Station 3: Ultra secret

You want Armageddon? An Apocalyptic threat? This gives you the unscientifically-pegged Satan Bug, a virus so lethal, it can kill everyone in California in a few hours, the U.S. in a week, and the world...oh, a couple of months. Towards the end of this movie, the one who makes this pronouncement takes a step back and admits it's unclear if this virus can actually be so effective (life tends to survive, as we all know), but let's not test it, shall we? I wonder if this film influenced Stephen King's "The Stand" (the novel and the mini-series). The chilling scenario first described manages to up the ante from the generally-regarded worst threat of nuclear annihilation. An atomic bomb, destructive as it is, is still limited to a certain area; this bug - you open the flask, it's all over, baby, for the entire planet. The allusions to the 'Pandora's Box' fable are quite obvious (similar to those in "Kiss Me Deadly" from 10 years earlier).

The threat surfaces at one of those government installations for biochemical warfare, in the middle of the desert - a barren, vast, empty landscape. There's no such thing as perfect security, but here they really bumbled it by letting two unpacked crates inside; to make a long story short, with the help of an insider, certain flasks are removed from the property. The government here also seems to have lapsed badly as far as background checks. There's an air of mystery to the story, since we don't know who the master villain is, and tension is ratcheted up on a regular basis when the bug may be released at certain points. I also like the use of the desert locations where much of this takes place; the very sparse layout of an occasional building lends an almost alien-like atmosphere to the terrain.

There are some contrivances to the story which make you shrug afterward. For example, the hero (Maharis) and two government agents (including Star Trek's Jimmy Doohan in a small non-speaking role) are captured at a key point; it's obvious they are to be killed by the villains. Instead of simply shooting them, as would be proper in the isolated location, the villains go through this elaborate method of using a flask of a deadly bug. But it's an exciting sequence and sets it up for the most intense moment of the film, when any or all of the 3 may die in the next few seconds from exposure. The main villain's motivations are also hard to buy into. He seems to be doing this as a protest against biochemical weapons, but is willing to wipe out cities to make his point. He's dismissed as a paranoid delusional, a maniac, at one point, but never comes across that way, as if he has an alternate plan. This storyline is similar to a James Bond adventure and most viewers will strain to keep track of all the character names. Later films with similar threats were "The Andromeda Strain", "Warning Sign" and "Outbreak."

This movie was a little film when it was released. No big stars but many familiar character actors in this simple movie about a maniac who has stolen a dangerous germ from a US government lab. The maniac is now threatening to release this pathogen and he must be found and stopped before all life on the planet is obliterated.

It's a simple enough plot but it is carried off so well. It's an intelligent movie that will appeal to someone who wants something different as well as a movie that doesn't insult your intelligence.

A somewhat similar and equally engaging film is The Andromeda Strain. Both are well worth your time.

The first half of this movie is really great. The mood is ominous and intercuts between the good and bad guys in a way that keeps us just slightly ahead of the characters in the movie if we watch closely.

The production is not quite top-drawer, but the sets and locations are attractive and interesting, and the main cast members are solid. (I have fond memories of Anne Francis as a kid, and she still looks good to me. Maharis is cool and clever, and Basehart actually does a solid job. The sad thing is that Dana Andrews, who was a really first-class talent in his younger days, just walks through this picture; fortunately he's not onscreen very much.) The tension isn't maintained through the entire movie, but the pacing is. The showdown at the end is pretty weak.

Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon. The laser disc version that I just saw was very clean.

A reference is made in the movie to Palmdale (north of Los Angeles) and this might be where the exterior views of the 'lab' were filmed. But many of the other scenes remind this commenter of the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area (east of the LA basin) in the Sixties before the influx of heavy population and housing. The beautiful purple mountains, the wide open peaceful vistas, the empty roads stretching off into the distance.

It's just a guess. Parts of Arizona could also have been involved. But that trailer park where the bad guy lives looks very much like one that's located near the base of the mountain on the back road out of Palm Desert (Hwy 111?).

Fun movie to watch for the scenery alone.

Too bad Ann Francis is once again only window dressing. She's capable, as many beautiful actresses are, of more. At least she gets to give one of the villains some grief.

This is still (in the 21st Century) a pretty good thriller. Maharis and Basehart are top-notch, plus Ann and Dana are very good. The plot is still very topical (as in Weapons of Mass Destruction). Would be a good remake candidate.