The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler (1971)

Best movie ever!

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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.

Hi,I just read your review of "The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler" posted 15th of June, 2005 . Wow ! You have no idea how that made me feel. I don't know why I typed that old title into Google, maybe just boredom or some weird ego trip, but I am one of the writers of that screenplay along with my then writing partner Jay Simms . It all started with my reading an article in Esquire magazine regarding the possibility of organ transplants . At that time I was working as a Production Coordinator on the TV series " Big Valley" and I mentioned it to Jay who was one of the writers and before we knew it we came up with the idea for a screenplay. It took about 3 weeks and when we finished it we gave it to Jays' agent who said " It's too far out". That turned out to be the general consensus and both Jay and I went on to different things . Eventually it was bought and produced with a very small budget, very evident in the final version but it did have a "far out" premise. I never wrote another screenplay but went on to a career as a film editor but deep down there lurks a frustrated writer. Who knows, maybe I'll try it again. Glad you liked what you saw and you're right, with a few more bucks it could have been a "killer" !Regards,Tom Rolf

TV reporter Harry Welsh happens to be a witness to a car accident involving the US Senator Clayton Zachary Wheeler. Welsh see this as a good news story, but after taking him to the hospital and getting ready to broadcast it. The senator has suddenly disappeared and has been taken away to a secret hospital in New Mexico. No one believes Welsh and for not detracting his bulletin he is fired, as news came in that the Senator was on a fishing trip. So decides to go ahead and investigate, because he knows that it was the senator he saw half-dead in the car crash. When Wheeler finally comes around, he learns of the new medical technology governed by an elite group, which involves cloning people, and using these identical (but empty) vessels to harvest the organs for important transplants.What a cheap little unknown gem! I picked up the video at a pawnshop, and when I decided to give it a look. To my surprise the video was still in its packaging, despite the video cases roughed up look. Before the likes of some medical thrillers involving Michael Crichton's "Coma (1978)" and such, this one does seem way before its time and a blue print for those paranoia medical thrillers. The concept behind the film definitely stands up more so today, because of touchy issue of stem cell research. For such low budget restraints it relies more so on story telling by developing a riveting mystery, clever ideas and moody characters. While the action here is very little and extremely dry, it doesn't foil some well placed tension that's sustained by such simple diversions (like fleeing) then anything explosive. On show are raw camera-work and quite a distant, but more often an energetic and high pitch music score that resembled that the golden age of cinema. Make-up for the clones was well conceived and they did provide some startling images. Pacing can get rather stodgy and you call it a rather colourless display, but where it mostly counts, Director Bob Wynn and co have done a fine job with what they had to work with here. At least when it does slow down it gets straight back into it.The technically well-defined script (that dabs in a touch of sharp wit) goes into thorough detail about the ethics of such power governed by political influence. Where this technology can easily be corrupted and how life is a privilege, where everybody deserves a choice. No matter if these clones can't think on their own behalf, they still can breath, which counts for something. While extremely chatty, they're just so many interesting facets, conspiracies and questions in this thought-provoking material. It could have turn into a shoddy and daftly mess, but the theories thrown up are plausibly integrated. After thinking it might lead to something big. It pretty much leaves you in an insecure state (as there's no real conclusion), which can annoy if you're looking for answers. The performances aren't anything special and for some could be too blunt, but I thought Leslie Nielsen in the lead as Harry Welsh gave in a focused and likable turn. Bradford Dillman as Senator Wheeler, Angie Dickinson as Dr Diana Johnson and James Daly as Dr Redding were more than reasonable.At best it's conventional film-making, which simply sticks to its strengths.

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.