1972 - THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE, corny but entertaining Irwin Allen foolishness

Another film in our Gene Hackman memorial film festival.  The Poseidon Adventure is an Irwin Allen production with all of the good and bad stuff that Allen was noted for.  The Poseidon Adventure marks the beginning of the 1970's disaster cycle.  Take an improbable situation, in this case a luxury liner tipping upside down after a tidal wave knocks it over and focus on a group of survivors trying to escape before it sinks.

Producer Irwin Allen assembled what would back then be called an all star cast.  Gene Hackman is a defrocked minister who leads a motley bunch of has been movie and TV actors out of the Poseidon.  Ernest Borgnine is an LA cop on vacation with his former hooker wife played by Stella Stevens.  Red Buttons is a Haberdasher who is a lonely single guy.  Shelly Winters and Jack Albertson are a Jewish couple on their way to Israel to see their grandson and because this is a 1970's film there is an annoying little kid played by Eric Shea who you wish somebody would drown.  Naturally since this is the 1970's we get a couple of women stuck running around in hot pants in lots of gratuitous derriere shots. 

 

The director Ronald Neame who in a past life had been associated with David Lean and had filmed a lot of quality English dramas and comedies signed on for this nonsense and was probably responsible for keeping the focus on the story.  Apparently true to form Gene Hackman was not a happy camper on this production but who can blame him as he had to get doused with water and avoid explosions and fires throughout the production.  Still he turns in an excellent performance.

 

This is an enjoyable film, it keeps you watching but it's pretty dumb when you stop to think about it.  The characters are basically a bunch of stereotypes but as the film goes on you do get kind of get a vested interest in what will happen to them.  The producer Irwin Allen was really hot after this film and reached his professional peak with The Towering Inferno but it was all downhill from there.  His brand of entertaining schlock had finally worn out it's welcome.

The Poseidon Adventures has two excellent screenwriters, Wendell Mayes and Stirling Silliphant but you would never know it watching the collection of cliches they put together.  Still the  film is fun to watch.

The running time is 117 minutes, it made a lot of money.