'70s Class: The China Syndrome (1979)

 A really great '70s Film that commits the very specific Cardinal Sin of a confusing Title.

Is this the tale of some airborne sickness?
Is The Star Chamber about Astronomers in a round table discussion?
Is Sorcerer about a creepy old dude with a beard who casts Magic?

This is 1979's The China Syndrome, a Drama that was designed to be a 'scare' Film about a topical concern...that was quickly proven correct in all of the worst ways possible.

The Plot involves a Nuclear Power Plant that has a scare that happens to be documented by a News Crew doing a puff piece on them.
Can they then uncover the secret before a *real* disaster occurs?!?

The Film's Title eventually gets explained in the Movie itself around Act 2. 
In short, it is a theory that the nuclear waste could hit ground water under the surface, affect it much deeper (like to China) and then create a massive cloud of deadly gas.

And yes, that was the short explanation.

I'll get into the real life effects that happened a bit later.  

To find out how this all played out, read on...

A Reporter (Jame Fonda) is covering puff pieces and other Stories that aren't very serious.

Can she find one?

She is given a Story to cover- Energy Week.

She gets a freelance crew (including Producer of the Film Michael Douglas) to cover a story about a new Nuclear Power Plant about to open.

While they're there, something goes wrong right as they are by the Observation Room.
What luck!

They secretly film them (including Jack Lemmon and Wilford Brimley) as a mishap nearly leads to a meltdown!

They take the footage back to the Studio...only to be told that they can't show it.

Damn you, James Karen!

Douglas especially doesn't take this well. 

Back at the Plant, Lemmon is still convinced that something will go wrong.

He goes- in the minds of his coworkers, at least- overboard in testing for faults and issues.

Is he right to?

Well, historically speaking, yes.  Just 2 weeks into this Film running in Theaters (when Films ran for months, mind you) the 3 Mile Island Accident happened.
This Film became very topical!

He finds a possible fault and is told to ignore it- they want to open another Plant in less than a week.

He meets up with Fonda and then Douglas, the latter of whom stole the footage and showed it to an expert.

This convinces a conflicted Lemmon to hand over some information to a 3rd party to share with them.

...this ends poorly.

This is modeled after the suspicious real-life death of Karen Silkwood (dramatized in 1983).  Ironically, that Film was originally pitched to star Fonda as Ms. Silkwood.

Like that case, the evidence was stolen.
Unlike that case, the guy survives at least.

This presses Lemmon to come forward to share his information.

He too is pursued, however, and he flees to the Plant, knowing that the Security will stop the chase.

He finds out that they are going to restart the Plant and he makes a big move!

He calls for Fonda to put him on Live TV to share what he knows.

Things are stalled and the Plant Owners work to stop him.

The SWAT Team bursts in and shoots him, giving Lemmon his only on-screen death.

In the aftermath, Brimley speaks up on his behalf and there's hope.  The (almost happy) End.

A far better Movie than I usually cover.  Is this a one-off?

Who knows?

The Film is very topical- as mentioned- but still holds up pretty well 40+ years later.

Many of the ideas and themes really hold true today.

Lemmon as an honest man who is surrounded by people who prioritize money over safety and ethics.
Fonda is a woman who just wants to be taken seriously in an industry that sees her as a commodity.
Douglas is an Activist who wants to be able to make a living without sacrificing his ethics.

Any of these still sound relevant in 2025?

Just know that this Film isn't an Action Film- save for two car chases- and was made in a very cinema verité manner.

Simply put, there's only one song on the Soundtrack (which plays over the driving Credits).
The Ending plays to complete silence, which was probably really interesting in those weeks after 3 Mile Island, no?

In spite of its confusing (to us now, as the expression was notable then) Title, this one is a must-see...even if the Plant is a Matte painting.

Next up, another random Film from the pile.  Will I go Horror or finally begin a project I planned as far back as November?  Stay tuned...