The Andromeda Strain is a 1971 American science-fiction film, based on the novel published in 1969 by Michael Crichton. The film is about a team of scientists who investigate a deadly organism of extraterrestrial origin that causes rapid, fatal blood clotting. Directed by Robert Wise, the film starred Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid, and David Wayne. The film follows the book closely. The special effects were designed by Douglas Trumbull. The cast of characters in the novel was modified for the film, most notably by changing the male Dr. Peter Leavitt in the novel into a woman, Dr. Ruth... Leavitt. Screenwriter Nelson Gidding suggested the change to Wise, who at first was not enthusiastic, as he initially pictured the sex-changed Dr. Leavitt as a largely decorative character reminiscent of Raquel Welch's character in the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage. When Gidding explained his take on Leavitt, Wise resolved the question in an appropriately scientific way by asking the opinion of a number of scientists, who were unanimously enthusiastic about the idea. Eventually Wise came to be very happy with the decision to make Leavitt female, as Kate Reid's Dr.
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| Release date: | March 12, 1971 |
| Directed by: | Robert Wise |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 131 Minutes |
| Producer: | Robert Wise |
| Editor: | Stuart Gilmore, John W. Holmes |
| Music by: | Gil Mellé |
| Cinematography: | Richard H. Kline |
| Screenplay by: | Nelson Gidding |
| Adapted from: | The Andromeda Strain |
| Genre: | Science Fiction, Thriller |