley Kramer and based on a best-selling book, the film shows the last weeks of several people in Australia as they await the onset of radioactive fallout from nuclear bombs. Peck portrays a U.S. submarine commander who has brought his crew to Australia from the North Pacific Ocean after nuclear bombs had been detonated in the northern hemisphere, eventually romancing Gardener's character. The film was named to the top ten lists of the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle. It was successful at the North American box office finishing eighth for the year, but due to its high production cost it lost $700,000. "On the Beach" was praised by critics. In recent decades, critical opinion of "On the Beach" is mixed with some prominent critics asserting the script is poor, but some critics saying the acting, especially Peck, and cinematography are excellent, and that, overall, the film is powerful. Butler of "AllMovie" writes, "...problematic is the clichéd, almost soap-operatic relationship between Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner and the somewhat melodramatic handling of other sections of the film...The cast helps tremendously. Peck has rarely been more stalwart...Even decades after its release, Beach is a harrowing and devastating experience."