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

After a series of small tremors in Los Angeles, Dr. Clare Winslow, a local seismologist, pinpoints the exact location and time of when the long awaited earthquake--"The Big One"--will ... See full summary »

Director:

Larry Elikann

Writers:

William Bast (story), Paul Huson (story),

Stars:

Joanna Kerns, Dan Lauria, Bonnie Bartlett

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

After a series of small tremors in Los Angeles, Dr. Clare Winslow, a local seismologist, pinpoints the exact location and time of when the long awaited earthquake--"The Big One"--will strike southern California. With this information, she must battle city officials to release this information to the general public. Also, she hopes that her family is out of harms way when the quake strikes. Subplots show how other families and people cope with the the tremors that strike before the impending "Big One."

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Plot Keywords:

earthquake | gas | los angeles california | death | electrocution | 

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Taglines:

This is not a true story... yet.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Great Los Angeles Earthquake

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Von Zerneck Sertner Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 106 min (video) 180 min (original) 60 min (3 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Following the final scene, a list of US cities threatened by earthquakes is shown. "According to the US Geological Survey, at least 39 states other than California are expected to experience major earthquakes in the future" Some of the cities that will be hardest hit include: Anchorage 9.2 Boston 6.5 Charleston 8.0 Memphis 8.0 New York City 6.5 Portland 9.0 Reno 7.0 St Louis 8.0 Salt Lake City 7.0 Seattle 9.0 "No city is currently as prepared as the city of Los Angeles."

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Quotes

Kevin Conrad: Choking back sobs The injuries are in the hundreds of thousands! The deaths... The deaths... If you've seen what I did today. This must be the worse national disaster since the Civil War. I'm sorry!

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Connections

Edited into Category 7: The End of the World (2005)

User Reviews

A Seismologist's Viewpoint

Unfortunately, there was never any such thing, scientifically speaking, as a "good" earthquake movie. Though located smack in the middle of Earthquake Country, Hollywood has reflected the unfortunate ignorance of millions of residents. Most of the monster quakes that devastate Los Angeles in the movies are on the San Andreas Fault, 50 miles from downtown at its closest approach--again, parrotting the common myth that this is where the next "Big One" will come from. "The Big One" is a refreshing departure from this illconcieved mold. Though by no means a great movie, it zeroes in on the fact that there are faults criss-crossing the Los Angeles Basin that could cause major damage without being a "monster." In many ways, it was an unintended preview of the Northridge earthquake in 1994--the movie's quake was centered on the Elysian Park fault, which is a blind thrust fault that runs under downtown Los Angeles, while Northridge was also on a blind thrust fault under the San Fernando Valley. Though the seismology "details" were typical movie fare--foreshocks, unexplained geologic occurrences, and a doomsday prediction by a scientist that everyone else tries to silence (or at least ignore), it does demonstrate that something like this could happen in a much more believable scenario. It is not a "great" earthquake movie, but it is certainly an improvement.