Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970)
September 4, 1970Release Date
Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It. (1970)
September 4, 1970Release Date
Plot.
Where to Watch.
Cast & Crew.
Bud Cort
Hooper
Talia Shire
Coralee
Elaine Giftos
Cilla
Cindy Williams
Marissa
Ben Vereen
Carlos
Bob Corff
Coel
Alex Wilson
Jason
Alex Wilson
Jason
Bruce Karcher
Edgar Allen
George Armitage
Billy the Kid / Screenplay / Associate Producer
Raye Birk
Mort Catafalque
Alan DeWitt
Dr. Murder
Stephen White
Sergeant Sentry Collar
Lou Procopio
Marshal McLuhan
Phil Borneo
Quant
Alan H. Braunstein
Dr. Drake
Jackie Farley
Ginny
David Osterhout
Texas Ranger / Location Manager
Juretta Taylor
Zoe
Michael D. Castle
Burroughs
Abe Santillanes
Na Wanka
Gary Caplan
Raincoat Harry
Janice Maureen Odell
Cheerleader
Roger Corman
Director / Producer
Media.
Details.
Release DateSeptember 4, 1970
StatusReleased
Running Time1h 19m
Content RatingR
Genres
Last updated:
This Movie Is About.
Wiki.
Gas-s-s-s (on-screen title: Gas! -Or- It Became Necessary to Destroy the World in Order to Save It.) is a 1970 post-apocalyptic black comedy film produced and released by American International Pictures.
It was Roger Corman's final film for AIP as director, after a long association (although he would subsequently produce a few more films for the studio). He was unhappy because AIP made several cuts to the film without his approval, including the removal of the final shot in which God comments on the action — a shot Corman regarded as one of the greatest he had made in his life.
The film is a post-apocalyptic dark comedy, about survivors of an accidental military gas leak involving an experimental agent that kills everyone on Earth over the age of 25 (a cartoon title sequence shows a John Wayne-esque Army General announcing — and denouncing — the "accident"; the story picks up as the last of the victims are dying with social commentary on Medicare and Medicaid). The subtitle alludes to the 1968 quote "it became necessary to destroy the town to save it" attributed to a U.S. Army officer after the Battle of Bến Tre in Vietnam.
The lead characters, Coel and Cilla, are played by Robert Corff and Elaine Giftos, and the cast features Ben Vereen, Cindy Williams, Bud Cort and Talia Shire (credited as "Tally Coppola") in early roles. Country Joe McDonald makes an appearance, as spokesman "AM Radio".