Riding with Death (film)

Riding with Death
aka	Gemini Man
Year	1981
Directed by	Alan J. Levi Don McDougall
Produced by	Harve Bennett
Written by	Leslie Stevens Frank Telford
Music by	Lee Holdridge
Studio	Universal Television
Cast	Ben Murphy William Sylvester Katherine Crawford Jim Stafford
Run time	97 minutes

For the episode, see MST3K 814 - Riding with Death.

Riding with Death is a 1981 feature that was assembled from two episodes of the 1976 TV series Gemini Man.

Plot

Harvard law school graduate Sam Casey is an agent for the government agency called Intersect. Sam has been in a satellite explosion and the radiation renders him invisible. He is equipped with a wrist watch that keeps him perceptible, and he can use it to switch back and forth.

Sam is given two assignments by his boss. The first is to transport a revolutionary new gasoline additive a few miles down the road via tractor-trailer. He is aided by trucker Buffalo Bill. The inventor of the additive knows that it is unstable (and therefore worthless) and intends to have Casey killed during transport to protect his secret. Casey's compatriot Abby also gets kidnapped and must be rescued.

Later, Casey and Buffalo Bill team up once again as race car pit crew members / substitute drivers to stop the elusive terrorist Robert Denby from blowing up a race car with a volatile element called deutrium.

Cast

• Ben Murphy as Sam Casey
• William Sylvester as Leonard Driscoll
• Katherine Crawford as Dr. Abby Lawrence
• Jim Stafford as Buffalo Bill
• Alan Oppenheimer as Dr. Hale
• Andrew Prine as Luther Stark
• Ed Nelson as Robert Denby
• Don Galloway as John Hiller
• John Milford as Elliott
• Smith Wordes as Tina (AKA "Cupcake")

Multiple Versions

This movie was assembled primarily from two episodes of the short-lived 1976 television series Gemini Man. The episodes used were titled "Smithereens" and "Buffalo Bill Rides Again", with a common element being the guest appearance of country singer Jim Stafford as Buffalo Bill.

At least two versions of Riding with Death exist. One of them has an extended sequence (nearly 15 minutes long) at the beginning which shows the origins of Sam's invisibility, using scenes from the pilot episode "Code Name: Minus One". These scenes feature actor Richard Dysart in the role of Leonard Driscoll, which was later re-cast with William Sylvester. These scenes also feature actor Austin Stoker who would later co-star with Ben Murphy in Being from Another Planet. This version of Riding with Death uses dubbed-in dialogue to add links (referring to the two different antagonists, the addition of Driscoll's moustache, and Buffalo Bill's change in career) between the two stories. The scenes where Abby watches Sam at the racetrack from a computer room were also added in from another episode in order to explain her absence during the latter half.

A different version of Riding with Death has a shorter introductory sequence (less than four minutes long). It uses footage and sound effects from the 1970 science fiction film Colossus: The Forbin Project. It displays biographical information about Sam Casey and gives a brief explanation of his invisibility. This is the version that was used on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Both known versions of Riding with Death use the same end credits, which include a copyright date of 1976 (for the original material) and 1981 (for the edited version). Both versions credit actor Austin Stoker, who does not appear in the version of Riding with Death used on MST3K. In that version, it is stated that Sam Casey graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983. If this version was produced in 1981, this would seem indicate that the producers/editors intended for it to be set in the not-too-distant future (though Gemini Man was explicitly set in 1976), thus making it more science-fiction-y. If this version was produced later in the 1980s (the exact production date is unknown), the "future" element would not be a factor. The only futuristic technology shown in Riding with Death is Sam's genetic stabilizer watch. Otherwise, the clothing, vehicles, and general aesthetic of the film are all strongly mid-1970s.

Notes

• When "Carl" cuts Ben Murphy's brake lines, the only result would have been immobilizing the truck. Air brakes on trucks are designed to lock up if there is a compressor or hose failure, so Murphy would have been unable to move.
• Along with Steven Bochco, another notable name under the "created for television" credits is Harve Bennett, who went on to produce the Star Trek movies in the 1980s.
• The movie's credits claim it was based off the novel from science fiction writer H.G. Wells. More specifically, this refers to how his novel The Invisible Man served as the "basis" for the original Gemini Man pilot.
• Gemini Man was a replacement for the 1975 TV series The Invisible Man starring David McCallum. The 1975 series was considered too expensive and the special effects for Gemini Man were much cheaper.
• Though Gemini Man was not successful, it did inspire 4 short full-cast audio dramas that were released on a long-playing album from Power Records. None of the cast from the TV show was involved.
• The race footage seen in this movie was filmed during the 1975 Tuborg 400 at Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, CA. The car seen in the movie was car #96W, a 1974 Dodge driven by Ray Elder. 1975 was the only year Olympia sponsored Elder, and Richard Petty's #43 STP Dodge can be seen on the front row at the start of the race.
• Riding with Death was released on VHS in 1987. The cover depicts the shadow of an airplane and shows Sam dressed as an airport baggage handler, a disguise he used in the pilot episode. Airplanes do not factor into the plot of Riding with Death in any way.
• Gemini Man/Riding with Death is the final screen credit of actor Katherine Crawford.

MST3K Connections

• Source material writer H.G. Wells also had his writing loosely adapted in Village of the Giants and H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come.
• Ben Murphy also portrayed Prof. Doug McCadden in Being from Another Planet.
• William Sylvester also portrayed Mark English in Devil Doll and Sam Slade in Gorgo.
• Ed Nelson also portrayed George Beldridge in Superdome, a tribe member in Teenage Cave Man, a police sergeant in Swamp Diamonds, and Dave Randall in Night of the Blood Beast, as well as being costume designer for Attack of the Giant Leeches.
• Bob Harks (lab tech) also portrayed a policeman in Stranded in Space.
• Post-production operations head Charles Clement was also music editor for Earth vs the Spider, Teenage Cave Man, and War of the Colossal Beast, as well as post-production operations head for San Francisco International.
• Sound technician Frank H. Wilkinson also did sound for Kitten with a Whip and The Thing That Couldn't Die.