In 1970 a movie titled Airport, dealing with a midair emergency, would be a box office winner. While disaster films were not new to Hollywood, the success of Airport would spur on an entire Seventies genre of big blockbuster disaster films. Soon there would be Airport 75 (a flight attendant (Karen Black) helps land a plane while simultaneously coping with hysteria and an annoying nun (Helen Reddy)), Airport 77, and finally The Concorde: Airport 79 (by this time the stellar casts consisted of actors like Charo, John Davidson, and Jimmy “JJ” Walker…. it was The Love Boat with a crisis!). Heck, the genre was even adopted by television. During the 1970’s the roster of television characters forced to help land planes included Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman), Hulk (The Incredible Hulk), and Kelley Garrett (Charlie’s Angels)! Characters in the 1970s were dealing with plane disasters almost as often as they were dealing with quicksand (kids of the 1970s will completely get this reference!).
Given my appreciation of this genre, it’s absurd that I hadn’t watched The Poseidon Adventure before now. Now that I have, I will say that this is probably the most well-done of all the disaster movies I’ve experienced. It’s delightful to see Irwin Allen (Lost In Space, Land of the Giants) produce something where he has the financing to make it great. This is a jewel in his producing career.
Let’s face it, these disaster films
all follow a pretty standard formula. A small group of people who don’t know
each other, and who all represent various flaws and strengths and differing
opinions, band together in the hopes of surviving a catastrophic situation. The
viewer knows how it will end. Some will survive, and some won’t. We are
saddened when someone heroic sacrifices themselves and elated when the ignoble
character(s) gets their comeuppance.
Following an earthquake, a resulting tidal wave capsizes the SS Poseidon. The ship’s purser and a complacent priest convince most passengers to stay in the capsized ballroom. Spoiler… they all die! Meanwhile, a small group is determined to make their way “up” to the ship’s engine room in the hopes of escaping. The film’s main characters include a rebellious priest (Gene Hackman) and a former cop (Ernest Borgnine) who often clash over who should be in charge. Also among the group are the cop’s new wife, a former prostitute (Stella Stevens), one of the ship’s waiters (Roddy McDowell), and an elderly Jewish couple (Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters) who were traveling to Israel to see their grandchild for the first time. Red Buttons plays a long-time bachelor ready to start experiencing what life can offer. He befriends a distraught young singer on the ship (Carol Lynley) who feels she has no reason to live following the death of her brother. Rounding out the cast are siblings Susan (Pamela Sue Martin) and younger brother Robin (Eric Shea). Robin, though an annoying character, is important to the group’s survival because he had previously spent many hours talking with the captain about the ship’s layout and how the ship operates. Susan on the other hand is in my opinion the only superfluous character. But I guess every disaster in the 1970’s needs a partially clad pretty young woman.
The sets were really solid in this film as were most of the special effects. The characters are well-fleshed, and the story is a compelling one that for the most part never crosses to camp. I was moved by the oft-parodied Shelley Winters swimming scene (a role for which she earned an Oscar nomination), and ultimately felt the entire 2 hours was well spent. The Poseidon Adventure was a great way to start off another year of broadening my appreciation for great filmmaking!
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