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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.
