Hall, who is the only one with the shutoff key must climb through the central core, protected by gas and lasers, to another floor to shut off the explosion–which he does with only eight seconds to spare. The alien organism continues to mutate, destroying the plastic-like polycron seals in Wildfire, setting off the 5-minute nuclear self-destruct containment protocol. It’s fortunate since they soon discover that a blast of radiation from a bomb would cause the virus to bloom and spread further and faster.
They discover that the Code 7-12 eradication of Piedmont hasn’t been completed, but missed earlier notifications due to a mechanical failure in their teletype machine. On the fourth and final day, the team is tired. Elsewhere, the President has put a delay on the nuclear strike of Piedmont (which was called to eradicate all possibilities of an outbreak), while a fighter jet crashes near the town after all the plastic-like components of the plane dissolved. They realize it’s growing and is made up of a crystalline structure, heretofore unseen by mankind. They discover a small grain of black sand covered with a green slime which appears to be an alien organism which produces the infection and death in those exposed, dubbed Andromeda.
Leavitt and Stone use a series of ever increasing magnification lenses to examine the Scoop satellite for signs of the virus, or whatever it may be. Jackson (George Mitchell) and the infant, with his assistant Karen Anson (Paula Kelly), while Dutton tries to figure out the infection vector and the size of the virus. Hall goes off to examine the patients, Mr. They both die within a matter of seconds. The four scientists test the lethality of the area around the satellite by exposing a rat and a monkey to the sample. On the third day they continue through the decontamination procedures, which includes having a xenon lamp burn away body hair and the outer layer of epithelial tissue. Hall and Stone locate the crashed Scoop-7 satellite, which was moved indoors by the local doctor (now deceased). Mark Hall (James Olsen), a surgeon, is just about to cut open a patient when he is called away. Ruth Leavitt (Kate Reid) is in no hurry to go with the aggressive soldiers, especially when she’s in the middle of her experiments. Charles Dutton (David Wayne), an older scientist, whose wife thinks he’s going to a love in, and whose grandson is concerned about the “man with the gun.” Dr. Of all the people collected, he seems to understand what this is regarding. Jeremy Stone (Arthur Hill) is collected by an armed military escort from a dinner party he and his wife are throwing. Vandenberg Air Force Base puts out an alert that there has “been a fire,” and four civilian scientists are collected to help. Reporting back to headquarters they encounter something horrific, but the sequence is told from the standpoint of the officer on duty over the radio, and the audience never sees what happens. On the first day, two army soldiers enter the quiet town of Piedmont, New Mexico to retrieve a crashed satellite codenamed Scoop-7. Introductory title cards thank various government agencies including Wildfire Laboratory for their cooperation in making an accurate depiction of this four-day event. The film takes place over four distinct days, separated by title cards. Presented below is the trailer for the film. Bio-weapons are still a concern today, so let’s see how well this film holds up! It touts the runtime at over 100 minutes (as if a longer film equates with a superior product), and promises that the “suspense will last through your lifetime!” It does make sure to mention, several times, that the film is based on the best selling Michael Crichton novel, as well as show some intense looking scenes.
It introduces the director, Robert Wise, to speak on the picture, briefly. The trailer also does several things that seem strange today. It sets up a super-virus that is getting out of hand and threatens the stars of the film, if not the world. The trailer for The Andromeda Strain shows a new fear in the late 20th Century, contagion.
First ImpressionsĪ classic plot for sci-fi films involves man-made terrors being unleashed into the world. The Andromeda Strain was the first film adapted from a Michael Crichton work, and still stands tall as a perfect example of biological outbreak film. This virus will kill you in minutes, but the terror will stick with you for years!