DISASTER - Doomed in the Seventies

AIRPORT (1970)

A demolition expert takes out life insurance and decides to blow up an airliner piloted by Captain Harris (Barry Nelson) over the Atlantic, the idea being his wife collects the payout. Captain Vernon Demerest – Dean Martin – tries to talk him out of it, but the bomb explodes at the back of the plane, wiping out the bomber and the lavatory. Inconvenient. The Chief Stewardess is injured in the blast - Jackie Bisset is also carrying Dean's baby. All the airports are snowed in, so it's up to plucky airport manager Burt Lancaster to get things moving, assisted by gritty chief mechanic Joe Patroni (George Kennedy) so the plane can land safely...

Although there have been disaster movies before, the golden age (Was there a Silver?) for the genre is unarguably the 1970s. The social concerns and tensions of the time proved to be a treasure trove for the ailing big studios. Much as the decade threw out some remarkable Conspiracy thrillers, the disaster flicks with their stellar casts and big budget effects and scale were supreme. Airport really started something... not least three sequels titled, with imagination foremost Airport 1975, Airport '77 and finally, The Concorde, Airport '79.

THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)

The SS Poseidon is an elderly liner on her last passenger voyage. On New Years Eve a Tsunami slams into the ship, turning her turtle. Trapped in the upturned hull the survivors must find a way to escape the capsized ship. Based on a real life rogue wave (Waves that rise, unpredicted and unforseen from the oceans) that nearly sank the Queen Mary, the movie revolves around the different passengers and their efforts to survive. Gene Hackman plays Rev. Frank Scott, who leads the passengers, Ernest Borgnine is a New York cop, Red Buttons is a Haberdasher, Roddy McDowall is a waiter, Shelley Winters is Belle – handily, a former champion swimmer and Leslie Nielsen is the Captain of the doomed liner.

ABOVE: Storyboard to Action

By now, one thing should be clear; the formula for the '70s Disaster movie involves a BIG cast – the stars of the day combined with ageing stars from the pantheon of Hollywood. Whatever a pantheon is...

EARTHQUAKE (1974)

With Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, Lorne Greene, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Victoria Principal, Walter Matthau, Barry Sullivan and George Kennedy, this one follows the formula to a 't'.

With a complex series of sub-plots revolving around the characters and their lives, L.A. Is in danger. After an initial tremor at a dam, another kills two seismologists and it's clear something big is on the horizon. When the Big One hits, much of the city is destroyed and groups are trapped in high-rise buildings, forced to climb down by fire hose as the stairwells have partially collapsed. 

There's some real depth to this one, mainly due to the great FX and a script from Mario Puzo (The Godfather). Due to the massive scale of the production, a record 141 stunt performers were called in, with Matte painting King Albert Whitlock painting over FORTY mattes to augment the visual FX. Some of his paintings are so good I challenge you to list more than half of them. One gimmick that had a sadly limited lifespan was Sensurround – massive subwoofers were installed in participating cinemas to blast the audiences' senses. Nosebleeds were not uncommon and in the test screening the famous Grauman's Chinese Theater suffered cracks to the plaster!.

Despite the amazing cast, two actors were unavailable for the film; Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. Why? - because they were already signed up for the biggest of them all...

THE TOWERING INFERNO (1974)

The film so big no single studio dared attempt it, The Towering Inferno was the first joint studio production. Warner Brothers and 20^th Century Fox came together to produce 1974's biggest grossing film and a triple Oscar winner. In addition to messrs McQueen and Newman came William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Richard Chamberlain, Roberts Vaughn and Wagner, plus Fred Astaire and a certain O.J. Simpson. 

 ABOVE: A smoking-hot campaign included bumper stickers and badges.

The Glass Tower in San Francisco is, at 138 stories, the tallest building in the World. Architect Doug Roberts (Newman) clashes with McQueen's Fire Chief O'Hallorhan over safety concerns after a small fire on opening night. Roger Simmons (Chamberlain) is the crooked engineer responsible for cutting corners on the project whilst owner James Duncan – William Holden refuses to order an evacuation. Trapped on the Promenade Room, small parties leave by express elevator, until the fire spreads and, ignoring warnings a last group try to go down... and are burned alive. A rooftop evacuation goes horribly wrong with a chopper crash and the baddie gets what's coming; Simmons forces his way onto a breeches buoy – one of those cages used to transfer sailors between ships – and is killed. 

There's a great scene with a scenic elevator, after which a desperate plan is hatched – to blow up the million-gallon water tanks on the top of the building...

If you only bother with one Seventies Disaster flick, this is the one; it's got it all. Heroics, love-interest, cowardly bad-guy, visual effects and some genuinely gripping action. Look out for Fred Astaire's conman, as great an actor as he was a dancer. One of the films Oscars went to the song 'We May Never Love Like This Again' sung by the same Maureen McGovern that featured in The Poseidon Adventure.

ROLLERCOASTER (1977)

Another Sensurround outing, this one revolves around a maniac (Timothy Bottoms) with no name, who places bombs on Theme Park Rollercoasters around America. George Segal is Harry Calder, a Ride Inspector who goes after the bomber. A young Helen Hunt plays his daughter. Richard Widmark is FBI Agent Hoyt, leading the manhunt, with Henry Fonda as Calder's Boss. Things go wrong with the attempt to pay off the bomber when it is revealed marked bills were used by the Feds and things come to a dramatic climax on the new Revolution coaster at Magic Coaster. Released at the same time as Star Wars, this one was doomed to relative obscurity, but its fun with some good effects and genuine suspense. Keep a lookout for Steve Guttenberg in his first role as the park messenger. 

 

AIRPLANE! (1980)

The hallmark of success is a good parody and we can't ignore the best of them all; Airplane! is

a visual riot of gags, slapstick and goofy oddball humour that fondly spoofs the Airport movies. With several genre stalwarts including Leslie Nielsen, George Kennedy and Maureen McGovern (A singing nun!) the whole thing is far too silly for review. If you are that one person that hasn't seen it – do your best to not be that one person. Be another person, one that has seen... anyway...

The film that gave us the funny Leslie Nielsen – go straight to the store of your choice and get the Police Squad! Series. Why are you still reading this?, dammit... an order, is an order.

ABOVE: The auto-pilot had fun filming (Left) and the famous 'Surely, you can't be serious?' - 'I am serious. And don't call me Shirley.'

You want more, eh?; check out these links for some Disaster Movie Gold; Hollywood's idea of 'miniature';

http://www.thestudiotour.com/movies.php?movie_id=2013

The incredible artwork of Albert Whitlock;

http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.co.uk/2010/08/earthquake-it-really-was-event.html

How's this for cool?; the studio attraction I'd most like to see resurrected;

http://www.thestudiotour.com/ush/attractions/airport77.php

HIT THE ROAD

Yes, the Road Movie – the cinematic mirror to our unfulfilled dreams of freedom. On these roads, repressed suburban types make unlikely pairings with devil-may-care anti-heroes who live for the vicarious thrills of life on the blacktop, that shimmering halfway ribbon that is neither here nor ever entirely there... so buckle up, light one up (not forgetting to throw the lighter out of the window) flip your shades on with a nonchalant air and fire up the V-8... lets roll...

VANISHING POINT
Barry Newman is Kowalski – ex Police Vietnam vet. Delivering a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 440 Magnum to 'frisco, Kowalski bets he can make it by Saturday – and its Friday in Denver...
What ensues is a true classic – the increasingly wired Kowalski (with chemical help) is against the clock and the law, with a motley array of allies such as the blind dj Super Soul (Cleavon Little in an iconic role), a naked girl and her boyfriend, a biker called Angel. Without giving the ending away, this is a benchmark road movie – a real trip. Look out for Dean Jagger's hoary desert-dweller, also Charlotte Rampling as the Hitchhiker.

THE BLUES BROTHERS
Well, you knew it was coming – the Saturday Night Live pairing of Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi led, inevitably to the big screen with the 1980 film. Jake and Elwood Blues (Belushi is Jake) grew up in an orphanage which needs $5,000 tax money to remain open. Tasked by Sister Mary Stigmata (Kathleen Freeman) to raise the money, they set out to re-unite their old band – the Blues Brothers. Along the way, they are chased by nazis, a country and western band and Carrie Fisher – playing Jake's jilted love, who comes after the pair with an arsenal of military-style weaponry.

With the help of a dazzling array of blues musicians (Not to mention appearances by Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles) including the legendary Cab Calloway, the concert the brothers stage is a smash – leaving only a race to the Cook County assessor's office (Manned by one Steven Speilberg in a cameo) to seal the deal and save the day.
Well, if there's a more entertaining movie – I've yet to see it; pure class all the way.

MAD MAX aka THE ROAD WARRIOR
Mel Gibson is Max Rockatansky, a cop with the Main Force Patrol (MFP) in a future-Australia where society has broken down and only the extreme use of force by the remaining 'Bronze' (The nickname for the Police from their shields) keeps a lid on things – in the towns at any rate. A biker gang, led by the brutal-but-bright Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne in a strong role) is spreading terror along the towns and outposts along the highway. After their friend, the Nightrider is killed in a chase involving the MFP, the gang wreaks bloody havoc. Max's colleague, bike cop Jim Goose (Steve Bisley) and Max's expectant wife is run down by the gang – and revenge comes in the form of a V-8 Interceptor – an instantly recognisable car (A Ford Falcon with a Concorde Body Kit and a prop 'blower' or Supercharger). In this matt black death machine, Max earns the nickname of the title – with some of the best stuntwork ever seen on the big screen.
Irritatingly, the film was released with an American overdub, but thankfully the original sound was restored – Mel Gibson's own voice proving a much better bet.

UP IN SMOKE
Comedy duo Cheech and Chong made their feature film debut with this old favourite in 1978. Tommy Chong is Anthony Stoner, who has to get a job or face Military School – Pedro De Pacas (Cheech Marin) picks Stoner up hitchiking, they smoke a joint and get busted. Luckily, the case falls apart when the Judge is found to have booze in his water and they head off to Pedro's cousin's place to score some grass. The place gets raided, cousin Strawberry (Tom Skerritt) is paranoid, convinced the cops are actually VietCong. Deported to Mexico, Stoner and De Pacas end up driving back to the States in a van made entirely of compressed Marijuana – pursued by Cop Stacey Keach (Irony!) and enter a Battle of the Bands...

Its all been copied, but this is a gem, an echo of the days when paranoia about drugs actually came from those smoking them – not the media/stuck-for-inspiration politicians.
Anybody got a roach?*

*Smoking is bad – drugs are bad. Especially ones the Governments don't tax.

SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT
I know – it's getting heavy, but who says Road movies have to be insightful journeys of the mind offering a metaphor-driven mirror to the psyche? (No, I'm not sure where that was going either) . Well, I like hokey – and no-one does schmaltz like Burt Reynolds. Bo Darville – nick-name the Bandit and friend Cledus (the Snowman) Snow (Jerry Reed – who sang the title song East Bound and Down) are hired by the Enus Brothers to haul a truckload of Coors beer from Texas to Georgia. If they can deliver in 28 hours, $80,000 awaits. Standing in their way is Sheriff Buford.T.Justice, none other than Jackie Gleason, with his idiot son Junior (Mike Henry in comedic support). In a Black Trans-Am Firebird, the Bandit runs 'interference', helping confuse and confound the law as trucker Snowman hauls the load in a big-rig.

Well – if you haven't seen this... where have you been?. Real-life love interest Sally Field played an unsurprisingly believable romantic role. The film was the brainchild of legendary stuntman/co-ordinator Hal Needham – about whom a whole blog could be written. His Directorial debut came despite initial studio misgivings when his friend Reynolds put his name to the project. See the film Hooper for another helping of both...

TWO LANE BLACKTOP
Monte Hellman's 1971 film stars James Taylor, Dennis Wilson (from the Beach Boys no less), Warren Oates and Laurie Bird.
Drifting from town to town in their 1955 Chevrolet, Taylor and Wilson take on all comers in street races. Driving along Route 66, they meet hitch-hiker Bird, before being challenged to a race to Washington DC by Oates, driving a 1970 Pontiac GTO.
It's a bit of a tough one to summarize, this – best to just watch the film unfold and, ultimately, burn itself out...
This, perhaps more than most of my other choices is a true Road movie – it's a cult classic to boot, so perhaps interpretation of it would be pretentious and gilding the lilly.

ELECTRA-GLIDE IN BLUE
Just to be different – here's one I haven't seen. Yes – new, on this blog only-the pre-reviewed movie!*. O.K., when researching the genre, I kept finding references to this film, so it seemed a shame to leave it out... (*I'm not being lazy, honestly – trust me, it's going to be the latest thing in audience-participation.)

PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
By now, loyal Blogites should be painfully aware that anything gets into these posts if it tickles me – and anything involving the late John Candy gets me smiling like a Stepford Wife at the January Sales.
You've seen this one every Christmas/Bank Holiday (Trans-US-lation; Holidays and Thanksgiving) for decades now, so I'll leave this one as a given.

APOCALYPSE NOW
(Go with it) I know; what Road?, well, with a liberal amount of artistic licence, you could see this as a Road Movie – the river, the journey along it, going to darker and darker places both physically and spiritually, until there is nothing left, but the memory of a man and the burn-out sent to extinguish him...

(Francis Ford Coppola pic provided 'cos I think its cool...)