''Rage'' is a 1972 American thriller /

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur Detective, sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means ...

starring

George C. Scott George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knight ...

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

and

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mid ...

. Scott also directed this drama about a sheep rancher who is fatally exposed to a military lab's poison gas. The plot was inspired by a true event, the Dugway sheep incident in which a jet accidentally sprayed VX, a lethal

nerve gas Nerve agents, sometimes also called nerve gases, are a class of organic chemicals that disrupt the mechanisms by which nerves transfer messages to organs. The disruption is caused by the blocking of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that ...

, in Utah's Skull Valley resulting in the deaths of 3,000-6,000 sheep. Nicolas Beauvy is featured as the rancher's son in a cast that also includes Paul Stevens and Stephen Young.

Plot

While on a camping trip,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

sheep rancher Dan Logan (Scott) and his son are inadvertently exposed to a secret

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

from a helicopter passing overhead. Both end up in a hospital where the military, with the help of a military doctor (Sheen) conspire to keep them apart, limit their contact to outsiders, and lie to them about their condition. The military looks at the incident as little more than an opportunity to study the effectiveness of a nerve gas on humans. Logan tries to hold someone accountable for their actions, but he and his family physician (Basehart) are stone-walled from every angle by military authorities and by bureaucrats staging a

cover-up A cover-up is an attempt, whether successful or not, to conceal evidence of wrongdoing, error, incompetence, or other embarrassing information. Research has distinguished personal cover-ups (covering up one's own misdeeds) from relational co ...

—with those responsible already well insulated by their positions of power. He is hospitalized and put under observation by the government for symptoms related to exposure to nerve agents, and to record his physiological responses to the toxins. Becoming increasingly anxious over his son, Logan leaves his room to search the hospital. His investigation leads him to the morgue, where he is traumatized to find his son dead. Initially stunned and shocked at the sight of his son's mutilated body, he becomes enraged. Having determined the company that has manufactured the nerve agent which has killed his son, he destroys it. At this point he begins exhibiting obvious symptoms of the nerve agent, and heads toward the military base from which the nerve agent was dispersed. He breaches the base's security fence, but is obviously allowed to do so. Logan stops the truck and stumbles out, falling to the ground as helicopters circle above. Soon he is surrounded by army troops while he lies twitching and convulsing in the final stages of nerve agent poisoning. Major Holliford approaches the body and requests a syringe, seemingly to draw blood from Logan's dead body. The film concludes with Logan's body transported to a lab for study by the military.

Cast

as Dan Logan *

as Dr. Caldwell *

as Major Holliford *

as Dr. Spencer *

Ed Lauter Edward Matthew Lauter Jr. ( ; October 30, 1938 – October 16, 2013) was an American actor and stand-up comedian. He appeared in more than 200 films and TV series episodes in a career that spanned over 40 years. Early life Lauter was born and ...

as Simpson

Reception

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the film as "a bit schizoid. What it says and what it looks like don't have much in common."

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "As good an actor as he is, and 'Rage' is a decent example of his strength, Scott is a dismal director. The film also includes would-be arty slow-motion shots of coffee being thrown on a campfire, sedatives being handed to a hospital patient, and a cat jumping on a sofa. None of them make any sense except as errors by a fledgling director."

Charles Champlin Charles Davenport Champlin (March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014) was an American film critic and writer. Life and career Champlin was born in Hammondsport, New York. He attended high school in Camden, New York, working as a columnist for the '' ...

of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' was positive, calling it "entertainment with a message, and a very striking performance by Scott on both ends of the camera." Arthur D. Murphy of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it "a sluggish, tired and tiring melodrama" which "just doesn't work." Gary Arnold of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' wrote that "the first half of the movie generates some tangible suspense and human interest," but then "goes resolutely, fatalistically downhill, discarding the element it can spare the least—the viewer's willingness to identify with the hero."Arnold, Gary (November 24, 1972). "'Rage': A Convulsively Hopeless Melodrama". ''

''. B14.

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, 1017075_rage 1972 films Films directed by George C. Scott Warner Bros. films Films scored by Lalo Schifrin 1972 directorial debut films Films set in Wyoming Films about chemical war and weapons 1970s English-language films