The disaster film was one of the most popular subgenres audiences flocked to during the 1970s. There were several big hits such as the Airport films, Earthquake, The Towering Inferno and Avalanche. Ronald Neame‘s The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was one of the best, it starred Gene Hackman as Reverend Scott a flamboyant preacher who is trying to leave the old school religion ways behind and revitialize people’s interests in the faith through his rebellious style. When the S.S. Poseidon runs into a deadly Tsunami, it capsizes leaving many of the crew and the passengers dead. Only a small group survive, including Rev. Scott, a police officer (Ernest Borgnine) his wife (Stella Stevens), an older Jewish couple (Jack Albertson and Shelley Winters) a haberdasher (Red Buttons), a singer (Carol Lynley) and two young siblings (Pamela Sue Martin and Eric Shea). What makes this film so great is the action and heightened melodrama as the survivors fight each other and run into dangerous obstacles while they make their way through the ship, which is upside down.
The Poseidon Adventure went on to become one of the most successful films in cinema history for its time. It won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Visual Effects, an Academy Award for Best Song (for “The Morning After”). Shelley Winters also won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Belle Rosen.
The poster features an exciting illustrated image of the passengers as the water furiously smashes through the ship into the main dining area.
There was a sequel made called Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (1979), although that film didn’t have the wow factor this one did. A TV version in 2005 and a theatrical remake in 2006 called Poseidon also tried to recapture the excitement of the original but neither had much of an impact critically or commercially.
