The Ghost of Christmas Past has just stopped by to remind me that in 1979 I was one of tens of millions of British television viewers who watched The Poseidon Adventure, Ronald Neame's 1972 blockbuster, which premiered on British television was the Sunday evening before Christmas Eve. Rewatching this one in 2024, sure, there are elements that are poorly dated, but I think there's a good case for making the early '70s a great time period for movies. The Day of the Jackal, Cabaret, O Lucky One! Deliverance, The ruling class, Silent operation; these films still succeed technically, philosophically and cinematically in my humble opinion. Although the rather heavy-handed Airport started the cycle of disaster films, The Poseidon Adventure nailed the formula; high concept, big stars, AOR song music break, mid-movie disaster with circus level stunts, fire and smoke leaks, random deaths. The BBC subsequently screened this film eight times over the next twelve years; several sequels, rehashes, and reboots without much luck suggest they got The Poseidon Adventure right the first time.
After some boring technical discussions between the ship's crew, led by Leslie Nielsen, we come straight to the heart of this seminal film; yes, it's a professional galoot Ernest Borgnine talking about how suppositories work. They knew how to attract an audience in 1972, and while CGI adds spectacle to modern films, seeing ex-cop Mike Rogo (Borgnine) have a long argument with his long-suffering wife (Stella Stevens) must have hit home. audience. place at the time. She is a former sex worker and Rogo arrested her several times to stop her sex work; This is a Raymond Carver short story, if ever Carver wanted to write a terrible Hollywood story. This is the first clear sign that the treatment of women is not particularly good here; Rago yells at his wife at every turn, although he also yells at children and even would-be rescuers, so at least he's coherent. The number of times Shelly Winters is described as “fat” also doesn't look great these days, but it's 1972.
Clint Eastwood turned this film down, but French Connection newcomer Gene Hackman stepped in with a line of Man at C&A turtlenecks and a barely-attached toupee that flies in dynamic action during the introduction of his character, delivering a sermon on faith to a few lucky fellow travelers. Hackman's mat appears to be trying to escape in several directions as the wind picks up and surrounds him, the first of many memorable sights to come as a huge wave overturns the boat and leaves Frank Scott, worldly but holy, with the responsibility of leading the survivors. all the way to the bottom of the ship, which suddenly becomes the most likely escape point for rescue.
Turning a Christmas tree into an escape route rather than a symbolic decoration, Scott's unique practical religious faith is a rich theme in this film; he can even make the greatest sacrifice possible when he, spoiler alert, falls to his death after turning a valve to stop the jets of steam which prove to be an obstacle to their exit. Neame's film manages to offer a religious parable, where faith and hope triumph, but sacrifices must be made, with Roddy McDowell's helpful purser and swimming champion Shelley Winters not being retained; Hackman and Winters' underwater ballet demonstrates a fairly astonishing level of commitment. “Poseidon, is that the cat that gives its name to the ship?” said an ignorant traveler; it will take more than knowledge of haberdashery for a rich man like Buttons-Rouges to pass through the eye of a needle; the fun of a movie like this is spotting the runners and the riders, and who will make it and who won't.
So break out the New Year's bagpipes, yes, this is a real Christmas movie, an action movie in which good people fight their way to freedom through a world literally turned upside down. It's a cool detail that all the furniture is nailed to the floor, as it then appears on the ceiling after the flip, and this adaptation of Paul Gallico's novel seems to have a clear influence on the wild sailing scenes from the Uncharted video game. The Poseidon Adventure still works today, although it's not as spectacular as the poster at the top suggests; what's so great about these films from the early 70s is that they are all original intellectual properties, and this lack of conscious imitation is what has allowed these films to remain fresh fifty years later.
