MovieChat Forums > The Green Slime (1969) Discussion > The slime infestation was all Rankin's f...

The slime infestation was all Rankin's fault

posted 15 years ago by jrpelt
3 replies | jump to latest

If you'll remember, the slime got onto Gamma 3 because of a tear in Dr. Halvorsen's suit which a slime fragment had gotten into. It looks like the tear was caused when Rankin snatched the containment unit out of the doctor's hands and smashed it against the ground right in front of them. I know they were pressed for time, so he couldn't stop to argue over quarantine rules and the like, but Rankin should've tossed it into the distance... for all he knew, the thing could've reacted to high impact by exploding!

Frankly, Rankin strikes me as a guy trying to be Captain Kirk a bit too hard, and it was this first unnecessary macho action of the movie that was the catalyst for the rest. Not that Elliot's soft-heartedness didn't cause some bad decisions, but Rankin's hard-_headedness_ started matters to begin with.

[–] Frumious_Bandersnatch_46 14 years ago

It looks like the tear was caused when Rankin snatched the containment unit out of the doctor's hands

I think Dr Halvorsen's suit was torn before that. Perhaps when he was trying to collect that sample — or when he, too, was pulling slime off his transport.

As to the feud between Cmdrs Rankin and Elliot,

"Testosterone spill, aisle 3! Testosterone spill, aisle 3!

that space station must have been ankle-deep in it.

[–] Roddenhyzer 13 years ago

I think it's debatable whether Rankin really was responsible for the tear in the suit, but this...

Frankly, Rankin strikes me as a guy trying to be Captain Kirk a bit too hard

... I wholeheartedly agree with.

[–] Squonkamatic 13 years ago

Not only did Rankin cause the slime to be gobbed onto Halvrosen's suit by carelessly throwing the specimen jar, he managed to get the expedition back to Gamma 3 after the astroid was detonated and ordered extra energy use in the decontamination chamber. Then ordered the security guards to engage the creature with their laser weapons before knowing how it's biological functions worked. THEN goes to try and fix the controls on his own, necessitating Cmdr. Elliot to have to go back and help him, costing the life of his best friend. One screw up after another.