The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (1971)

I just had to write a review of this film because every sci-fi fan mistakenly believes that 'The Island' 2005 was plagiarized from 'Parts: The Clonus Horror' 1979. Well actually both films were remakes of 'The Resurrection of Zackary Wheeler' which puts them both to shame.The plot: Leslie Neilson stars as TV reporter who just happens to witness the fatal car accident of Senator Zachary Wheeler, whose in line to be elected the next US president.The plot moves at a fast pace and Neilson is immediately fired for reporting a false story. The mass media, government, and industry are all covering up Zachary Wheeler's car accident and apparent death. Neilson isn't taking this lying down and is determined to find the truth no matter how many men in black agents are chasing him.Meanwhile Senator Wheeler awakes in a private super secret hospital with only minor injuries. As we know from the other films, the hospital's miracle secret is clones. By cloning Zachary Wheeler they have enough spare body parts to keep him alive for as long as he's useful.Much to the surprise of the Illuminati shadow government the Senator isn't grateful he's sickened by their illegal cloning project and also very upset to learn what everyone else in the free world already knows, America isn't a democracy. An Illuminati commission of government and industry manipulates all aspects of human life. Their cloning project is just another aspect of their well established power. Wheeler is only a senator because they will it. He will only be elected the next president because they will it. And now he's only alive because they will it and he benefits them.As Wheeler recovers and wrestles with the moral dilemmas of absolute power corrupting absolutely he sparks love with his nurse and the two debate the moral issues. Clearly she's a Jezebel.The other 50% of the film is everyman Neilson outwitting the army of government agents after him. Think, 'North By North West.' 'The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler isn't going to win any award for production quality but the screenplay is very solid and fast paced. The acting is also outstanding from both Neilson and Bradford Dillman as Wheeler.This is a must see and proves the evil cloning conspiracy story actually started out great. It was 'Parts The Clonus Horror' and 'The Island' which mucked it up.

A senator (Dillman) is near-fatally injured in a car wreck witnessed only by intrepid reporter (Nielsen) whose eyewitness account is gagged for national security purposes. Discontent with the ruse, Nielsen investigates and ends up discovering an elaborate human organ harvesting clinic that potentially holds the key to mankind's survival - but only a select few. Science Fiction/pseudo political thriller chooses to focus on the moral dilemmas of its cause, resorting to limp-wristed protection of its diabolical secrets, when opposition threaten to reveal the project's secrets.Small in scale, and more akin to the production values of a telemovie than a fully fledged feature film, there are however some assets in the cast and one or two plot twists to which you can look forward. Dillman as the title character spends most of his time comatose and then in a wheelchair debating scientific heresy, while Dickinson looks more like a space cadet than the dedicated doctor, who believes her work is of national significance. Nielsen is essentially the central character, a tenacious reporter not content to digest the force-fed facts without due interrogation. He spends most of the film, piecing together evidence that eventually leads him to the mysterious clinic in New Mexico. Noted stage actor Daly is also quite effective as the clinic's principal surgeon; his attempt to rationalise the existence of the coneheaded clones (called Somas) lies more in the field of fantasy than it does in any serious debate on human cloning.Well scripted, with okay special effects, concerned mostly of pale-faced make-up on stupefied faces - the Dillman zoo experiment is unintentionally funny, his 'full retard' no doubt perfected by hours of rehearsals and takes. Dressed in monk-like garb with coneheaded frontal lobe projection, the Somas are also quite inspired imagery; more emphasis on their existence might have balanced the argument better, but their brief inclusion is still an alarming visual demonstration of the human harvesting process depicted in the film. Despite its 100 minutes, there's ample action, characterisation and plot development; had the climax resolved more satisfactorily, the film might have become a minor cult favourite, ahead of its time in terms of content. As it is, a worthy sci-fi companion, and perhaps no longer such a distant prospect.

Worth seeing, if you are into speculative fiction dealing with clones. I agree with the few other reviews here about the merits of this film. The clone concept was original in film, and had been seen on television a year earlier in Boswell's "Timeslip" TV series (1970).This film is worthy of interest mostly for the ideas presented and because of its descendants in the genre: Coma (1978), Clonus (1979), The Island (2005). I have only seen such poor camera-work done in the worst of B-movies, however. No prizes here for visuals, which are remarkable for their lack of art or ability. Seriously, the average person with a cellphone camera and no training could do as good or better job at framing a scene. The acting is serviceable, TV-style of the period, and fans of Leslie Nielsen will enjoy an early performance from him.This review is not a raving recommendation. Serious SF fans and film collectors will not be disappointed to have Resurrection in their collections. Others should steer clear.

Elements of COMA and THE SIXTH DAY here, basically the moral, social and scientific implications behind cloning. Perhaps even more relevant today given the arguments being bandied about in the public forum for and against stem-cell research.Dying Senator Zachary Wheeler is whisked into a government-funded and hushed-up medical facility in "no questions asked" Mexico for "treatment." Reporter Nielsen smells a story - the "scoop" of the century as it turns out!Without giving too much away, the basic premise turns out to be assembly-line cloning for random organ donation or whatever spare parts are needed - remarkably similar in ethical background to the entire stem-cell debate.Thinking persons' sci-fi.