The Crazies (1973)

Director:

George A. Romero

Writers:

George A. Romero (screenplay)
Paul McCollough (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

All hell is about to break loose.

Plot:

The military attempts to contain a manmade combat virus that causes death and permanent insanity in those infected, as it overtakes a small Pennsylvania town.

Plot Keywords:

Virus | Insanity | Pennsylvania | Scientist | Nurse

Cast

Lane Carroll	...	Judy
Will MacMillan	...	David (as W.G. McMillan)
Harold Wayne Jones	...	Clank
Lloyd Hollar	...	Col. Peckem
Lynn Lowry	...	Kathy
Richard Liberty	...	Artie
Richard France	...	Dr. Watts
Harry Spillman	...	Maj. Ryder
Will Disney	...	Dr. Brookmyre
Edith Bell	...	Lab. Technician
Bill Thunhurst	...	Brubaker (as W.L. Thunhurst Jr.)
Leland Starnes	...	Shelby
A.C. McDonald	...	Gen. Bowen (as A.C. MacDonald)
Robert J. McCully	...	Hawks
Robert Karlowsky	...	Sheriff Cooper
Ned Schmidtke	...	Sgt. Tragesser
Tony Scott	...	Deputy Shade
Roy Cheverie	...	Army Doctor
Jack Zaharia	...	Priest
Stephen Liska	...	#1 Soldier at house
David Meek	...	#2 Soldier at house
Roger Aaron Brown	...	#3 Soldier at house (as Roger Brown)
Kim Smith
S. William Hinzman	...	Crazie shooting at doctor's office (as Billy Hinzman)
Richard Lewicki	...	Crazie shooting at soldiers
William C. Kennedy	...	Crazie, Mr. Deary
MaLynda Parker
Walton Cook	...	Fire Chief
Peg Tilbrook	...	Old Lady Crazie
Vincent D. Survinski	...	Fireman (as Vince Survinski)
Norman Chase	...	Crazie, Frank Winson
Ross Harris
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rick Catizone	...	Soldier (uncredited)
Bonnie Hinzman	...	Woman Running Out of Church (uncredited)
George A. Romero	...	Extra at Dance / High School Infirmary (uncredited)
Regis Survinski	...	Crazie Father Burning His House (uncredited)

Directed by
George A. Romero

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paul McCollough		screenplay
George A. Romero		screenplay

Produced by
A.C. Croft	....	producer
Margaret Walsh	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Bruce Roberts

Cinematography by
S. William Hinzman		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
George A. Romero

Makeup Department
Doris Dodds	....	makeup artist: Miss Carroll
Gloria Natale	....	makeup consultant
Bonnie Priore	....	makeup artist

Production Management
H. Cramer Riblett	....	production manager
Bob Rutkowski	....	production manager
Vincent D. Survinski	....	production manager (as Vince Survinski)

Sound Department
Eric Baca	....	sound technician
Rex Gleason	....	sound recordist (as Rex Gleeson)
Michael Gornick	....	sound technician
John Stoll	....	sound recordist

Special Effects by
Tony Pantanella	....	special effects (as Tony Pantanello)
Regis Survinski	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
John Atkinson	....	grip
John Fitzpatrick	....	assistant camera
Robert Karlowsky	....	grip
David Meek	....	grip

Editorial Department
Joe Colazzi	....	assistant to editor
Bob Rutkowski	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Stephen Metz	....	musical director

Other crew
Edith Bell	....	production coordinator
Bernard Garred	....	military advisor (as Col. Bernard Garred Ret.)
Lee Hessel	....	presenter
Bonnie Hinzman	....	script girl
Barry J. Rosenbaum	....	medical advisor (as Barry J. Rosenbaum M.D.)

Production Companies

• Pittsburgh Films

Distributors

• Cambist Films (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Libra Films (1976) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Vista Home Video (I) (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Blue Underground (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2003) (UK) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (DVD)
• Anolis Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Blue Underground (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (Canada)
• Curly Produktion (1989) (Finland) (VHS)
• Curly Video (????) (Finland) (VHS) (heavily cut)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• Transvídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Citizens and Officials of Evans City, PA, The  our thanks for their help and cooperation (as the citizens and officials of Evans City, Pa.)
• Citizens and Officials of Zelienople, PA, The  our thanks for their help and cooperation (as the citizens and officials of Zelienople, Pa.)
• Latent Image  produced through the facilities of (as The Latent Image, Inc., Pittsburgh)
• Movielab  color by
• Victrix Productions  special thanks

Also Known As:

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2005) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (1989) | Finland:K-18 (1985) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Sweden:18 (VHS rating) | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Butler County, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Pittsburgh Films

Trivia:

According to George A. Romero the only problem that ever came up with the people of Evans City, where the film was being shot, was about the filming of the final scene. In the conclusion Col. Peckem has to strip down and change clothes before being lifted off by the helicopter. Some of the locals saw the scene as it was being shot and took offense to the slight of a nude man outside. Romero said lawyers had to be called in to resolve the issue.

Goofs:

Factual errors: It is stated repeatedly that the pathogen is a virus, but several references are made to it being a "bacteriological" weapon, as if viral infections and bacterial infections are the same thing. The female lead also takes an antibiotic that slows her response to the pathogen, but antibiotics are for bacteria and wouldn't help against a virus.

Quotes:

Army Doctor:Okay, Colonel Peckem, last test is negative. You're all clean, virus free. We can sign you out. The helicopter will be arriving in a few minutes.
Col. Peckem:Any news from Deitrich?
Army Doctor:They're sending a new man from the Trixie project to take over as Dr. Watts' replacement. He should be here in the morning. If only we knew what Watts was working on. We checked the slides he left behind in his microscope and his notes, but we can't make heads or tails out of any of it. He was onto something, we know that. We'll dope it out sooner or later.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Cop Out (2010)

Soundtrack:

Heaven Help Us

Better than a lot of other low budget horror for it's time, but NO zombies

A plane crashes near Pittsburgh carrying a bacteriological weapon called "Trixie". It gets into a nearby town's water supply causing it's citizen to go crazy, some of them homicidal maniacs. Some of the town's residents try to escape through a cordon around the town set up by the Army and shooting between the residents and soldiers (who go around wearing white contamination suits) and blood spurts ensue. That pretty much sums up the plot.

There's really no gore in this Romero film, but we do see plenty of gun battles that look cheap and amateurish. The only memorable character is Dr. Watts, played by Richard France, who's overacting is so bad that I actually liked his time on the screen. You can see he's trying real hard.

The Blue Underground anamorphic DVD looks nice and it contains a short interview with co-star Lynn Lowry who explains some of her experiences on the film as well as her failed film career. Also a decent commentary track by George Romero who wishes he could have done more with it if he had a bigger budget.

As long as one doesn't compare it to Romero's other films like the DEAD trilogy or MARTIN (1977), then it's better than most 70s low budget efforts in that cheap, charming way. I think it's worth a look.

6 out of 10

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