Rarely seen these days, co-writer and director Gilberto Gazcón manages to create a tense film out of a simple story.
Set in a tiny Mexican mining town, Hollywood legend Glenn Ford plays the town’s doctor, Reuben. He’s a troubled man, who has become dependent on booze following the death of his wife. A band of travelling ‘showgirls’ have hit the town, and one of them, Perla (the great Stella Stevens), takes a shine to the Doc, despite his shortcomings. Unfortunately, he is bitten by a dog, which he later finds has rabies. Reuben has 48 hours to get to the nearest town’s hospital before he succumbs to the effects of the disease. The trip won’t be easy, though.
Available on Blu-ray for the first time worldwide thanks to Australia’s Imprint label, Rage is a low-key film that shines higher than its aspirations. There’s a genuine excitement to the against-the-clock trip made by the doctor and his friend (who joins him after he has to break into his time allowed to perform a caesarean on his wife). A rickety bridge provides some Wages of Fear-type tension and the Mexican setting makes it an all-round sweaty affair. Ford is remarkable as the drunken doctor filled with self-doubt and pity, Stevens is a sultry presence, and the local cast brilliantly add flavour. This is a US-Mexican production, with the majority of the cast and crew come from south of the border, and the location footage really stands out, giving us a feel of a contemporary western. The edge-of-your-seat final moments are worth the price of admission alone.
For its Blu-ray debut, there are limited extras. However, what we get is good: the commentary provides plenty of info on the background and filming, and the video essay on Stella Stevens is interesting. The film itself looks lush and colourful, and certainly does the material justice. It may be a minor film, but it’s great seeing it given so much attention.
