hyped garbage

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I enjoyed The Satan Bug.The 60s milieu is very attractive, desert locations, the film's premise, Anne Francis looking particularly lovely...The plot is a little difficult to follow unless one pays close attention to the dialogue, for example the murder of Dr. Ostrer. Also, why are the guard dogs trained not to bark?But I did wonder could not a lot of this malarkey have been avoided if the flasks were robust enough so that they could not be crushed with just "four and a half pounds of pressure"?Good film for those who enjoy this type of 60s hokum.

Here's an interesting and intelligent film that is worthy of discovery or rediscovery. It stars George Maharis as Lee Barrett, a security agent. He's hired for a baffling case of theft: valuable flasks containing a doomsday virus, otherwise known as The Satan Bug of the title, are stolen from a germ warfare compound. Barrett and others reason that not only did the crime probably involve a few people, but it also must have required inside help. Eventually, Barrett must do battle with the mad genius behind everything. They cause death and destruction in Florida, and threaten to do so again in Los Angeles.Alistair MacLeans' novel was adapted for the screen by James Clavell and Edward Anhalt, and produced & directed by John Sturges. It might not be to every taste because Sturges dares to go for a careful, measured pace. There's also a lot of exposition to digest. But patient viewers will be rewarded with a scenario that does eventually kick into a higher gear. Robert Surtees' cinematography in Panavision is absolutely gorgeous; dig those colours inside the lab. And Jerry Goldsmith contributes a typically effective score. The story keeps the viewers engrossed, and comes up with a neat twist that they might not see coming.The cast is full of familiar faces and rock solid right down the line. Maharis is an unflappable and stoic hero. Anne Francis has the only substantial female role, but she's an absolute joy to watch. Richard Basehart, Dana Andrews, John Larkin, Richard Bull, Frank Sutton, Edward Asner, Simon Oakland, John Anderson, Hari Rhodes, Henry Beckman, Harry Lauter, and the too briefly seen James Hong co-star, with uncredited roles for James "Scotty" Doohan and Harold Gould."The Satan Bug" easily predates movies like "Outbreak" by a wide margin, and deftly entertains its audience for the better part of two hours.Eight out of 10.

It's hard to say just what this "Satan Bug" flask carries. It's described as a virus at times, and at other times a bacteria, since the bad guy has developed a vaccine for it.That wouldn't matter so much, if it wasn't for the constant changing of its properties, although it's hard to tell exactly what they are, since too many lines are given to George Maharis, whose ability to speak clearly is about nil. One drop of the deadly "Satan Bug", at first, will wipe out the Earth in a few weeks, then it only wipes out an area near Florida, then a flask can only kill two out of three men in a small abandoned house.This, of course, lets us know that either the writers are goofy, or the character who claims it will wipe out the world at the beginning is a liar. So much for "suspense" in who the bad guy is.Still, too much changes, and characters speak too fast to know what is going on. Mostly Maharis.The other actors in this all star cast pretty much save the movie, though. From top to bottom, we get most of the mainstays of the great films and TV series. Sutton, of "Gomer Pyle", Asner of his series and "Mary Tyler Moore", Oakland of "Psycho", Anderson of "Ride the High Country", Andrews of many big films, and the big star, Richard Basehart.Seeing all of these big names, along with others, makes this a minor all star cast that at least makes it fun. The supporting actors are good, and do salvage the film to some extent. On the whole, there are as many assets as detriments. The big scene involves the flask thrown into a room of three men, and how it affects them.

Get a load of those clogged LA freeways from the air. I've always wondered what my morning commute looks like to a flying bird. But then everybody's evacuating because nutcase Hoffman's (Basehart) going to let loose a deadly virus somewhere in the city. Barrett (Maharis) better get to him and the germ flask first or Hollywood won't be making any more of these disaster films.It's edge of the seat suspense the whole way. Events get a little complicated midway as we try to figure out who's doing what to whom and which side they're on. But that's okay since one development leads quickly to another. I especially like the set-up in the first part, where events in the lab unfold mysteriously. It's a heckuva hook, well staged and scripted.Actor Maharis is appropriately intense. I guess that makes sense since the fate of the world, no less, may depend on him. Lovely Francis is along as eye candy, while Basehart growls his lines from the bottom of a well. And is that the prickly Lou Grant (Asner) practicing his glower as a laconic thug.All in all, it's an ace thriller with a highway tour of the drier parts of LA county. However, I don't think I'll be risking a cold soda at Dodger stadium any time soon.