It’s not Red Buttons’ bow-tie that spells doom for the SS Poseidon. Rather it’s a 150-foot tsunami that overturns the ship, just minutes after “Auld Lang Syne,” no less. Roy and I join Gene Hackman in putting on a brave face against an indifferent universe, when we end the year with a sinking feeling in our discussion of “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972), to mark the film’s 50th anniversary.
The first and perhaps the best of the 1970s big-budget disaster flicks unleashed by Irwin Allen, “The Poseidon Adventure” struck the box office like a rogue wave. It was a smash on its release and hung on to become the highest-grossing film of 1973. It’s nice to see composer John Williams enjoy a little success for a change.
I don’t know, maybe it was all that Oscar gold that capsized the ship. The all-star cast includes no less than five Academy Award winners, including Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Shelley Winters, Buttons, and Jack Albertson. Lending additional ballast are Stella Stevens, Roddy McDowall, Carol Lynley, Pamela Sue Martin, Arthur O’Connell, and Leslie Nielsen.
And behind the camera: none other than Ronald Neame, also no stranger to Oscar, whose previous film, “Scrooge,” we just discussed last week!
I hope you’ll leave a little room for upside-down cake when you join us for our titanic conversation about “The Poseidon Adventure,” on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Put on your finest ruffles and hang around in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:30 EST!
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