The Andromeda Strain

Robert Wise directs this sci-fi adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel.

After a satellite crashes near a New Mexico village, the local residents begin dying out as a killer disease mysteriously sweeps through the area.

By the time a team of scientists have arrived to investigate, the only survivors are an old tramp and an infant child.

The team transfer them to an underground lab and work around the clock to identify the virus - which, it transpires, is somehow connected to an Earth bacteria-warfare project.

The cast includes Arthur Hill, David Wayne and James Olson.