The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake (1990) (TV)

Director:

Larry Elikann

Writers (WGA):

William Bast (story) &
Paul Huson (story) ...

Release Date:

11 November 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The BIG one....is coming!

Plot:

After a series of small tremors in Los Angeles, Dr. Clare Winslow, a local seismologist, pinpoints the...

Plot Keywords:

Earthquake | Gas | Los Angeles California | Death | Electrocution

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Joanna Kerns	...	Dr. Clare Winslow
Dan Lauria	...	Steve Winslow
Bonnie Bartlett	...	Anita Parker
Lindsay Frost	...	Laurie Parker
Alan Autry	...	Matt
Joe Spano	...	Chad Spaulding
Holly Fields	...	Heather Winslow
Brock Peters	...	David Motubu
Stephen Elliott	...	Owen
Robert Ginty	...	Warren Cates
Clarence Gilyard Jr.	...	Roy Bryant
Silvana Gallardo	...	Sonia
Michael T. Weiss	...	Larry, the Mayor's City Official Aide
Charles Siebert	...	Mayor Frank Baldwin
Richard Herd	...	Ray Goodrich

Also Known As:

The Great Los Angeles Earthquake

Runtime:

USA:106 min (video version) | USA:180 min (original version) | 60 min (3 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Von Zerneck Sertner Films

Trivia:

Clare Winslow's house is the same one used for "I Dream of Jeannie" (1965).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Improvement of 1974's "Earthquake," but...

Once more, Los Angeles is the target of a large M8+ earthquake; however, scientifically, this one was much more believable than the megaquake on the San Andreas fault in "Earthquake" (1974). However, the plot on the original 4-hour TV movie was way too complicated, and in parts, irrelevant. When a three-hour version was released later, it was clear that the cut parts--centered around the visit and assassination attempt on a foreign head of state, even after the city is in ruins afterwards--had contributed nothing to the movie as a whole. Though still weak, the plot did show the problems with earthquake prediction and dealing with the real world. The attempt to hush-up the threat of an earthquake to the Los Angeles area was real after the Long Beach earthquake of 1933 and for the same reason--money. The reaction to a prediction was quite believable as well--much panic, which then adversely affects those that keep their heads. Overall, a good movie--not great, but certainly interesting.