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Pursuit

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"Pursuit" tells the story of a team of Government Agents trying to head off an assassination attempt on President Nixon during the 1972 Republican Convention. This ABC Movie of the Week featured the directorial debut of best-selling author Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park, Prey, The Andromeda Strain) adapting his suspense novel "Binary" (written under a psuedonym) for the small screen. Ben Gazzara and Martin Sheen star with a brief appearance by E.G. Marshall as the bad-guy industrialist behind the plot. "Pursuit" also features a score by the late Jerry Goldsmith, who went on to write music for many of Crichton's feature films.

Michael Crichton's first directorial effort came in the form of Pursuit, a television film made 1972. Following the critical acclaim garnered with the Robert Wise production of The Andromeda Strain (1971), Crichton decided to give directing a go, adapting the novel Binary (written by Crichton under a pseudonym).

The telemovie stars E.G. Marshall as a political extremist who plans to spread stolen nerve gas in a city where a political convention is being held. Government agents (Ben Gazzara and William Windom) are sent to catch him. Although a talented actor, Gazzara turns in a rather uninspired performance, with the only notable accolades going to Marshall and Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Nordman.

The film which could have been a powerhouse thriller (even Jerry Goldsmith, who has scored many blockbuster films delivers a lacklustre score) becomes a contrived work with mediocre script, poor action sequences and a downright lack of suspense.

In fact, the best thing about the film was the DVD cover from MGM, what looks like a great film really plays out like a two part episode of MacGyver, with an embarassingly shabby restoration by MGM (rivals that of their restoration of Force 10 from Navarone).

The book (entitled Binary) was great, suspenseful and kept me reading. In fact, while I was reading it I kept thinking it would make a great film. Then, while surfing through Amazon's recommendations based on my previous purchases (I had purchased Coma and The Great Train Robbery - both are good solid films directed by Crichton) I saw this. Due to the DVD case art I was expecting a great movie. I was unfortunately disappointed with both the acting and script. It almost makes me sad that Crichton, himself, directed this. The story is good and could make a great movie. This is one of those that I wished Hollywood would adapt and set in the present day. It would make a good thriller.

My advice, skip the film, but read the book.

Pursuit, 1972 film

The film begins at night with a countdown to 15 hours. An Army convoy halts on the road. Rapid fire kills the soldiers [a large force?]. A truck pulls alongside to load the contents. Next we see a political convention, then an airport with passengers. They watch a film of a political speaker decrying the establishment. It's a small organization that is supported by multi-millionaire James Wright. Federal investigators are on his trail. Who is copying classified governmental information via a computer? Timothy Drew posed as a computer repairman to gain access. Steve Graves wants more time to investigate Wright. They show scenes of San Diego, the planned site of the 1972 Republican Convention. We see cars from that era. Are the investigators following too close?

Wright's big limousine goes to the industrial district and buys parts. They arrest Timothy Drew and question him. A deal is made. They watch Wright from another high-rise building. Would a psychiatrist tell about a patient? [Would undercover investigators keep using the same car?] What was an old wringer washing machine doing there? There is a fake example of the use of binary nerve gas. It could kill a million people! Could a double fool the investigators? [No seat belts in use.] They find Wright with two containers in an apartment. "He did it." Wright is arrested and questioned, he talks about what he did. [Does he sound sane?] "Why?" Can Wright escape? Can they disarm the bomb before 5PM?

Steve has a plan to stop the bomb, there is an antidote for nerve gas. Will Steve be able to disarm the gas bomb in time? Was there a scheduled telephone call? Was there another hidden booby trap? A machine can detect the smell of plastic explosives. Will they disarm the bomb before it explodes? And so the Free World is saved by the actions of Federal investigators, again. This is an interesting story even if the premise seems unbelievable (multi-millionaire plans to kill millions). Don't they have a limousine health plan to treat mental illness?

This was originally produced as a low-budget TV movie in 1972. The convention planned for San Diego was canceled, instead it was held in the same city as the other party's convention. The Watergate Burglary in June 1972 caused a scandal and President Nixon changed plans to please the broadcast media who didn't want the extra expense in covering another location. Did the broadcast media then downplay the Watergate Burglary? Yes, except for the `Washington Post'. Consult your history book for what happened next.