Rollercoaster (1977)

The plot is about a guile young terrorist who is able to blackmail a series of companies by placing home-made radio controlled bombs within the central attraction of amusement parks; roller... See full summary »

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Tommy Cook (story), Sanford Sheldon (screen story),

Stars:

George Segal, Richard Widmark, Timothy Bottoms

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Segal	...	Harry Calder
Richard Widmark	...	Agent Hoyt
Timothy Bottoms	...	Young Man
Henry Fonda	...	Simon Davenport
Harry Guardino	...	Keefer
Susan Strasberg	...	Fran
Helen Hunt	...	Tracy Calder
Dorothy Tristan	...	Helen
Harry Davis	...	Benny Neilson
Stephen Pearlman	...	Bert Lyons
G.F. Rowe	...	Wayne Moore (as Gerald Rowe)
Wayne Tippit	...	Police Captain Christie
Michael Bell	...	Demerest
Charlie Tuna	...	Rock Concert MC
Lonny Stevens	...	Federal Agent #1

Storyline

The plot is about a guile young terrorist who is able to blackmail a series of companies by placing home-made radio controlled bombs within the central attraction of amusement parks; roller coasters. The young man played by Timothy Bottoms gives a hard time to the cops after they give him UV marked money. He then wants revenge and places a bomb in a roller coaster at the most important amusement park event of the year.

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Plot Keywords:

amusement park | blackmail | terrorist | roller coaster | bomb squad | 

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Taglines:

You are in a race against time...and terror. You are pursuing a nameless, faceless man through America's greatest amusement parks...and, for the first time, you are experiencing the most sensational rides of our time, IN SENSURROUND

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Achterbahn

Filming Locations:

13006 Cumpston Street, Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Sensurround Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The three amusement Parks featured in the film included Ocean View Park in Norfolk, Virginia; Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.

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Goofs

The last portion of the movie at Magic Mountain is depicted as taking place on July 4th but in fact it's easy to tell the filming was done during the winter months. The trees in the park are all dormant.

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Quotes

Tracy Calder: Daddy, Confucius say "with faith, man can move mountain."
Harry Calder: I thought Jesus said that.
Tracy Calder: Well, maybe he did. But according to that fortune cookie...
Fran: Which is yours, by the way...
Tracy Calder: ...Confucius said it too.
Harry Calder: Don't believe everything you read.
Tracy Calder: I think daddy's pissed off.
Harry Calder: Where does she learn language like that?
[Fran shrugs]

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Connections

Referenced in Bad Movie Beatdown: Meteor (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Fill 'Er Up"
Written by Ron Mael
Performed by Sparks

User Reviews

A clever, underrated thriller

Rollercoaster was released at a time when disaster movies were very popular. I guess that's why it's been labeled by many critics as exactly that. But it's not. It's a very clever thriller with some great dialogue. I wasn't too surprised that Columbo creators Richard Levinson and William Link co-developed the story and wrote the screenplay. Especially the conversations between George Segal and Timothy Bottoms are just as good as anything you've ever seen on Columbo. This is a very underrated movie and during all the Sensurround hype the finer qualities of it got overlooked. So maybe next time you get a chance watch it again. Perhaps you'll be surprised.