Mr. Ford never got the recognition he deserved for the consistent quality of his acting. 'Rage' also seems to have been forgotten in the shuffle, but is actually a very enjoyable film. The story is simple: a lush doctor is bitten by a rabid dog and has only a limited time to find the antidote before the diseases manifests itself. Doesn't sound like much of a story, but with a little help from Stella Stevens, who puts in a good performance as 'fallen woman', the plot moves along nicely. Some local flavor of the Mexican countryside is thrown in and all in all, a very enjoyable flic.
32 Reviews
Batty outdoor saga with excellent characterization and low-rent style...
moonspinner5515 August 2009
Hard-drinking medico, mourning the death of his family in a small Mexican village inhabited by construction workers and visiting prostitutes, is bitten by a dog he later learns was rabid; his journey to get proper medical help from the next town over is fraught with obstacles and calamities. Though low-budget, "Rage" is one of Glenn Ford's best movies from the mid-'60s, a rugged adventure filmed in Durango by a mostly-Hispanic crew. Ford, together with burnt-out prostie Stella Stevens and faithful amigo David Reynoso, digs deep to give us a full-blooded character, and the insanity surrounding him is aptly filmed by cinematographer Rosalío Solano (who does go all-out with the animated camera angles, yet which provides some needed relief). Stevens, as usual, is catty, sarcastic, but with a heart of gold--she's wonderful--and Reynoso is terrific standing by the doctor through the thickest of troubles. Unusual and gripping, this race-against-time is well-written, with peculiar but effective music from Gustavo César Carrión. **1/2 from ****
The telltale signs of madness
bkoganbing5 October 2016
With the making of Rage, the Mexican film industry decided to do what the British have done for years. Get a Hollywood name for the lead and set the film in London with a British cast. That extra bounce of a name from the movie capital is good for box office.
In this case they got two. Glenn Ford as a dissolute doctor and Stella Stevens as a working girl are in Mexico at a construction site, each practicing their own trade when Ford is bitten by a rabid dog.
It's a simple story, they are out in the wilds and Ford has to reach civilization and fast before the case becomes incurable. With Stevens's help he sets out on the journey always as a medical professional looking out for the telltale signs of his condition going beyond the point of medical help.
I saw Rage in theater back when it was released and after some showings on television it seems to have disappeared. Peter Ford's biography of his dad tells little about it.
Ford and Stevens turn in some fine performances. Maybe this will be unearthed and put out on DVD soon.
In this case they got two. Glenn Ford as a dissolute doctor and Stella Stevens as a working girl are in Mexico at a construction site, each practicing their own trade when Ford is bitten by a rabid dog.
It's a simple story, they are out in the wilds and Ford has to reach civilization and fast before the case becomes incurable. With Stevens's help he sets out on the journey always as a medical professional looking out for the telltale signs of his condition going beyond the point of medical help.
I saw Rage in theater back when it was released and after some showings on television it seems to have disappeared. Peter Ford's biography of his dad tells little about it.
Ford and Stevens turn in some fine performances. Maybe this will be unearthed and put out on DVD soon.
An interesting character study set in rural New Mexico
nadja-73 January 2001
I enjoyed this movie a great deal; it has an interesting development of characters set within a construction camp for a major highway in rural New Mexico. Early in the film a local herder is brought in dying of rabies; the veterinarian becomes involved in a search for the source of the disease and whether it is part of an epidemic. A major side plot in the movie is the relationship between the veterinarian and a construction camp prostitute. There is a great deal of character development, and the lady's occupation is so subtly portrayed that it is an acceptable moview for older children. There is a great deal of empathy for the hard lives lived in a construction camp and its surrounding rural poverty.
Unlike most movies set in a rural atmosphere, the country people and blue collar workers are not cartoon buffoons or evil, violent troglodytes. This sensitive portrayal contrasts markedly with the brutal louts recently portrayed in a certain movie about commercial fishermen lost at sea, the Perfect Storm.
Unlike most movies set in a rural atmosphere, the country people and blue collar workers are not cartoon buffoons or evil, violent troglodytes. This sensitive portrayal contrasts markedly with the brutal louts recently portrayed in a certain movie about commercial fishermen lost at sea, the Perfect Storm.
Sweaty, Gritty Flick - Man gets Rabies Classic
droopyherby6 January 2017
I saw this strange dark film on late night TV when I was a kid and it made an impression on me - certain intense scenes stayed with me - the rickety bridge crossings, the local man getting rabies and being brought in by ropes by the townspeople, Ford's dog mad from rabies, etc. I just saw it again and I really enjoyed it. It is well done, obviously on a low budget as part of an American/Mexican production. Ford is quite good as a depressed, drunk doctor at a rural Mexican mining town who gets bit by a dog and gets rabies - he then has to try and drive through harsh desert to make it into the next town in time to get the serum he needs to survive. Stella Stevens is a "dance hall girl" who is brought in with a troupe of gals to entertain the workers. Stevens is so damn hot in this flick - at the height of her Swinging Sixties sexiness. If you liked this film and the genre - try George Kennedy in the equally good A Cry In The Wilderness - a 1974 TV film about a man with rabies.
Tale of a down-and-out Doc in rural Mexico.
planktonrules28 May 2019
"Rage" is a highly unusual film for Glenn Ford. Heck, it's a highly unusual film...period. The story is set in rural Mexico and finds Dr. Reuben (Ford) working with the local villagers...and drinking himself half to death. Through the course of the film you realize why he's there and why he's drinking. Years before, his actions resulted in his wife's death...and he seems to be doing pennance for this by working so far from the States. But he's also angry, sullen and altogether unpleasant in many ways.
Into this town comes a truck load of prostitutes bound for someplace nicer and less grubby. One of those women, Perla (Stella Stevens) takes a liking for the doctor...but eventually she moves on to another town.
Dr. Reuben is bitten by his dog...and the dog has rabies. Earlier in the film you see a man going mad with the illness...and the Doc knows he must get treatment soon or he'll die the same way. But there's a dying woman about to give birth to attend to first. And then, it's a long, long way to the nearest large city where he can get treatment. Can he get there in time?
The prostitute plot in the film seemed like filler...though Stevens' character actually became important late in the story when she helps the Doctor get to town. Still, her rowdy friends seemed more like a distraction than anything and a bit of a re-write would have helped. Without that unnecessary plot, I would have given the film a 7.
FYI--I noticed one review says that the movie was set in rural New Mexico, but when I looked at IMDB to see where the movie was filmed it was set in Mexico...not in the United States.
Into this town comes a truck load of prostitutes bound for someplace nicer and less grubby. One of those women, Perla (Stella Stevens) takes a liking for the doctor...but eventually she moves on to another town.
Dr. Reuben is bitten by his dog...and the dog has rabies. Earlier in the film you see a man going mad with the illness...and the Doc knows he must get treatment soon or he'll die the same way. But there's a dying woman about to give birth to attend to first. And then, it's a long, long way to the nearest large city where he can get treatment. Can he get there in time?
The prostitute plot in the film seemed like filler...though Stevens' character actually became important late in the story when she helps the Doctor get to town. Still, her rowdy friends seemed more like a distraction than anything and a bit of a re-write would have helped. Without that unnecessary plot, I would have given the film a 7.
FYI--I noticed one review says that the movie was set in rural New Mexico, but when I looked at IMDB to see where the movie was filmed it was set in Mexico...not in the United States.
Glenn Ford, Stella Stevens
ksf-29 August 2019
Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens co-star in this film about a doctor in mexico. Perla (Stevens) and the oversexed girls arrive in town, just as Doc (Ford) gets bitten by a dog. of course, it has rabies, and now Doc better figure out what to do. Sadly, not much you can do once you have contracted rabies, if it doesn't get treated in time. The clock is TICKING! everyone is drinking and swilling the whole time. mexico in 1966. Stella Stevens started as a model, appeared in playboy magazine, and co-starred with HUGE film stars over the years. This one is pretty good. Directed by Gilberto Gazcón... i hadn't known much about him. seems to have directed many things in mexico, then a few things in hollyweird, then back to mexico. Good film.
Glenn Ford Hangs Onto Stardom
boblipton30 July 2019
Doctor Glenn Ford's wife died giving birth, and so did his son. Now he's earning a living as a doctor at an oil refinery town in Mexico, half-drunk all the time. Traveling prostitute Stella Stevens stays for him, but he's not interested. When Ford is bit by a rabid dog, he and friend David Reynoso try to get to a nearby city where he can get rabies injections; Miss Stevens forces herself on their journey across the desert, filled with difficulties and threats that somehow never dirty her pink shift.
Ford and Stevens traveled to Mexico for this film by Gilberto Gazcón. That's why Reynoso -- who's very good in this -- has the third-ranked role. Ford was near the end of his movie-star phase. He would make three more movies over the next three years, then take a break to star in a couple of well-received series, then enter his "elder statesman" phase. He died in 2006, at the age of 90.
Ford and Stevens traveled to Mexico for this film by Gilberto Gazcón. That's why Reynoso -- who's very good in this -- has the third-ranked role. Ford was near the end of his movie-star phase. He would make three more movies over the next three years, then take a break to star in a couple of well-received series, then enter his "elder statesman" phase. He died in 2006, at the age of 90.
Enjoyable B movie
Sergiodave24 October 2021
A well made lower budget Mexican movie about an alcoholic American Doctor working in a hellhole who contracts Rabies. Starring Glen Ford who was good and Stella Stevens who to be honest brought the movie alive this is a more than passable movie, the plot is pretty obvious, but then many are. A okay movie, where the looks of Stella Stevens helps .
Terrific, Gritty Movie Down Mexico Way
nigel_hawkes5 May 2023
A free TV channel here in the UK has shown this a couple of times recently. It's difficult to film badly in the Mexican sun and this movie is no exception to that rule-great colour throughout. Add to that authentic settings worthy of a Peckinpah movie, and a good local cast, supplemented by the always reliable Glenn Ford in a near-dissolute role and a very ripe Stella Stevens sporting an array of revealing, colourful outfits-she's absolutely terrific-the veritable tart with a heart of gold.
Don't worry too much about the plot-which is fairly believable and moves along at a good pace-just revel in the opportunity to see an earthy, locally made Mexican-American film. And Ms Stevens!
Don't worry too much about the plot-which is fairly believable and moves along at a good pace-just revel in the opportunity to see an earthy, locally made Mexican-American film. And Ms Stevens!
Rage
henry8-314 February 2023
Glenn Ford plays an alcoholic doctor in a small Mexican town grieving the loss of his wife and child. He is bitten by a rabid dog and has just 48 hours to get to the city hospital across the desert to be saved. He is accompanied by a man whose baby Ford has just delivered and later by tart with a heart Stella Stevens who has a crush on him.
Rather strange movie which attempts to make a thriller out of a man doomed to die from rabies in 48 hours if he can't get the right shots. Ford constantly growling and covered in sweat is on good form and Stevens performs a role she is not exactly unfamiliar with. It's interesting insofar that everything that can go wrong on the journey does and the will he / won't he make it adds a degree of tension. Overall though it is not enough to make for an entirely convincing adventure, which ends unsatisfactorily and is hampered by an annoying score throughout.
Rather strange movie which attempts to make a thriller out of a man doomed to die from rabies in 48 hours if he can't get the right shots. Ford constantly growling and covered in sweat is on good form and Stevens performs a role she is not exactly unfamiliar with. It's interesting insofar that everything that can go wrong on the journey does and the will he / won't he make it adds a degree of tension. Overall though it is not enough to make for an entirely convincing adventure, which ends unsatisfactorily and is hampered by an annoying score throughout.
I Loved Every Minute . . .
peggyz-119 December 2005
I really liked this movie. Glenn Ford has been completely believable in every role he's ever done. That is especially amazing when you look at the wide variety of roles that he has played. This role is definitely at one far end of the spectrum. He plays a drunken town doctor who has given up on his own life. He then meets a woman, the beautiful Stella Stevens, who makes him care again. She is attracted to Ford because he doesn't chase her because of her physical beauty like the other men do. When his life is in danger, he finds that he really wants to live but will he get help in time? This movie will put you on the edge of your seat but you'll also enjoy the sweet relationships of the characters. Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens are such a gentle pair here.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
Sexy Stella and Paunchy Glen
angelsunchained9 April 2021
So much film, so little plot.
jmroc7 June 1999
Low budget, and it shows. Glenn Ford's desperate search for a doctor after being bitten by a rabid dog just doesn't provide enough story or dialogue to fill the 90-odd minutes of this film. The result is far too many scenes of characters looking tense and concerned (Montezuma's Revenge?) as their vehicles slowly trudge across the desert. Not recommended.
Better than you would think since you may not have heard of it
clore_215 April 2002
A most overlooked film which may have played better as a TV feature. Ford is an alcoholic doctor, but still the idol of many in this poverty stricken construction town in Mexico. When rabies hits the camp, Ford is called into action, when it strikes him personally, he finds a reason to live, and attempts a trek to a big city hospital before the disease spreads within his blood stream. Ford looks considerably older and sloppier in this film, his third with Stella Stevens. He's brooding and ill-kempt, not at all the light leading man of the previous decade. The last half hour carries some real tension, and an effective music score by Gustavo César Carrión adds immeasurably.
Mexican flick
SnoopyStyle30 July 2019
Reuben (Glenn Ford) is a drunken doctor in a remote Mexican construction camp. He is haunted by the death of his wife. Perla (Stella Stevens) is one of the prostitute brought in on the supply truck. After a night of partying, she oversleeps and gets left behind. She has to wait 10 days for the next supply truck. When a man is brought in with rabies, the lack of medicine leaves no option but to wait for him to die. Pancho (David Reynoso) is desperate for help with his wife's troubled pregnancy. When Reuben gets bitten by a rabid dog, he has to get medicine from a faraway hospital.
This is a Mexican film with a couple of American stars. Gilberto Gazcón seems to be a busy filmmaker in Mexico from the 50's to the 80's. This starts with an interesting premise. It does need to introduce the rabid dog first and a rabies victim in the beginning. It also needs to keep the three main characters together for much longer. When Reuben suggested driving Perla, I assumed that the start of a road trip movie. It needs to be that. When they pass Pancho's home, Reuben can check in and forced to deliver the baby. That's where the rabid dog bites him and Pancho can volunteer to drive him to the hospital. It would simplify the plot and allow the three characters to develop their chemistry for the longest time. I like a few things about this movie but it could be better.
This is a Mexican film with a couple of American stars. Gilberto Gazcón seems to be a busy filmmaker in Mexico from the 50's to the 80's. This starts with an interesting premise. It does need to introduce the rabid dog first and a rabies victim in the beginning. It also needs to keep the three main characters together for much longer. When Reuben suggested driving Perla, I assumed that the start of a road trip movie. It needs to be that. When they pass Pancho's home, Reuben can check in and forced to deliver the baby. That's where the rabid dog bites him and Pancho can volunteer to drive him to the hospital. It would simplify the plot and allow the three characters to develop their chemistry for the longest time. I like a few things about this movie but it could be better.
A different kind of suspense
Leofwine_draca14 February 2024
RAGE is an engaging little suspense thriller with a south of the border setting. It stars a visibly aged Glenn Ford as a small town doctor who finds himself up against the odds when he encounters a rabid dog. Soon everything is spiralling out of control and our hero is up against the clock as the narrative picks up speed and races to a thrilling climax. The film is pretty low budget, it has to be said, and the first half feels a little stiff, with too much screen time given over to the sultry Stella Stevens, who looks good but adds very little of substance. Still, Ford's performance is very good indeed and the second half is highly suspenseful.
rage
mossgrymk27 August 2023
First half, set in a gritty, grubby northern Mexican town, is pretty good. The party scenes with the imported from TJ hookers and the construction crew have a wild realism and the scene with the rabidly dying worker, tied up and foaming at the mouth, has a terrifying realism. But in the second half things start to become less interesting as we are subjected to Glenn Ford's constant lugubriousness about his dead wife and child, which gets kind of boring, and the film cannot make up its mind whether to be a love story with Ford and Stella Stevens' warm hearted floozie (by far the best character in the film and the always under rated Stevens plays her to perfection) or a buddy picture with Ford and warm hearted laborer David Reynoso and so becomes less than compelling versions of both. Give it a C plus.
PS...Why is it that in rabies movies only the guys get bit? Guess the sight of a chick foaming at the mouth is a turnoff.
PS...Why is it that in rabies movies only the guys get bit? Guess the sight of a chick foaming at the mouth is a turnoff.
So much film, so little story
jmroc10 June 1999
Low budget, and it shows. Glenn Ford's desperate race against time and rabies just doesn't provide enough dialogue or plot to fill the 80-odd minutes of this film. The result is long scenes of characters looking tense and concerned (Montezuma's Revenge?) as they slowly trudge across the desert. Film students would do well to watch this movie, if only to warn of the dangers of producing a film on only one plot element.
Suspenseful low-budget medical thriller
nvasapper7 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I remember seeing this movie when it aired on television 40-odd years ago. I found the premise intriguing. It's a shame they never released it on video or DVD because it's definitely a watchable film. The two lead actors are Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens and they both turn in tour de force performances here. Filmed on location in Mexico, the story revolves around a rural construction compound where Ford plays the company doctor, 'Doc' Reuben- a lonely, bitter, hard-drinking medical man who walks around feeling sorry for himself and doesn't seem to value his own existence or life in general for that matter.. Stella Stevens plays a very attractive and sensual "camp follower" named Perla. Her profession is not blatantly advertised but rather portrayed in a low-key understated manner. She finds herself attracted to Ford because he doesn't pursue her like every other guy within a ten mile radius. She is the prostitute with a heart of gold who knows a suffering man when she meets one. And that makes her want to get close to him, even though he appears to rebuff her at every turn. Into this situation comes an invisible enemy- invisible but deadly. An enemy whose very name inspires feelings of terror and dread. One of the Mexican laborers had a pet cat. The cat bit him. And in doing so, it delivered a death sentence. By the time the sickness manifested itself, it was too late to save him. The man is dragged into the camp bound with a series of ropes like a hogtied steer. He cries in pain and torment and has white foam around his mouth. Doc Reuben comes out and pours a glass of water on the ground in front of the man, who reacts violently at the sight of it. The man will soon be dead, the virus having reached his brain tissue. Doc Reuben will soon undergo his own trial by ordeal. He had a German Shepherd which had also been bitten by the infected feline before it succumbed. When the dog bites him and Doc Reuben learns that it was infected, he realizes he has approximately 72 hours to get to the nearest big city for medical treatment before the virus takes hold. With no automobile available, he is relegated to using a horse-drawn wagon as a means of transportation. With Perla accompanying him, they set out across the hot Mexican desert in a race against time. In stark contrast to his earlier manifestation as a washed-up drunk wallowing in self-pity, he is now a man who wants desperately to live. Now that his life may be taken from him, he quickly comes to realize just how precious life really is. Redeemed by Perla's love, he now has even more reason to want to live. But can they beat the ticking clock and the harsh desert to get to the serum in time?
Train wreck.
mdcbgc30 July 2019
What an embarrassment. Glenn Ford did the best he could do with this horrid film. Grade-school script, bizarre childish camera work, strange score.
It's no wonder Stella Stevens went absolutely nowhere.
I wonder how Glenn got roped into doing this one.
"Rage" - Extraordinary, Deserves Better Than It Got
info-627-66443925 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
"Rage" is Columbia's extraordinary drama made by a primarily Mexican crew was written of in one of the better movie magazines on the news stands back in 1966, "Screen Stories." And then it took me almost 50 years to finally see it. It had a major star or two, Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens. The rest of the cast is Mexican, but they are all very good, especially David Reynoso as "Pancho" and Dacia Gonzalez as "Maria" his wife to mention a few. Cinematografica Jalisco and Joseph L. Schenck Enterprises brought to us under the direction of Gilberto Gazcon, who shared in the screenplay with Fernando Mendez and Teddi Sherman, from a story by Gazcon, Guillermano Hernandez and Jesus Velasquez. A doctor in a construction camp is bitten by a rabid dog and must get medical treatment in less than 48 hours once detected, and then the race against adversity manages to try to stop him. Filmed in Pathecolor, the film was produced by Gazcon and executive produced by Richard Goldstone. Everything else by the Mexican crew is solid, and I mention the music specifically because it is a true highlight. Gustavo Cesar Carrion composed the music and it heightens the plot aside from delivering some solid renditions of its theme, heard on the radio, and accompanying Nature as she yields to the story as well. Film Editing by Carlos Savage and Walter Thompson and Cinematography by Rosalio Solano are also outstanding. The acting is all top drawer, and I like Mr. Ford and Ms. Stevens even better than I always have because they made this film. They deserve much applause. It is just the kind of human drama that is sadly in lack of today. Some reviewers have noted it has not much of a plot. On the contrary, it is a most believable picture because it knows what to do with it. Needs to be seen to show how films should be made today. Exceptional.
Mr. Ford "underrated" actor
jbla9920 September 2006
Glenn Ford was VERY underrated as an actor as one other post has said. He was VERY GOOD in this movie and the story was equally enjoyable. The title says it all. If you've ever lived through the horror of MAYBE contracting rabies, this performance is VERY understandable. I saw this movie many years ago and still remember the performance that Glenn Ford gave. Now that he's gone MAYBE the Academy of Arts and Sciences will see fit to honor a great actor who should have been honored many many years ago. This man had a 4 or 5 decades worth of performances and everyone of them was top-notch. Good bye, Mr. Ford. I know that you're in Heaven and watching us at this very moment!
Intense
mrskywalker1 June 2002
The beauty of this film is its simplicity. Rabies strikes a small village and a race against time begins. The film shows how intense a movie can be with a very low budget. Ford gives his usual classic understated performance as a washed up doctor but he can be believed in any role. Stella Stevens is excellent. I saw this film in the theater and have not been able to find it on video.
A well executed small film
mannyxa18 January 2006
This movie is great. Yes, it is a low budget film but the concept is clear. Economy is this movie's middle name. It's shot in a somewhat, unforgiving documentary style. The story is plausible in the real world. You're curious to see how Glenn Ford's character ends his journey. So much could go wrong, how far can he go before he loses all his marbles in a foreign environment? A different culture has the potential to react in ways one doesn't expect. What would you do as a viewer if you were in his shoes with his medical condition? Sure, this small film could be more polished in sound design, cinematography, etc. See it for yourself not for how much the production cost but how well an original story was executed by a great actor. A great movie like "Rage" aka "El Mal" doesn't need excessive millions of dollars. You're taken along for an intense ride at a fraction of the cost to make a "blockbuster." Enjoy.
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