OVP: The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Film: The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Stars: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowell, Shelley Winters, Jack Albertson, Arthur O'Connell, Leslie Nielsen
Director: Irwin Allen and Ronald Neame
Oscar History: A stunning 8 nominations and 2 wins, one of them a special award for Visual Effects (Best Supporting Actress-Shelley Winters, Best Original Song-"The Morning After"*, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score-John Williams, Best Sound, Best Costume, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and a special Oscar for Visual Effects)
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

I have to admit, right off the bat, that I was skeptical going into this movie.  If you search back far enough in this blog, you'll find that I loathe the movie Airport, and that has thus far been my only major disaster film of the 1970's, though the OVP offers up a bevy of additional disaster films that I will be partaking in.  Aside from Maureen Stapleton's underrated performance, there was little to lend Airport to me as a viewer, and while I enjoy a blockbuster as much as the next person, and I love a star-filled cast more than the next person, I was not particularly pleased when The Poseidon Adventure popped out of my Netflix sleeve.

Imagine my surprise, then, that I was absolutely riveted throughout the film .  The film opens with a stock cast of characters, and for all intents and purposes, they really could just be Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Gene Hackman, etc., for it's nearly impossible to remember any actors' name, outside of Shelley Winters' Mrs. Rosen (more on that below).  But this works in blockbusters-you need charisma to sell a large-scale action adventure (casting directors who keep hiring Victoria's Secret models and Shia LaBeouf, take note), and you don't get more charismatic than this cast.  Yes, it would be nice to see an acting roster that includes five Oscar winners do a little more heavy-lifting, but everyone needs a relaxing day in the water and a giant paycheck to go with it.

(SPOILER ALERT THROUGHOUT) The capsizing of the ship is almost certainly the best sequence in the movie, and is actually a nail-biter.  This is the 70's, and so you know you're going to be losing some big name actors right away as opposed to saving them to the bitter end (hardly knew you, Leslie Nielsen and Arthur O'Connell!), so there's genuine suspense to see if everyone's going to make it.  The hanging from the ceiling, and the film's continuing body count, make the film a bit darker than it would be today, and it's unnerving to know this is likely how things would play out-most people waiting for help, most people not making it out alive-it is a capsized ocean liner in the middle of the Atlantic we're talking about here.

One by one, the characters all start to perish, and we get to see some truly spellbinding stunts, with all of the actors roaming through crevices and tunnels around the ship.  Not to harp on modern cinema too much, but the reality is that we know when it's really just an actor or stunt double in front of a green-screen these days.  I know it isn't as cost effective, but occasionally it'd be nice to see special effects the Irwin Allen way-with giant sets, shooting fire and water, and genuine claustrophobia on-screen.  Today, we'd likely be taken out of the ship on a regular basis to see the rescue mission.  By keeping us trapped in the ship the entire film, instead of pulling us out, we get the same sort of desperate relief when the cast sees light pouring out of the ship for the first time.

There's a lot of Oscar nominations to discuss here, so I'll say first that the editing, score, and art direction are all top notch, but in the cases of the Editing and Art Direction (as well as almost every other category), they're competing against The Godfather and Cabaret, so it's tough to see it having a shot at my vote.  Ditto the Costumes and Cinematography, which are just fine, but nothing to write home about, and the Sound is loud, but doesn't strike a strong balance with the surroundings often enough, relying too heavily on the iconic score (written by my favorite John Williams, and probably the best shot it has at an Oscar win from my ballot, since Nino Rota's score is ineligible, though if I'm being honest, I probably prefer John Addison's work in Sleuth).  And though it wasn't a competitive category at the time, it's hard to see any film beating it for Visual Effects.

But you want to hear about the two highest profile of the nominations of the film, Best Original Song, it's only competitive win, and Shelley Winters final Oscar nomination in the category that adored her, Best Supporting Actress.  Maureen McGovern's lilting ballad certainly works in the film, though it's odd that after being performed by Carol Lynley, it isn't really referred back to throughout the score.  While most people of my generation are probably best familiar with the song from South Park, it works in the context of the film, and in a very weak year (in which I haven't seen a single one of the other nominees, but judging on reputation it's going to be an unfortunate weekend), it's got a head start as the "right" choice.

Shelley Winters is, I will say, the best of the cast.  Borgnine and Hackman, while both strong leading men, seem to have too much ego with not enough backstory to show why, and Red Buttons seems wildly out-of-place and way too old to be dating Carol Lynley.  I would have liked to have seen Roddy McDowell more, but mostly because I find McDowell wildly underused as an actor and I revel every time I see his handsome face.  Winters alternates from some lovely work-a very realistic, if overbearing, scene in the dining car highlights that sort of abrasive sweetness that is Winters' wheelhouse (see also A Place in the Sun), but she also flails badly when she decides that she needs to start ACTING, particularly when she has resigned herself to death 2-3 times in the movie.  This is oddly my first Best Supporting Actress performance of 1972, so we shall see where this takes us, but I've got to admit that I like Susan Tyrell's and Eileen Heckart's odds a bit more after seeing this movie.

What about you?  Do you have a favorite 1970's disaster film (after this I can't wait to investigate The Towering Inferno, Earthquake, and The Swarm!)?  Who was best in show?  How many of The Poseidon Adventure's nominations should have resulted in wins?  And was Shelley Winters robbed by Eileen Heckart in her quest for a third Oscar?