WolfmanOz at the Movies #19


1970s Disaster Movies

I’d imagine a fair percentage of Cats would be Baby Boomers and would probably recall the huge popularity in the 1970s with the disaster movies genre.

Invariably featuring a large cast of Hollywood stalwarts the plot device was mostly a natural disaster with the focus then on the numerous characters’ attempts to escape, cope or avert the disaster.

The genre was supposedly kicked-off with Airport released in 1970 but for me the genre came into prominence with the release in 1972 of The Poseidon Adventure.

As we all probably know this film dealt with an ageing luxury liner where on New Year’s Eve it is overturned by a tsunami with passengers and crew trapped inside, whilst a preacher (played by Gene Hackman) attempts to lead a small group of survivors to safety.

https://youtu.be/OOoVJwCzIBQ

The film epitomises the disaster film genre and made a huge impression on me as a young lad when I first saw it on release in early 1973 as it was the last film the family saw at the cinema before we emigrated from the UK to New Zealand . . . by ocean liner !

The genre reached its peak in 1974 with the release of The Towering Inferno and Earthquake.

The Towering Inferno featured a terrific cast in Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Fred Astaire and so on in which a huge fire engulfs the world’s tallest building during its opening night and the firefighters’ attempts at rescuing the occupants trapped in the top floors. Even today, the film stands as a terrific entertainment of the type that Hollywood no longer seems to make with any skill anymore. In addition, the practical effects are still outstanding and, for me, are still way preferable to the CGI effects we see so often today.

https://youtu.be/3oyph9VQHCw

Earthquake depicted a massive earthquake which levels Los Angeles. It also boasted the gimmick of Sensurround where massive sub-woofer speakers were installed in theatres to recreate the vibrating sensation of an earthquake, which proved to be highly effective and quite unsettling.

https://youtu.be/fZR4-0p3xa4

The genre continued with another airport disaster film in Airport’75, a historical event in The Hindenburg, a mad bomber in Rollercoaster, an avalanche at a ski resort in Avalanche and so on.

Ultimately, the genre tended to burn out by the late 70s with such unforgettably bad films like The Swarm (featuring killer bees) and sequels like Beyond The Poseidon Adventure that eventually saw the genre peter out into self-parody which culminated in the riotous Airplane! released in 1980 which spoofed the entire genre.

What favourites and memories do others have ?

Enjoy.


38 responses to “WolfmanOz at the Movies #19”

  1. Roger Avatar
    Roger

    What favourites and memories do others have ?

    Heaven’s Gate (1980).

    I think it still holds the record for biggest loss ever.

    Now that’s a disaster movie!

  2. Cliff Boof Avatar
    Cliff Boof

    I watched The Towering Inferno on my hotel’s TV channel during a July 4 1975 weekend in San Francisco. The glass elevators crawling up the wall in the movie looked familiar so I went to the door of my room and looked out and there they were. It was the Hyatt on Embarcadero.

  3. Bruce of Newcastle Avatar
    Bruce of Newcastle

    We also saw Poseidon Adventure at the flicks when it came out. On the big screen it was awesome and quite scary.

    Unfortunately these days disaster movies are politicized. Always it is global warming that will kill us all. There’s an opening for something that is realistic, like a big volcanic eruption, or a reprise of On The Beach. The asteroid movies were quite watchable for that reason, it’s difficult to politicize an asteroid. I’d love to see a movie made of Alas Babylon with modern effects, but it won’t happen since the book is set in knuckle-dragging Florida.

  4. duncanm Avatar
    duncanm

    Not really a movie – 2 part ‘series’ made for cable – but “Goliath Awaits” freaked me out as a kid.

    Cruise liner sunk in WW2, but hundreds of people survive in the overturned hull at the bottom of the sea, develop a highly regulated society and are discovered by divers decades later.

    All star cast including Christopher Lee.

    I picked a bad day to stop sniffing glue.

  5. jock Avatar
    jock

    They call me trinity.

  6. Cassie of Sydney Avatar
    Cassie of Sydney

    “The Towering Inferno and Earthquake.”

    Loved both movies. Funny how Earthquake is a dystopian disaster movie about an earthquake hitting Los Angeles, yet given the dystopian and decrepit state of LA and San Fran in 2022, it hasn’t taken an earthquake to make it so, rather it’s been progressive politics!

    13
  7. WolfmanOz Avatar
    WolfmanOz

    Nice one Cassie.

  8. jupes Avatar
    jupes

    The asteroid movies were quite watchable for that reason, it’s difficult to politicize an asteroid.

    Ha ha, no it’s not. They did it last year with this abomination. Don’t look up.

  9. pete of perth Avatar
    pete of perth

    These Final Hours was OK. 2014. Shot in Perth. Life on earth has a few hours left to kiss their collective arses goodbye.

  10. Lee Avatar

    The granddad of air disaster movies is The High and Mighty (1954), with John Wayne.
    A DC-4 on a commercial flight from Hawaii to California loses an engine and is losing fuel owing to damage to a wing tank in mid-pacific.

  11. GreyRanga Avatar
    GreyRanga

    Saw the beginning of the original Titanic movie when I was a kid, my mate was so scared when the screaming started we had to leave. When we were teenagers I used to slip in conversation with our group “What happened after the beginning of Titanic, how did it end”. Nobody ever knew but him and me. Always got a wry smile.

  12. dopey Avatar
    dopey

    ‘Albo in Charge’ will beat them all.

  13. rosie Avatar
    rosie

    I don’t know that I’ve seem many of these, perhaps Towering Inferno at a double feature with that disaster spoof on an aeroplane.
    And The Day After Tomorrow while travelling on an overnight ferry Stockholm to Helsinki.
    Bad decision.

  14. Rt41Rebel Avatar
    Rt41Rebel

    I saw The Poseidon Adventure in the theater at the age of 10. A few years later I saw Jaws, which is arguably another disaster movie, perhaps the GOAT. I haven’t been to the theater in decades as I’m not a fan of comic books. Fun fact: Leslie Nielsen played the role of the captain of the USS Poseidon, and also starred in Airplane!

  15. Anchor What Avatar
    Anchor What

    These days it’s Sharknado or Snakes On A Plane, or 2000 Mules. Oh, that last one is for real.

  16. eb Avatar
    eb

    Talking about flight disaster movies, what about “The Flight of the Phoenix”?

  17. johanna Avatar
    johanna

    I suppose that these fillums were the offspring of the 1950s/60s ones where disaster was merely threatened – by aliens from Space, nuclear weapons, chemical/germ warfare and so on. The plot was about preventing it from happening.

    In the 70s it happened, and the plot was about dealing with it.

    And …

  18. johanna Avatar
    johanna

    eb says:
    May 5, 2022 at 5:38 pm

    Talking about flight disaster movies, what about “The Flight of the Phoenix”?

    I prefer The Flight of the Conchords.

  19. Old School Conservative Avatar
    Old School Conservative

    Loved “On the Beach”, especially the Australian Grand Prix scene where many drivers kill themselves attempting crazy manoeuvres because there is nothing else to live for.

  20. Bruce in WA Avatar
    Bruce in WA

    Loved “On the Beach”,

    I did too, up to the point where everyone’s out in the bush getting pissed (so far so good) and singing Waltzing Matilda over and over and over and over … which made me grind my teeth in discomfort and embarrassment.

  21. Bruce in WA Avatar
    Bruce in WA

    Oh yes, I remember The Poseidon Adventure well, as a young bloke.

    And Carol Lynley (probably NSFW) and Stella Stevens being in the cast had nothing to do with it.

    Honestly.

    Well …

  22. WolfmanOz Avatar
    WolfmanOz

    eb says:
    May 5, 2022 at 5:38 pm
    Talking about flight disaster movies, what about “The Flight of the Phoenix”?

    I assume you mean the James Stewart version ?

    Good film.

  23. Perfidious Albino Avatar
    Perfidious Albino

    I didn’t mind The Swarm, classic 1970’s Michael Caine. I also vividly recall having nightmares after watching a flick on the teev about giant ants from South America getting into the US – might have been a B&W repeat.

  24. Maniac Avatar
    Maniac

    “Threads” stands as the only movie that gave me nightmares. Should be required viewing for all of our world leaders.

  25. Fair Shake Avatar
    Fair Shake

    Towering Inferno was big when it came out. I read that Steve McQueen wanted to be top dog on the screen up against Paul Newman. They both played their parts well. Loved it when the dummies fall from the building Thunderbird style. It has certainly dated but is an enjoyable watch.

    I’m not sue if Wolfman has covered this previously but animals gone rogue is a whole genre. Starting with a large gorilla who climbed up a building to see if he could find his house, then sharks, bears, pigs, crocs, spiders, ill tempered sea bass….

  26. WolfmanOz Avatar
    WolfmanOz

    That’s a good suggestion Fair Shake . . . I’ll add it my list of topics to do.

  27. Brislurker Avatar
    Brislurker

    Enjoyed Earthquake and Poseidon Adventure, but Airplane gave me so many laughs that are still strong in my memory. No sure that it would be filmed in todays climate.

  28. Lee Avatar

    Towering Inferno was big when it came out. I read that Steve McQueen wanted to be top dog on the screen up against Paul Newman.

    McQueen apparently had a huge ego, and was difficult to get along with on the sets of The Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape.
    He tried to upstage and did annoy Yul Brynner on the former, even though Brynner was the star.

  29. vlad redux Avatar
    vlad redux

    I would say Hitchcock invented the disaster movie with THE BIRDS (1963).

  30. vlad redux Avatar
    vlad redux

    Sometimes when those Hollywood stars clash over top billing, they put one name in the upper right corner and one name in the lower left corner – so reading from top down, X gets top billing, but from left to right, Y gets top billing.

    I have never seen INFERNO (I will watch it now on your recommendation), but I have heard that happened with the credits there.

  31. Winston Smith Avatar

    Bruce O’Newk:

    I’d love to see a movie made of Alas Babylon with modern effects, but it won’t happen since the book is set in knuckle-dragging Florida.

    Fabulous book. I might just have my copy here… somewhere.
    Preppers who buy multiple containers of ice cream and store it with the frozen steaks.
    Fill all the bathtubs with drinking water and then find out the leetle girl (She’s always been so fastidious) has poured it down the dunny because they have no mains water to flush with.
    Then realises their orange grove has artesian water after a couple of weeks…
    Good story, but I doubt Hollywood could do it. Not without turning it into two dykes living off grid, fighting off rapist men who demand they make sammitches, but they manage to kill them off with nicotine contaminated beer … etc etc.

  32. Winston Smith Avatar

    Jock:

    They call me trinity.

    Loved the travois.

  33. Winston Smith Avatar

    Carol Linley – I remember her in Blue Denim!
    Hasn’t she grown up!.
    Prolly NSFW.

  34. Winston Smith Avatar

    Fair Shake:

    I’m not sue if Wolfman has covered this previously but animals gone rogue is a whole genre. Starting with a large gorilla who climbed up a building to see if he could find his house, then sharks, bears, pigs, crocs, spiders, ill tempered sea bass….

    Notice how there are no rogue Armadillos?
    There’s a reason for that…

  35. WolfmanOz Avatar
    WolfmanOz

    vlad redux says:
    May 6, 2022 at 8:14 pm
    Sometimes when those Hollywood stars clash over top billing, they put one name in the upper right corner and one name in the lower left corner – so reading from top down, X gets top billing, but from left to right, Y gets top billing.

    I have never seen INFERNO (I will watch it now on your recommendation), but I have heard that happened with the credits there.

    I believe the film was the first to do this re the top billing credits between McQueen and Newman which was repeated in the end credits as well.

  36. Dot Avatar

    Guess I chose the wrong week to stop sniffing glue.

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