The Poseidon Adventure (1972 film)

The Poseidon Adventure
film poster by Mort Künstler
Directed by	Ronald Neame
Produced by	Irwin Allen
Screenplay by	Stirling Silliphant Wendell Mayes
Based on	The Poseidon Adventure by Paul Gallico
Starring	Gene Hackman Ernest Borgnine Red Buttons Carol Lynley Roddy McDowall Stella Stevens Shelley Winters Jack Albertson Pamela Sue Martin Arthur O'Connell Eric Shea Leslie Nielsen
Music by	John Williams The Morning After: Joel Hirschhorn Al Kasha
Cinematography	Harold E. Stine
Editing by	Harold F. Kress
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	December 12, 1972 (1972-12-12)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$5 million
Box office	$93,300,000

The Poseidon Adventure is a 1972 American action-adventure disaster film, directed by Ronald Neame, produced by Irwin Allen, and based on the novel of the same name by Paul Gallico. The film won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects and an Academy Award for Best Original Song (for "The Morning After"). Shelley Winters won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role. The film also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Dramatic Motion Picture.

The plot centers on the fictional ocean liner SS Poseidon, an aged luxury liner from the golden age of travel, on its final voyage from New York City to Athens before being sent to the scrapyard. On New Year's Day, it is overturned by a tsunami caused by an underwater earthquake. Passengers and crew are trapped inside and a rebellious preacher attempts to lead a small group of survivors to safety.

Parts of the movie were filmed aboard the RMS Queen Mary.

A huge box office success, The Poseidon Adventure was the number two movie of 1972, behind The Godfather. By the end of 1974, The Poseidon Adventure ranked among the six most successful features in film history, along with Gone with the Wind, The Godfather, Love Story, Airport (1970), and The Sound of Music. It is in the vein of other all-star disaster films of the 1970s such as Airport and later ones like The Towering Inferno (1974), and Earthquake (1974).

A sequel, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), had an equally star-studded cast, but was a box-office and critical failure. The film was remade twice, first as a television special in 2005 with the same name, and a theatrical release with the name Poseidon in 2006.

Plot

The SS Poseidon, an ocean liner slated for retirement and dismantling, is making its way across the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea from New York City to Athens. Despite the protests of Captain Harrison (Leslie Nielsen), who fears for the ship's safety in troubled waters, the representative of the Poseidon's new owners, Mr. Linarcos (Fred Sadoff), insists that the ship make full speed towards its destination, preventing the ship from taking on additional water ballast.

Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo (Ernest Borgnine) and his former-prostitute wife Linda (Stella Stevens) — seasick, like many of the passengers — receive an invitation to the captain's table. Reverend Frank Scott (Gene Hackman), a minister questioning his faith and believing God helps those who help themselves, delivers a sermon at Mass. Susan Shelby (Pamela Sue Martin) and her younger brother Robin (Eric Shea) are traveling to meet their parents. Robin is interested in how the ship works and frequently visits the engine room. Retired Jewish hardware store owner Manny Rosen (Jack Albertson) and his wife Belle (Shelley Winters) are going to Israel to meet their two-year-old grandson for the first time. Haberdasher James Martin (Red Buttons) is a love-shy, health-conscious bachelor. The ship's singer, Nonnie Parry (Carol Lynley) rehearses for the New Year's celebration with her band which includes her brother Teddy on drums.

That evening, New Year's Eve, passengers gather in the dining room to celebrate. Captain Harrison is called to the bridge because of a report of an undersea earthquake. Harrison receives word from the lookout that there is a huge wave heading towards them coming from Crete at 60 km ph. He issues a mayday and commands a "hard left" turn, but it is too late. The wave hits the bridge, killing Harrison, Linarcos and the other ship's officers on the bridge. With its lack of ballast, the ship rolls over, killing or injuring many of the people on board.

In the dining room, survivors take stock of their predicament. Acres (Roddy McDowall), an injured waiter, is trapped at the galley door now high above. With information from Martin, Scott surmises that the escape route will be found 'upwards', at the outer hull, which is now above water. Robin tells Scott that the hull near the propeller shaft is only one inch (2.54 cm) thick. The Rosens, the Rogos, Nonnie, Susan, Robin, Acres and Martin agree to go with Scott, using a Christmas tree as a ladder. Scott unsuccessfully tries to convince more passengers to join them. After the small group climbs to the galley, there is a series of explosions. As seawater floods the ballroom the survivors rush to the Christmas tree, but the weight of everyone climbing causes it to collapse.

Acres and Scott find the galley, and the survivors pick their way through the kitchen to a staircase. Scott climbs the underside of the stairs and he and Martin use a firehose to pull the others up. Scott leads them to an access tunnel. Rogo has been instructed to look after everybody, but just as Martin and Nonnie climb into the hole, water begins filling the corridor. While climbing up a long ladder inside the funnel, with Acres above them, the ship rocks from another series of explosions. Acres falls into the churning water and is lost despite Rogo's attempt to save him.

Climbing out of the shaft, Scott and Rogo argue over the loss of Acres. Their group meets a larger band of survivors led by the ship's medic, heading towards the bow. Scott is certain they are heading for their doom, but Rogo wants to follow them and gives Scott fifteen minutes to go aft to find the engine room. Although he takes longer than allowed, Scott finds the way to the engine room.

The group discovers the engine room is on the other side of a flooded corridor, so someone must swim through with a line to help the others. Belle, a former competitive swimmer, claims she can manage it, but Scott refuses and dives in with the line. Halfway through, a panel collapses on Scott, trapping him. The survivors notice something is wrong and Belle dives in. She frees Scott and they make it to the other side. As Scott secures the lifeline, Belle has a heart attack. Before dying she tells Scott to give her "Chai" pendant (representing the Hebrew sign for life) to her husband, who in turn will give it to her grandson.

Rogo swims over to make sure Belle and Scott are all right, then leads the rest over. When Rosen swims to the other side and finds his wife's body he is unwilling to go on, but Scott gives him Belle's Chai pendant, reminding him that he has a reason to live.

Scott leads the survivors across a catwalk to the propeller shaft room's watertight door, but there is another series of explosions and Linda falls to her death. An infuriated and heartbroken Rogo blames her death on Scott. More explosions rupture a pipe that releases steam, blocking their escape. Scott, outraged about the three deaths and this final obstacle, rants at God for betraying the survivors. He leaps and grabs onto the burning-hot valve wheel to shut off the steam, then tells Rogo to lead the group before letting go of the wheel, sacrificing himself.

Rogo leads the remaining survivors — Rosen, Martin, Nonnie, Susan and Robin — through the watertight door and into the propeller shaft room. They hear a noise above the ship and bang on the ceiling to get the rescuers' attention. The rescuers cut through the hull and help the group from the ship. The survivors, the only six alive after the disaster, fly off to safety by helicopter.

Cast

• Gene Hackman as Reverend Scott
• Ernest Borgnine as Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo
• Red Buttons as James Martin
• Carol Lynley as Nonnie Parry
• Roddy McDowall as Acres
• Stella Stevens as Linda Rogo
• Shelley Winters as Belle Rosen
• Jack Albertson as Manny Rosen
• Pamela Sue Martin as Susan Shelby
• Arthur O'Connell as Chaplain John
• Eric Shea as Robin Shelby
• Leslie Nielsen as Captain Harrison
• Fred Sadoff as Mr. Linarcos
• Byron Webster as the Purser
• Jan Arvan as Dr. Caravello
• Sheila Allen (Billed as Sheila Mathews) as the ship's nurse
• John Crawford as Chief Engineer
• Erik L. Nelson as Mr. Tinkham
• Ernie Orsatti as Terry

Reception

The Poseidon Adventure has received largely positive reviews, with review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reporting 79% of 24 critics gave the film a positive review, with an above average score of 6.8/10.

Accolades

The film won two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Motion Picture Sound Editors Award.

Awards wins

• Academy Award for Best Original Song - (Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn) for the song "The Morning After"
• Academy Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects - (L.B. Abbott and A.D. Flowers)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture - Shelley Winters
• BAFTA Award for Best Actor - (Gene Hackman)
• Motion Picture Sound Editors Award for Best Sound Editing

Award nominations

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress - (Shelley Winters)
• Academy Award for Best Art Direction - (William J. Creber and Raphael Bretton)
• Academy Award for Best Cinematography - (Harold E. Stine)
• Academy Award for Costume Design - (Paul Zastupnevich)
• Academy Award for Film Editing - (Harold F. Kress)
• Academy Award for Original Music Score - (John Williams)
• Academy Award for Best Sound - (Theodore Soderberg and Herman Lewis)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score - Motion Picture - (John Williams)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song - Motion Picture - (Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn) for the song "The Morning After"
• BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role - (Shelley Winters)
• American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film - Harold F. Kress
• Satellite Awards - Best Extras DVD

See also

• The Poseidon Adventure (book)
• Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)
• The Poseidon Adventure (2005)
• Poseidon (2006)
• Poseidon (fictional ship)
• SS Andrea Doria
• Rogue Wave

External links

• The Poseidon Adventure at the Internet Movie Database
• The Poseidon Adventure at AllRovi
• The Poseidon Adventure at the TCM Movie Database
• The Poseidon Adventure at Rotten Tomatoes
• Irwin Allen News Network (The Irwin Allen News Network's Poseidon Adventure page)