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| George Maharis and Anne Francis |
THE SATAN BUG (1965). Director: John Sturges.
Lee Barrett (George Maharis of
Sylvia) is called in when several vials are stolen from a government lab. Some of these vials contain a deadly virus that can cause many deaths but will eventually die out itself. But one of the vials contains what scientists have termed "the Satan bug," an airborne, self-perpetuating, basically indestructible virus that can wipe out all of humanity within the space of two months! Barrett learns that a wealthy and mysterious man named Ainsley may be behind the theft after he makes certain demands, but he also fears that this mastermind may have a confederate in the lab. To show he means business Ainsley unleashes the "less" deadly virus on Florida, killing many innocent inhabitants. Now Barrett has to find the flasks and get them away from Ainsley and his associates before the worst can happen.
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| John Clarke, George Maharis, Simon Oakland |
I had wanted to see
The Satan Bug for years (although this was probably not the best time to finally take a look at it). It's a strange picture. It has many interesting elements and a few very suspenseful scenes, especially towards the end, but for much of its length the movie just sort of meanders under John Sturge's somewhat stodgy direction and this is its primary problem. The plot of the movie should have had the audience on the edge of its seat biting its nails, but aside from one or two scenes, it never develops that level of tension. George Marahis' role is ill-defined, which is also true of Anne Francis as his sort-of girlfriend and Dana Andrews as her father. The large supporting cast includes everyone from Richard Basehart (who is excellent) as a scientist to Edward Asner as a bad guy to Harry Lauter as a phony FBI agent to James Doohan as a real agent of some kind, and many others.
The film does have its moments. There's a tense business when Barrett enters a lab with a mouse with the realization that if the little creature dies he will have to be shot moments later to protect everyone else. There's the black and white footage the characters watch as a helicopter flies over the corpses all over the ground in Florida. Then there's a wild fight in a careening helicopter. But much of the suspense is minimized by poor pacing and sequences that don't add to the excitement but seem to detract from it. Still,
The Satan Bug is undeniably creepy and generally absorbing. Sturges also directed
Jeopardy. A much better film on a somewhat similar theme is the excellent
Andromeda Strain.
Verdict: Just misses being a really top-notch thriller. **3/4.
4 comments:
Florida? That's where I am! Spooky! Seriously, though, I have wanted to see this one too for a while, as I am a fan of Andromeda Strain. Looks like a great cast.
-C
Yeah, sitting through this movie now added a disquieting tone to the proceedings. At least Covid 19 is not quite as bad as the virfus in this, although, tragically, it's bad enough!
This movie made me grow up a little (I saw it at 11 yrs old on its first release) because it made me aware that the government (quote-unquote) might be 'meddling in God's domain' on an alarming scale--and that maybe they weren't as smart as they ought to be. That was disturbing--and also I felt like I'd encountered a sci-fi scenario that was perhaps a little TOO realistic. Outside of THE BOMB, I hadn't really considered how else the apocalypse might go down, and this seemed like a blandly convincing way for it to happen. I haven't encountered many 'normal' people (that is, people who aren't film biffs) who like this movie. I do, because it's got a terrifying premise, a wonderful Jerry Goldsmith score, great art direction (the bio lab set is scary and sinister but beautiful too) and it hits my nostalgia buttons--hard! But I think most people find it dull and uninvolving, and looking at it objectively, I can see their point. Awhile back I read an interview with Anne Francis, and she said that John Sturges was distracted while making this, as he was preparing his big-budget comedy THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL simultaneously, and she thought THE SATAN BUG suffered for it. That might explain why the film seems kind of remote and distracted, too.
--Mark
Good points, Mark. One thing a director mustn't be while making a suspense film is distracted!
If I had seen this as a child I'm sure the very concept would have freaked me out, too. It's just too bad that a movie that could have been a thrilling masterpiece only turned out "ok."
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