Earthquake (1974)

Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.

Director:

Mark Robson

Writers:

George Fox, Mario Puzo

Stars:

Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlton Heston	...	Graff
Ava Gardner	...	Remy
George Kennedy	...	Slade
Lorne Greene	...	Royce
Geneviève Bujold	...	Denise (as Genevieve Bujold)
Richard Roundtree	...	Miles
Marjoe Gortner	...	Jody
Barry Sullivan	...	Stockle
Lloyd Nolan	...	Dr. Vance
Victoria Principal	...	Rosa
Walter Matthau	...	Drunk (as Walter Matuschanskayasky)
Monica Lewis	...	Barbara
Gabriel Dell	...	Sal
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Chavez (as Pedro Armendariz Jr.)
Lloyd Gough	...	Cameron

Storyline

Construction Engineer Stuart Graff is estranged from his jealously possessive wife, Remy, and has an affair with Denise Marshall, the widow of a co-worker. Meanwhile, Remy tries to persuade her father, Sam Royce, who is Stuart's employer, to use his influence to stop Stuart from seeing Denise. Rogue policeman Lew Slade is suspended from the L.A.P.D. for having punched an obtuse officer from another jurisdiction. Embittered, Slade contemplates quitting the police force. Jody, a perverted grocery store manager, lusts after Rosa Amici, sister of Sal, the assistant to Miles Quade, an aspiring daredevil motor cyclist. The lives of all these people are devastated when a major earthquake rips through Los Angeles and reduces the city to ruins.

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Plot Keywords:

earthquake | engineer | melodrama | chaos | destruction | 

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Taglines:

An Event...

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 November 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terremoto

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$79,700,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures,The Filmakers Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 160 min (TV) 121 min (Ontario) 116 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) Sensurround (70 mm and 35 mm magnetic prints) Mono (35 mm optical prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Victoria Principal's role was originally created for Susan Sarandon or Kay Lenz.

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Goofs

When Miles tries to perform his stunt on the track after the first went wrong, you can clearly see him riding out of the loop again, since the footage used to show the beginning of his new attempt is from a different camera, but the same take as the first one.

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Quotes

Sgt. Lew Slade: [to the citizens bombarding him for help] Shut up! You're all going to have to help yourselves! Most of the police in this district were killed in that station house. And the guys that were on patrol when the quake hit, well they probably got more to do than they can handle. Now look you, get as many volunteers as you can, go to that hardware store over there. Now if it's locked, break in, find as many picks and shovels as you can, and start looking for people who are buried alive, there are ...

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Connections

Edited into Shakedown (2002)

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Soundtracks

C'est si bon
(uncredited)
Music by Henri Betti
Played by a guitarist

User Reviews

Good at the time but time wearies.

In 1974 I was 29 years old when I first saw this movie. At the time I didn't question the suitability of the lead stars as I had grown up with them appearing in other films. Considering all the various genre of films I had seen up to that time, I must confess that it didn't seem a bad effort at that point in time. I grew up with various westerns and others and one film in particular I remember well is the classic "King Kong".

Critics who knock this film must remember that 1974 was a transitional period where techniques were still being learned. Without the benefit of computers, I might add. When you have grown up with computer wizardry, that is, since the start of the seventies, it it far easier to find fault than to see the merit in what these people achieved.

However, with the passage of time, one realizes the major fault with this film was the poor casting. This should not detract from the efforts of the special effects people. They have led the way and shown the young people coming along what can be done with skill and imagination. 3/10 for casting, 6/10 for special effects.