A near miss that should have been a landmark 1960s suspense thriller. It had a personable star in George Maharis, a heavyweight antagonist in Richard Basehart, a highly proficient action director (John Sturges) at the helm, a quirkily unnerving Jerry Goldsmith score and a chilling premise - a stolen flask of a super-bacteria that threatens global extinction. Throw in sleek 60s technology and photogenic desert locations and what could go wrong?Unfortunately the exposition. We're never given any firm idea of Basehart's motivation, and his accomplices (including a younger Edward Asner) just seem like B-movie heavies. Dana Andrews hasn't enough to do as Maharis' brooding superior, while romantic interest Anne Francis' part is virtually superfluous. It badly needs some more interesting secondary characters. And, bafflingly, there's not actually that much action or pace either, though Sturges does build up the tension masterfully at the climax.Enough remains to just about hold the attention. But it should have been better...

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.

This is a good Sci-Fi Thriller about a secret laboratory that is studying Biochemical Weapons Research out in a remote desert area of Arizona. This secret plant is invaded by people who want to obtain this certain chemical which is called the "Satan Bug" in order to have complete control over the entire world which can cause complete destruction of the entire world. George Maharis, (Lee Barrett) sets out to find out who has been able to break into their labs along with Dana Andrews,(General Williams) who also has a daughter Ann Williams,(Anne Francis) who gets into the middle of this story about germ warfare. Edward Asner,(Veretti) plays one of the bad guys in this film and gives a great supporting role. This film was a head of its times and it fits in greatly with the year 2007 and all the talk about Weapons of Mass Destruction.

The biggest drawback of THE Satan BUG is the slow pace at which director John Sturges has chosen to tell this tale of laboratory espionage and a mad scientist. Fortunately for viewers, the pace quickens in the latter portion of the story and overall the results are pretty satisfying.RICHARD BASEHART is the mad scientist and GEORGE MAHARIS is the man chosen by the government to track him down. The story gets off to a slow start with an extended laboratory sequence with a remote desert setting as security is violated. It takes forty-five minutes before we learn that a vial containing "the satin bug" has been stolen and will be unleashed upon mankind unless an insane plea is granted. Additionally, we learn that Maharis suspects it's an inside job that permitted the virus to be in the hands of a mad millionaire out to destroy Los Angeles.With this sort of plot line, this ought to be a taut exercise in suspense. It's not. Most of the blame goes to a script heavy with exposition for the first hour before the threats become clear. Once the plan to capture the scientist and his cohorts on the run is set into motion, the picture picks up pace and acquires some tension.A tired looking RICHARD BASEHART is less than impressive as a man impersonating Dr. Hoffman who engineers the plan. DANA ANDREWS, although distinguished looking with gray hair as the father of ANNE FRANCIS, is wasted in a minor role.Summing up: The payoff at the finale isn't big enough to atone for a dull first hour. Result is a mixed bag of an espionage thriller.