Plague (1979)
PG | 88 mins | Science fiction | 26 January 1979
Cast:
Daniel Pilon, Kate Reid, Céline Lomez [ More ]Director:
Ed HuntWriters:
Ed Hunt, Barry PearsonProducers:
Ed Hunt, Barry PearsonCinematographer:
Mark IrwinEditor:
Ron WismanProduction Company:
Harmony RidgeThe Summary for this unviewed film is based on a synopsis from publicity material in AMPAS library files and a 4 Feb 1980 Box review. Credits are incomplete and do not reflect what is stated onscreen.
Although the film is often listed in sources as a Canadian production, filmmaker Ed Hunt, who is credited as director, producer, and editor, was from Los Angeles, CA, and attended film school at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Referring to the film’s working title, Mutation, a news item in the 19 Nov 1977 Screen International stated that the project was scheduled to begin four weeks of principal photography that week in Toronto, Canada.
As announced in an 18 Aug 1978 HR brief, Group 1, a Los Angeles independent production and distribution company, obtained worldwide theatrical and television rights and planned to release the film in late 1978 under the title, Plague. In the Canadian Feature Film Database of the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC), the film’s release date is noted as 26 Jan 1979, but no further information was found. Although the AMPAS Index to Motion Credits lists the Los Angeles opening as 25 May 1979, the film was not reviewed in the HR, Var, or the LAT. According to contemporary sources, the film was retitled M3: The Gemini Strain and appeared in U.S. theaters in late 1979 and early 1980. A 19 Dec 1979 Var box-office report estimated that the picture would earn $10,000 during a weekend engagement at ...
The Summary for this unviewed film is based on a synopsis from publicity material in AMPAS library files and a 4 Feb 1980 Box review. Credits are incomplete and do not reflect what is stated onscreen.
Although the film is often listed in sources as a Canadian production, filmmaker Ed Hunt, who is credited as director, producer, and editor, was from Los Angeles, CA, and attended film school at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
Referring to the film’s working title, Mutation, a news item in the 19 Nov 1977 Screen International stated that the project was scheduled to begin four weeks of principal photography that week in Toronto, Canada.
As announced in an 18 Aug 1978 HR brief, Group 1, a Los Angeles independent production and distribution company, obtained worldwide theatrical and television rights and planned to release the film in late 1978 under the title, Plague. In the Canadian Feature Film Database of the Library and Archives of Canada (LAC), the film’s release date is noted as 26 Jan 1979, but no further information was found. Although the AMPAS Index to Motion Credits lists the Los Angeles opening as 25 May 1979, the film was not reviewed in the HR, Var, or the LAT. According to contemporary sources, the film was retitled M3: The Gemini Strain and appeared in U.S. theaters in late 1979 and early 1980. A 19 Dec 1979 Var box-office report estimated that the picture would earn $10,000 during a weekend engagement at eleven Kansas City, MO, theaters in late Dec 1979. The Box review indicated that M3: The Gemini Strain was also released in Feb 1980, but specific markets were not named.
The picture played in competition at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival in France, under the title Plague, as stated in a 13 Jan 1979 Screen International brief. The 7 Nov 1979 Var reported that the film won Best Screenplay at the Sitges International Fantasy and Terror Festival in Catalonia, Spain. According to the festival’s website, the film also received the Critic’s Award.
The 28 Nov 1979 HR announced that Group 1 negotiated to distribute the feature on home video, soon after the theatrical release, exclusively through Fotomat, a photographic developing chain with 3,800 retail outlets across the U.S.
Mutation
After embarking on a secret genetic experiment, an overzealous research assistant inadvertently creates a dangerous bacteria mutation. She becomes the first victim of the pathogen, known as M3, which causes painful death, and quickly spreads throughout the city. To avoid widespread panic, public health officials attempt to keep news of the epidemic under wraps and begin a quarantine of people who had contact with casualties of the disease. While research scientists, Bill and Jessica, embark on an urgent quest to find an antidote, a teacher named Margo Simard escapes from quarantine, unaware of the serious consequences. The authorities conduct a desperate search to find her, since she appears to have some resistance to the disease, but she avoids capture and further disseminates the plague. As the M3 strain reaches the populations of other cities and countries, officials are unable to manage the public’s anxiety, and civil unrest ensues. Eventually, scientists discover an antivirus to quell the epidemic, but during their research, Bill and Jessica come into contact with another mutated strain, M4, which requires them to remain isolated ...
After embarking on a secret genetic experiment, an overzealous research assistant inadvertently creates a dangerous bacteria mutation. She becomes the first victim of the pathogen, known as M3, which causes painful death, and quickly spreads throughout the city. To avoid widespread panic, public health officials attempt to keep news of the epidemic under wraps and begin a quarantine of people who had contact with casualties of the disease. While research scientists, Bill and Jessica, embark on an urgent quest to find an antidote, a teacher named Margo Simard escapes from quarantine, unaware of the serious consequences. The authorities conduct a desperate search to find her, since she appears to have some resistance to the disease, but she avoids capture and further disseminates the plague. As the M3 strain reaches the populations of other cities and countries, officials are unable to manage the public’s anxiety, and civil unrest ensues. Eventually, scientists discover an antivirus to quell the epidemic, but during their research, Bill and Jessica come into contact with another mutated strain, M4, which requires them to remain isolated indefinitely.
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Partially Viewed
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