Did they torture and kill a monkey during the filming of Andromeda Strain?
I was quite young when I saw the 1971 film Andromeda Strain in the theatre, and the image of the monkey dying when exposed to the organism still bothers me.
It certainly looked traumatic and the monkey appeared to die, but I have no idea how real that was.
These days films with animals usually contain a "No animals were harmed..." at the end, but this was way before that.
Question: Did they torture and kill a monkey during the filming of Andromeda Strain? If not, was it file footage of something like that, or was it some type of convincing special effect?
Here is a clip with the scene in question, it looks real to me, watch it at your own discretion
Best Answer
Torture is a strong word but it could easily be described as mistreating the creature but it does seem to have been done under the supervision of the ASPCA.
In fact...from IMDB apparently from the Robert Wise documentary on the making of the movie
The monkey was "killed" by being placed in a large set filled with carbon dioxide. When the monkey's cage, which contained oxygen, was opened the animal was rendered unconscious by the CO2. An assistant director was off camera and brought a breathing apparatus to the monkey, who recovered immediately.
but
A few additional details about the controversial death scene of the monkey in the laboratory:
- It was approved by the ASPCA who was present during the filming of the scene.
- While the monkey was filmed suffocating on CO2, assistant director James Fargo was standing just off camera wearing scuba gear and holding a second oxygen source.
- The monkey was revived just seconds after going unconscious -- a little too quickly, as it turns out. Watching the scene closely, the viewer can clearly see a shadow moving towards the monkey just as it goes limp. And since there was only one take, it couldn't be edited out.
Pictures about "Did they torture and kill a monkey during the filming of Andromeda Strain?"
Did they kill animals in the Andromeda Strain?
A number of lab animals are seen being realistically killed in The Andromeda Strain.How accurate is the Andromeda Strain?
For one thing, the Andromeda Strain isn't a virus. It's not a bacteria, either, or a prion; all we really know is that it's hexagonal. It also has an unrealistically high mortality rate, killing almost everybody within a few minutes of exposure.Who was the baby in the Andromeda Strain?
Robert Soto: Manuel Rios - Baby.How does the Andromeda Strain end?
When Mark Hall comes to, Dr. Stone informs him he has saved the lab and everyone in it with only seconds to spare. This brings to an end the five-day Andromeda crisis. The airborne life form escapes into the atmosphere, eventually working its way back out into space, where it continues to mutate.The Making of Andromeda Strain 1971
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