Hard-drinking medico, mourning the death of his family in a small Mexican village inhabited by construction workers and visiting prostitutes, is bitten by a dog he later learns was rabid; his journey to get proper medical help from the next town over is fraught with obstacles and calamities. Though low-budget, "Rage" is one of Glenn Ford's best movies from the mid-'60s, a rugged adventure filmed in Durango by a mostly-Hispanic crew. Ford, together with burnt-out prostie Stella Stevens and faithful amigo David Reynoso, digs deep to give us a full-blooded character, and the insanity surrounding him is aptly filmed by cinematographer Rosalío Solano (who does go all-out with the animated camera angles, yet which provides some needed relief). Stevens, as usual, is catty, sarcastic, but with a heart of gold--she's wonderful--and Reynoso is terrific standing by the doctor through the thickest of troubles. Unusual and gripping, this race-against-time is well-written, with peculiar but effective music from Gustavo César Carrión. **1/2 from ****

Mr. Ford never got the recognition he deserved for the consistent quality of his acting. 'Rage' also seems to have been forgotten in the shuffle, but is actually a very enjoyable film. The story is simple: a lush doctor is bitten by a rabid dog and has only a limited time to find the antidote before the diseases manifests itself. Doesn't sound like much of a story, but with a little help from Stella Stevens, who puts in a good performance as 'fallen woman', the plot moves along nicely. Some local flavor of the Mexican countryside is thrown in and all in all, a very enjoyable flic.

Reuben (Glenn Ford) is a drunken doctor in a remote Mexican construction camp. He is haunted by the death of his wife. Perla (Stella Stevens) is one of the prostitute brought in on the supply truck. After a night of partying, she oversleeps and gets left behind. She has to wait 10 days for the next supply truck. When a man is brought in with rabies, the lack of medicine leaves no option but to wait for him to die. Pancho (David Reynoso) is desperate for help with his wife's troubled pregnancy. When Reuben gets bitten by a rabid dog, he has to get medicine from a faraway hospital.

This is a Mexican film with a couple of American stars. Gilberto Gazcón seems to be a busy filmmaker in Mexico from the 50's to the 80's. This starts with an interesting premise. It does need to introduce the rabid dog first and a rabies victim in the beginning. It also needs to keep the three main characters together for much longer. When Reuben suggested driving Perla, I assumed that the start of a road trip movie. It needs to be that. When they pass Pancho's home, Reuben can check in and forced to deliver the baby. That's where the rabid dog bites him and Pancho can volunteer to drive him to the hospital. It would simplify the plot and allow the three characters to develop their chemistry for the longest time. I like a few things about this movie but it could be better.