# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/21 "2018-09-17T06:41:46Z")
A number of these “disaster” movies had all-star casts. They don’t take away Oscars and other awards retroactively. They’re just a money grab. Maybe they should reconsider pulling back honors - (new thread idea). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/22 "2018-09-17T06:58:58Z")
It was the 1970s, and disaster movies were the thing. After 1970’s _Airport_, we got _The Poseidon Adventure_, _The Towering Inferno_, _Airport 1975_, _Earthquake_, _Airport: 77_, and so on. Each tended to feature a few A actors, a few more B actors, and a number of washed-up and character actors, all recognizable, but mostly as, “I’ve seen that man/woman before, but where?” They were hokey stories, and you knew how everything would turn out just fine for most A and B stars (and a few selected character actors, in all cases), but they were fun. And they were excellently parodied in _The Big Bus_, from 1976. Heck, a little-known film called _Drive-In_ (1976) was all about the goings-on among the audience at a drive-in movie theater in 1976–the film that was playing? _Disaster '76_, which featured aircraft in trouble, ships sinking, burning buildings, and so on. Hollywood seems to go through phases. In the 1970s, it was disaster movies. Nowadays, it seems to be superhero movie after superhero movie after superhero movie. _The Poseidon Adventure_ and its disaster-genre kin were no different–they were what put butts in seats in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/23 "2018-09-17T07:40:17Z")
Poseidon Adventure was released here in Australia around 1973. And as was typical in those halcyon days, movies lasted nearly a YEAR at the cinemas before being pushed out for the next blockbuster. I saw PA probably 5 times in that year, and loved it every single time. So don’t you go dissing my PA. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/24 "2018-09-17T12:31:36Z")
Pamela Sue Martin in red shorts throughout, what’s not to like? Sure, it was hokey but it was good fun, like all the disaster films of that era. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/25 "2018-09-17T15:52:22Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > 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. Don’t forget Roddy McDowall, who while he never won an Oscar, did serve for many years on the board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. So, there’s that. All the high-powered talent served to take a screenplay that in lesser hands would have made for a forgettable piece of schlock, actually make us care somewhat about these characters, deliver the dialogue with gusto and a semblance of credibility, and turned this movie into an _unforgettable_ piece of schlock. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/26 "2018-09-17T16:42:23Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Poseidon Adventure was released here in Australia around 1973. And as was typical in those halcyon days, movies lasted nearly a YEAR at the cinemas before being pushed out for the next blockbuster. > > I saw PA probably 5 times in that year, and loved it every single time. > > So don’t you go dissing my PA. 😃 Right on,\*\*kam \*\* I was six when PA came out and my parents took me to see it.It was the first “adult” movie I saw in a theater and it’s such a cherished memory for me. I don’t know if taking a child that young to such a movie was frowned upon by others but my parents knew what I was able to handle and I loved every minute of it. The only slightly traumatic part was when they find the burned guy in the engine room. That was the most graphic thing I had ever seen up to that time and it did give me pause (I still kind of brace myself when that scene comes on) but it didn’t give me nightmares or anything. It was also my first exposure to the many great actors whose better days were behind them by that time. Even though I’ve since seen their earlier, great works, this is the film I still associate them with. "Did you see Ernest Borgnine’s award winning performance in \* Marty\*? " “Never mind that; did you see him as the cop with the hooker wife in _The Poseidon Adventure_!” I loved Carol and Pamela Sue’s hot pants and boots. Also, you couldn’t stop my brother and me from repeating the “shove it, shove it, shove it!” line for weeks afterword. And of course, the ominous shot of the giant wave coming toward the ship and Leslie Nielsen uttering, with all his awesomeness, “oh MY god”. So yeah, show some respeck 😉 ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/27 "2018-09-17T17:07:05Z")
I can’t begin to tell you how BIG this movie was when it came out. My father was theater manager and show after show was sold out. They put extra benches in the very back of the theater to sell more seats (I don’t know how they did that with fire codes and all, back in the 70’s.) . It was one of the, if not THE first disaster movies and I loved every character. (not that awful Morning After song!) Yes, it’s a silly thing to look at today, but I like to watch it if only for the nostalgia factor. Was there a remake? If so, I don’t remember hearing anything about it, but the original was THE movie to see in the year it came out. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/28 "2018-09-17T17:13:04Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Was there a remake? [Yes, in 2005.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poseidon_Adventure_(2005_film)) [A new-from-scratch version in 2006.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon_(film)) [And a sequel to the original in 1979.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Poseidon_Adventure) But none featured Shelley Winters swimming underwater. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/29 "2018-09-17T17:33:29Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Pamela Sue Martin in red shorts throughout, what’s not to like? I have fond memories of Carol Lynley in hot pants. Some things about 1974 were okay in my book. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/30 "2018-09-17T20:21:48Z")
> [@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. > > 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! I’ve seen Leslie Nielsen in lots of dramas. At one time he was considered a serious actor. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/31 "2018-09-17T20:36:44Z")
> [@Sloe\_Moe](#): > > 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. I’m not even sure you could torch a hole in the hull. The internal air pressure might just blow the hot metal right back.:eek: But yea, as soon as you cut that hole, the ship is going down fast. Too fast for a sequel. > [@suranyi](#): > > I’ve seen Leslie Nielsen in lots of dramas. At one time he was considered a serious actor. Surely you’ve seen some of his excellent dramatic acting, such as _Forbidden Planet_? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/32 "2018-09-17T20:40:38Z")
^ Barbra Streisand (playing a hooker) kills him in, “Nuts.” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/33 "2018-09-17T21:04:37Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’m not even sure you could torch a hole in the hull. The internal air pressure might just blow the hot metal right back.\* IIRC, rescue workers in 1941 had to stop torching holes in the _Oklahoma_’s hull, even though they knew there were survivors inside. They were afraid of causing an explosion or something. ---
**Author:** ![Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reindeer_flotilla/32/3024_2.png) [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/34 "2018-09-17T21:10:46Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Surely you’ve seen some of his excellent dramatic acting, such as _Forbidden Planet_? I have seen some of his excellent dramatic acting. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/35 "2018-09-17T21:33:28Z")
> [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](#): > > I have seen some of his excellent dramatic acting. It’s a different kind of acting, altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reindeer_flotilla/32/3024_2.png) [@Reindeer\_Flotilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reindeer_Flotilla)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/36 "2018-09-17T21:37:05Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > It’s a different kind of acting, altogether. Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/37 "2018-09-17T22:50:13Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > 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. To be fair, while “The Morning After” was quite popular that year (I remember listening to it at the pool on top hits radio), the song from _Blazing Saddles_ was [not so popular.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGcfHvUTfac) ☹ Full disclosure: I love Maureen McGovern. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/38 "2018-09-17T22:59:48Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I’m not even sure you could torch a hole in the hull. The internal air pressure might just blow the hot metal right back.:eek: > > But yea, as soon as you cut that hole, the ship is going down fast. Too fast for a sequel. > > Surely you’ve seen some of his excellent dramatic acting, such as _Forbidden Planet_? I prefer his turn as Col. Buzz Brighton, which I thought showed both his ability to be serious, and his eventually to be found ability to be funny. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/39 "2018-09-17T23:02:37Z")
Meh. I’ve seen dumber movies. As has been noted, disaster movies were in at the time. They’ve come back into fashion a time or two since, as well. TPA is in no danger of being listed as a cultural treasure but it was meant to be a fun movie and it is still fun. I’d rather watch it than either Easy Rider or 2001: A Space Odyssey. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451/40 "2018-09-18T00:12:02Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I’ve seen Leslie Nielsen in lots of dramas. At one time he was considered a serious actor. Exactly. Nielsen was pretty much exclusively a serious actor until he was cast in _Airplane!_ (1980), which effectively gave him a second career as a comedic actor. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-poseidon-adventure-1972/821451.md?page=3)