Set against the political turmoil of the late 60's, R.P.M. (Revolutions Per Minute) stars Anthony Quinn as "Paco" Perez, a free-thinking liberal college professor whom the campus leftists regard as an authority figure they can understand. Perez is also free-thinking enough to have a grad student as a mistress, Rhoda (Ann-Margret). When the University President is forced out of office by a radical group, Perez is given the job, but his credibility with the activists comes into question when he's unable to meet their demands as quickly as they would like. Rossiter (Gary Lockwood) and Dempsey (Paul Winfield), two of the activist leaders, threaten to destroy the university's new computer network (remember, this was back in the day before you could buy a computer for a thousand bucks), and Perez calls in the cops, which only fans the flames of a tense situation. R.P.M. was written by Erich Segal, before he was to find success with another story set (in part) on a college campus, Love Story.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide