# The Poseidon Adventure (1972) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 16, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451 "2018-09-16T18:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/1 "2018-09-16T18:31:30Z")
Last night some channel was playing [The Poseidon Adventure (1972)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069113/). It’s a catastrophe movie but I can’t tell you how hard we were laughing. The first time I ever saw this flick was in about 1974 when I was 14. But that was before Airplane, The Naked Gun, Super Fuzz, etc, etc… The acting is so freaking bad in it. Even one of my personal favorites Gene Hackman is pretty hokey in it. The entire time you’re waiting for Leslie Nielsen to start cracking smart ass jokes. Or Jack Albertson to call out for Charlie or [Chico](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3bWPeG8cR8). And for Kripes sake, it has Red Buttons! :smack: It’s a real hoot. Between the really bad acting and knowing what the actors did in other flicks. It’s impossible to take this movie seriously. Watch it and enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/2 "2018-09-16T18:43:55Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > The entire time you’re waiting for Leslie Nielsen to start cracking smart ass jokes. Missed the edit window. And it’s frustrating as hell that he doesn’t. Lord knows he had plenty of openings! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/3 "2018-09-16T19:40:45Z")
I remember hearing that Ebert proposed a sequel in which, as soon as the passengers reach the top of the (inverted) ship, it rolls over again and they have to go back through everything again. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/4 "2018-09-16T21:05:53Z")
I was so offended when this movie’s song, {b]The Morning After\*\* won an Oscar, beating **Blazing Saddles** ’ theme song!! Yeah, it was a turkey. I saw it in the theater upon its release too. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/5 "2018-09-16T21:44:03Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > And for Kripes sake, it has Red Buttons! :smack: Make that Academy Award winner Red Buttons. And two-time Academy Award winner Shelly Winters. And Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine. And once already and once future Academy Award winner Gene Hackman. And Academy Award winner Jack Albertson. For a crappy movie, it had a surprisingly good pedigree. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/6 "2018-09-16T22:03:22Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Last night some channel was playing [The Poseidon Adventure (1972)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069113/). > > It’s a catastrophe movie but I can’t tell you how hard we were laughing. … > > It’s a real hoot. Between the really bad acting and knowing what the actors did in other flicks. It’s impossible to take this movie seriously. Watch it and enjoy! Don’t use up all your laughter just yet. Wait until they screen the [sequel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Poseidon_Adventure). It makes the original seem like Citizen Kane by comparison. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/7 "2018-09-16T22:32:45Z")
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the film, I was just a kid then, but there’s a couple of scenes that are stuck in my head: The part when they’re hanging from the tables bolted to the floor, now roof, in the ballroom. The kid going to the bathroom and all the urinals are upside down and spilling water on the floor/roof. Somebody, I wanna say Gene Hackman, diving or falling into water that’s on fire. I do remember being on the edge of my seat through the entire movie. I should probably re-watch it sometime. Unless, of course, this is one of those things I’m better off keeping my rosy, nostalgia painted, memories. “The Morning After” is just terrible. How the hell did it win an Oscar? It’s like a worse version of “Tomorrow” from Annie. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/8 "2018-09-16T22:56:52Z")
It came out when I was a teenager, and I remember liking it a lot. Sometimes these things don’t hold up so well when I watch them years later though. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/9 "2018-09-16T23:06:11Z")
Nice OP-subject-signature combo. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/10 "2018-09-16T23:18:51Z")
I remember watching it as a kid and loving it even though it came out quite a while before I was born. There is something about Ernest Borgnine, that guy always cheers me up when I see him. Did you ever hear his secret for longevity? [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3I\_PeLNzxNQ](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3I_PeLNzxNQ) ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/11 "2018-09-16T23:19:25Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > And once already and once future Academy Award winner Gene Hackman. > > … > > For a crappy movie, it had a surprisingly good pedigree. Hackman later admitted that after winning the Oscar for **French Connection** he chose a number of roles based on the amount of money they were throwing at him. **The Poseidon Adventure** was one of these paycheck performances. I strongly suspect that’s how producer Irwin Allen got the other Oscar-winners to sign on. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/12 "2018-09-16T23:48:42Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Hackman later admitted that after winning the Oscar for **French Connection** he chose a number of roles based on the amount of money they were throwing at him. **The Poseidon Adventure** was one of these paycheck performances. I strongly suspect that’s how producer Irwin Allen got the other Oscar-winners to sign on. The other Oscar winners were mostly all has-beens by then. ---
**Author:** ![Sloe\_Moe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sloe\_Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sloe_Moe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2018, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/13 "2018-09-16T23:50:00Z")
My wonder was how long it would take the ship to sink once someone torched a hole at the bottom of the hull, and why the air pressure was still even. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/14 "2018-09-17T01:46:30Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It came out when I was a teenager, and I remember liking it a lot. Sometimes these things don’t hold up so well when I watch them years later though. Like a teenage steward rape a teenage passenger so he wouldn’t a virgin, then after he dies she’s eager to meet his parents and hoping she’s pregnant? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/15 "2018-09-17T02:01:00Z")
I can’t think of this film without thinking of The [Poopside-down](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3e/8f/90/3e8f90bc16c3a012acfbee9f6eeab4af.jpg) [Adventure](http://41.media.tumblr.com/ec33543064e8116777d4f954d403b3f8/tumblr_mmqry4g6py1qj0yh3o1_1280.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/16 "2018-09-17T03:44:38Z")
I liked it. ☹ Sure, it was ultra cheesy, but still an “adventure”. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/17 "2018-09-17T03:57:34Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > Like a teenage steward rape a teenage passenger so he wouldn’t a virgin, then after he dies she’s eager to meet his parents and hoping she’s pregnant? It’s been decades since I’ve seen the film, but I’m pretty sure that scene was not in there. Director’s cut, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/18 "2018-09-17T05:08:28Z")
If you think _The Poseidon Adventure_ is a hoot, check out [When Time Ran Out…](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081747/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_40). _Tourists are surprised by a volcanic eruption in a lonesome hotel in the Caribic[sic]. The hotel owner ignores all warnings and advises his guests to wait for a rescue team. Only a small group follows expert Hank to reach higher regions. They start an adventurous journey across the island._ You get to watch Burgess Meredith tightrope walk across a lava flow. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/19 "2018-09-17T05:37:55Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > It’s been decades since I’ve seen the film, but I’m pretty sure that scene was not in there. Director’s cut, maybe? It apparently happens in the novel. I don’t believe it appears in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Nylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mr.Nylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Nylock)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/20 "2018-09-17T05:55:01Z")
Characters that had a history of prostitution don’t usually have a leading part in these types of films - that was my big takeaway from this film when I watched it for the first time a couple years ago. Then again there was Total Recall and Idiocracy, maybe it’s more common than I thought. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451.md?page=2)