Contagious (film)

Contagious
Genre	Thriller
Written by	Sandy Kroopf
Directed by	Joe Napolitano [1]
Starring	Lindsay Wagner Elizabeth Peña
Music by	Stephen Graziano
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English language
Production
Producer	Mary Eilts [2]
Production location	Vancouver
Cinematography	Andreas Poulsson
Editor	Tim Tommasino
Running time	103 minutes
Original release
Release	January 22, 1997 (1997-01-22)

Contagious is a 1997 American television film directed by Joe Napolitano and starring Lindsay Wagner as a doctor trying to prevent a cholera epidemic following an outbreak. ^[3]

Plot

A plane where shrimp tainted with cholera was served, arrives from South America to Los Angeles. ^[4] Soon after, the first patient dies. Because this person was a cocaine dealer, there is some suspicion that the drugs may be infected with the disease. ^{[5] [6]} Therefore, a narcotics detective (Elizabeth Peña) is put on the case, while in the hospital an experienced doctor (Lindsay Wagner) tries to prevent the outbreak from turning into an epidemic.

Cast

• Lindsay Wagner as Dr. Hannah Cole ^[7]
• Elizabeth Peña as Detective Luisa Rojas ^[8]
• Ken Pogue as George Ryburn ^[9]
• Brendan Fletcher as Brian ^[9]
• Tom Wopat as Sam ^[6]
• Alexandra Purvis as Julie
• Matt Hill as Carl Freedman
• Gerard Plunkett as Sklar
• Jon Cuthbert as Vic
• Bill Croft as Gerard
• Jed Rees as Doug Lamoreaux
• Karen Elizabeth Austin as Norma Meyers
• P. Lynn Johnson as Jamie West
• David Lovgren as Tom Carlen

References

1. Roberts, Jerry (June 5, 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. p. 411. ISBN   978-0-8108-6378-1.
2. "Vicky Mulholland: Costume Designer" (PDF). independentartistgroup.com. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
3. "Contagious (1997)". B&S About Movies. May 23, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
4. Han, Qijun; Curtis, Daniel R. (December 24, 2021). Infectious Inequalities: Epidemics, Trust, and Social Vulnerabilities in Cinema. Routledge. ISBN   978-1-000-54080-2.
5. Pappas, G.; Seitaridis, S.; Akritidis, N.; Tsianos, E. (October 1, 2003). "Infectious Diseases in Cinema: Virus Hunters and Killer Microbes". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 37 (7): 939–942. doi:10.1086/377740. ISSN   1058-4838.
6. "Contagious (1997)". The Movie Scene. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
7. Daher-Nashif, Suhad (2021). "Doctors' Challenges During Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Medical Education Insights from Realistic Fiction Movies". Advances in Medical Education and Practice. 12: 265–272. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S297427 . ISSN   1179-7258. PMC   7987262 . PMID   33776502.
8. "Elizabeth Pena Awards". OneIndia. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
9. "Contagious". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved November 5, 2025.

External links

• Contagious at IMDb
• Contagious on YouTube