Rodent muscles were exposed to several organic calcium antagonists, and mechanical responses to direct electrical stimulation were recorded. Verapamil and D600, at 25 microM, depressed twitch and tetanus tension and caused fading of the tetanus plateau. These effects increased with frequency of stimulation, and were not reversed by doubled extracellular calcium. Depression of tension progressed to complete paralysis after 60-90 min exposure to verapamil. Bepridil and diltiazem both caused depression of tension and tetanus fade. Nifedipine caused marked, and nitrendipine caused slight, potentiation of twitch tension but did not alter tetanic tension. The magnitude of the observed effects on tension (either depression or potentiation) correlated with neither the relative calcium antagonist potencies of the drugs in other tissues nor with the ability of the drugs to cross the cell membrane. The continued decline in tension observed on prolonged exposure indicates that chronic exposure to low levels in vivo might lead to significant muscle weakness.