The Satan Bug
| The Satan Bug | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | John Sturges |
| Produced by | John Sturges |
| Written by | Alistair MacLean James Clavell Edward Anhalt |
| Starring |
George Maharis John Anderson |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | April 14, 1965 |
| Running time | 114 min |
| Language | English |
The Satan Bug (1965) is a science fiction film directed by John Sturges that stars George Maharis and Anne Francis. It was loosely adapted from Alistair MacLean's 1962 novel of the same name. It also features a soundtrack by prolific composer Jerry Goldsmith.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Lee Barrett, a former intelligence agent, is asked by his former boss Eric Cavanaugh to investigate the murder of the security chief of Station Three — a top-secret bioweapons laboratory in the California desert — and the disappearance of its director, Dr. Baxter.
As they wait for a time lock on the sealed lab to open, they are advised by another lab scientist, Dr. Gregor Hoffman, to seal the lab using concrete. Hoffman informs them that there are two lethal bioweapons in the lab, a lethal strain of botulinus that oxidizes eight hours after its release, and a recently developed virus he calls "the Satan Bug", which could kill all life on Earth in a matter of months.
Determined to discover what happened in the room, Barrett enters to discover Dr. Baxter dead and both vials containing the Satan Bug and 1200 grams of botulinus missing.
Barrett drives to a nearby hotel, where he meets Ann, the daughter of General Williams, who has flown in from Washington to supervise the investigation. Barrett's speculation that a lunatic is behind the theft is confirmed by a telegram threatening to release the viruses unless Station Three is destroyed.
Suspecting that the theft was aided by someone on the inside, Barrett discovers another scientist dead. A phone call reveals the name Charles Reynolds Ainsley, a millionaire crackpot who fits the profile and who quickly becomes the focus of the investigation.
After a demonstration incident in Florida proves the thieves' willingness to use the botulinus, General Williams receives a call threatening to release additional toxin in Los Angeles unless Station Three is closed.
Pursuing a report, Barrett and Ann visit the location where a car broke down during the evening of the theft. Barrett deduces that the driver was involved and locates a box containing the missing vials in a nearby stream, only to be confronted by two armed men. Barrett and Ann are taken to Dr. Hoffman, the other conspirator in the theft.
Hoffman decides to take them hostage, but they are followed by security agents. A flask containing the Satan Bug is separated from the others, who realize they are being shadowed by two agents in a car.
After a confrontation in an abandoned gas station, the thugs working with Hoffman decide to lock Barrett and the two agents in a room and shatter one of the vials. Though both agents are killed, Barrett escapes by setting the room afire. He stops a passing car being driven by Hoffman and makes a deal to learn the location of the flask in Los Angeles in return for the closure of Station Three.
Barrett is aware that Hoffman is, in fact, Ainsley himself. They hear a radio announcement announcing the closure of Station Three. Hoffman's associates are killed at a roadblock while trying to escape. Barrett himself confronts Ainsley, who threatens to break the flask containing the Satan Bug, telling Barrett that he waited to steal the virus until the vaccine could be isolated.
Now that vaccine is in his blood, Ainsley is immune. He declares his willingness to destroy the world and live on in it alone rather than give up the power he holds. A helicopter arrives, flown by another of Ainsley's men. They fly above Los Angeles as it is being evacuated.
Barrett fights with the pilot and succeeds in taking the vial from Ainsley, who falls from the helicopter rather than reveal the location of the missing vial, unaware that it had already been located by the authorities and disarmed.
[edit] Cast
- George Maharis — Lee Barrett
- Richard Basehart — Dr. Gregor Hoffman / Charles Reynolds Ainsley
- Anne Francis — Ann Williams
- Dana Andrews — General Williams
- John Larkin — Dr. Leonard Michaelson
- Richard Bull — Eric Cavanaugh
- Frank Sutton — Donald
- Edward Asner — Veretti
- Simon Oakland — Tasserly (deputy administrator)
- John Anderson — Reagan
- Hari Rhodes — Johnson
- Martin Blane — Martin
- Henry Beckman — Dr. Baxter
- Harry Lauter — Fake SDI agent
- James Hong — Dr. Yang
- James Doohan, Harold Gould and Carey Loftin appear uncredited
- Jerry Goldsmith — Film score composer
[edit] Themes
The movie was among the first espionage films to follow the lead of the wildly popular James Bond films that set the tone for action/adventure films of the 1960s and early 1970s. In contrast with the Bond spy thrillers, however, The Satan Bug was a serious attempt by director John Sturges to go in a different direction from his previous all-star blockbusters (The Magnificent Seven, 1960, and The Great Escape, 1963). Maharis, star of television's Route 66 and a product of The Actors' Studio, is an effectively laconic hero who uses his brain, not his fists. The Satan Bug is more of a "thinking man's" spy thriller than an action-packed one. It failed at the box office and remains less well known than other genre films from the era.
[edit] References
- ^ Clemmensen, Christian. Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004) tribute at Filmtracks.com. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
