The Poseidon Adventure.

Review #1442: The Poseidon Adventure.

Cast: 
Gene Hackman (Reverend Frank Scott), Ernest Borgnine (Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo), Red Buttons (James Martin), Carol Lynley (Nonnie Parry), Roddy McDowall (Acres), Stella Stevens (Linda Rogo), Shelley Winters (Belle Rosen), Jack Albertson (Manny Rosen), Pamela Sue Martin (Susan Shelby), Arthur O'Connell (Chaplain John), Eric Shea (Robin Shelby), Leslie Nielsen (Captain Harrison), and Fred Sadoff (Linarcos) Directed by Ronald Neame (#673 - Scrooge and #1204 - Meteor)

Review: 
"I suffer along with them. We have many story conferences. As a writer/director/producer, I have triple agonies. I'm bucking to be known as the most sympathetic producer in town."

Oh sure, there were plenty of films to pick from that had an independent streak with directors and stars in the 1970s, but let us not forget about the films that followed the lines of all-star casts that came from previous decades. In this case, the all-star cast format came in the disaster movie genre, one that is just as prevalent in generating spectacle as other genres. Airport (1970) was the start of a whole new era of disaster films, as it made over $100 million upon release that was followed by three sequels before the decade ended. Who better to further the genre than Irwin Allen, the "Master of Disaster"? After all, he had already mastered the hand of producing/directing in television and film with projects such as The Sea Around Us (1953, an Academy Award winning documentary), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961, which became a hit 1964-68 series), and Lost in Space (1965-68). He would produce four further disaster films (with all but one in the 1970s) with The Towering Inferno (1974, about a fire in a tower), The Swarm (1978, involving killer bees), and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979, which involved a return to the ship to recover treasures). The director who fell right into directing this film turned out to be a good one with Ronald Neame (after Gordon Douglas stepped off). He had been a cinematographer in British films starting in the 1930s before taking a hand at producing (Cineguild, with David Lean and Anthony Havelock-Allan) in the late 1940s that moved to directing with Take My Life (1947). Although he did not find the final result to be one to be proud of, he did describe it as his favorite film in that it gave him plenty of "F.U. money".

I suppose one reason for my curiosity with this film (based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Paul Gallico) was seeing how all of these stars would match up with each other, considering there are five Oscar-winning actors here (Hackman, Borgnine, Winters, Albertson, Buttons) alongside a mish-mash of supporting actors with melodramatic turns and plenty of spectacle. The result is one of the most ridiculously enjoyable films to ever sit through, one that is soapier than Grand Hotel (1932), with actors that did a majority of their own stunts that makes one think they are watching a P.E. competition. It is like going to a restaurant and asking everyone about who they were and what they liked to do and then going back to eat something you know is overstuffed but eating it anyway because you just need that experience (or getting a kick, I suppose), regrets be darned. Hackman leads this disaster squad with plenty of unorthodox spirit and candor to go with it that makes for an fair rapport with the equally blustery Borgnine who is charmingly rough around the edges. The others fall around the lines you could see coming from their opening moments, such as the quiet haberdasher Buttons that proves resourceful when paired with a nervous Lynley, or a gloomy but game Winters (who apparently gained 30 pounds for a role that requires her to do a swimming sequence). Others like Albertson, Stevens and Shea have smaller parts to play, but they do their best in making a good time with convenience (whether that means a quick remark or not), and this also includes short trips with McDowall (switching accents as a waiter, I kid you not) and a sternly useful Nielsen (an actor with standing even before hitting it bigger with comedy). One is here to see some fiery action, and they do generally pay off well, starting with the crash that starts all the fun (complete with a massive fall onto a light in an upside down dining room, a tremendous stunt to see). It is executed well with a fine look of despair and water to keep things sinking through for 117 minutes with plenty of moments that can make your head agape for better or worse (the question one generally associates with that would be "Wait, what?" in my view). It's funny, I had heard of the song "The Morning After" a number of times before seeing this film, but I didn't actually realize that it was performed in this film first (written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn), which was apparently written in one night. Oh sure, it's a terrible song (cheesy but annoyingly catchy), but it found a following and ended up winning an Academy Award for its songwriters. The additional Academy Award won by the film (which snagged eight nominations, mostly technical) was for its visual effects from L. B. Abbott and A. D. Flowers. A sequel followed a few years later, and there were two remakes (one for television, one theatrical), but none have really matched the sheer lasting power of this, one with plenty of silliness alongside enjoyment to go for an era like this.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.