The Chain Reaction (1980)

An earthquake in rural Australia causes a dangerous leak at WALDO, a nuclear waste storage facility. Heinrich Schmidt, an engineer badly hurt in the accident, knows that the leak will ... See full summary »

Director:

Ian Barry

Writer:

Ian Barry

Stars:

Steve Bisley, Arna-Maria Winchester, Ross Thompson

7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve Bisley	...	Larry
Arna-Maria Winchester	...	Carmel
Ross Thompson	...	Heinrich
Ralph Cotterill	...	Gray
Hugh Keays-Byrne	...	Eagle
Lorna Lesley	...	Gloria
Richard Moir	...	Jr. Const. Pigott
Patrick Ward	...	Oates
Laurie Moran	...	Police Sgt. McSweeney
Michael Long	...	Doctor
Bill McCluskey	...	Ralph
Margo Lloyd	...	Molly
Tim Burns	...	Survey driver
Arthur Sherman	...	Byron Langley
Barry Donnelly	...	Gateman

Storyline

An earthquake in rural Australia causes a dangerous leak at WALDO, a nuclear waste storage facility. Heinrich Schmidt, an engineer badly hurt in the accident, knows that the leak will poison the groundwater for hundreds of miles around, and wants to warn the public. His boss, however, is only interested in protecting himself, and believes the accident should be covered up, even at the expense of thousands of lives. Heinrich escapes from the facility, but is too badly injured to get very far. Lost in the woods and suffering from amnesia, he is rescued by Larry, an auto mechanic on vacation with his wife, Carmel. As Heinrich tries to piece together his memories of what happened, his boss' thugs are quickly closing in on the trio.

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Plot Keywords:

nuclear | australia | nuclear accident | valley | radiation | 

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Taglines:

Mad Max meets The China Syndrome

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Genres:

Action | Drama

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Details

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1980 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Chain Reaction

Filming Locations:

Glen Davis, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD 450,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Palm Beach Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original intention of writer/director Ian Barry was to make a serious dramatic film about the dangers of nuclear energy which was along the lines of The China Syndrome. This movie was actually first theatrically released in Australia about a year after The China Syndrome had been released. The original screenplay for this film was actually written long before The China Syndrome launched. However, the film was actually shot about six months after The China Syndrome had been theatrically released.

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Goofs

When Larry runs over a Pluto's Man, the man is seen rolling off the windscreen into the back trailer of the Ute, but when the camera cuts to the inside of the Ute, the camera has a clear view of the back of the Ute, and no one is there, but in the next shot when he reaches for Carmel, he is on the roof of the Ute. It's not possible to get on top of the Ute from the trailer in that span of time, especially at the high speeds that Larry was traveling throughout the car chase.

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Connections

References Bus Stop (1956)

User Reviews

A good Aussie thriller

I saw this movie at the Roxy Cinema,Parramatta, Sydney Australia in 1980. I thought the action stunts and story were good. Steve Bisley who played Goose in "Mad Max" in one of his early lead roles. Watch out for Mel Gibson in an unbilled role as a mechanic at the beginning of the film.