Juggernaut (1974)

A blackmailer demands a huge ransom in exchange for information on how to disarm the seven bombs he placed aboard the transatlantic liner Britannic.

Director:

Richard Lester

Writers:

Richard Alan Simmons (as Richard De Koker), Alan Plater (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Richard Harris, Omar Sharif, David Hemmings

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Harris	...	Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon
Omar Sharif	...	Captain Alex Brunel
David Hemmings	...	Charlie Braddock
Anthony Hopkins	...	Supt. John McCleod
Shirley Knight	...	Barbara Bannister
Ian Holm	...	Nicholas Porter
Clifton James	...	Corrigan
Roy Kinnear	...	Social Director Curtain
Caroline Mortimer	...	Susan McCleod
Mark Burns	...	Hollingsworth
John Stride	...	Hughes
Freddie Jones	...	Sidney Buckland
Julian Glover	...	Commander Marder
Jack Watson	...	Chief Engineer Mallicent
Roshan Seth	...	Azad

Storyline

Some unknown maniac is threatening a navigation company to blow up one of its luxury transatlantics, the "Britannic", now in high sea with one thousand two hundred passengers. He is asking for a five hundred thousand pound sterling ransom, otherwise the seven bombs aboard will explode. An experienced anti-bomb squad is sent to the "Britannic", but although all the bombs are located, a very high skill level will be necessary to dismantle them. Perhaps that task is impossible.

---

Plot Keywords:

time bomb | character name as title | nickname as title | bomb | ransom | 

---

Taglines:

For the first time he faces the truth! [Ian Holm]

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Juggernaut

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

David V. Picker Productions, Two Roads Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (DeLuxe) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There are three references to the ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic in this movie. First, the fictional ocean liner's name is the "S S. Britannic", which was also the name of the Titanic's second sister ship, the H.M.H.S. Britannic, which also sank in 1916 after hitting a mine while serving as a hospital ship during World War I. Social Director Curtain (Roy Kinnear), also briefly references it twice in this movie. First, when he's preparing for the ship's costume party where he unintentionally references it by saying the party will be "a night to remember", which causes him to shudder when it reminds him of the famous 1955 book about the Titanic's sinking by Walter Lord, and its 1958 movie adaptation, and secondly, when the passengers are preparing to board the lifeboats, he and Barbara Bannister (Shirley Knight) are discussing the cold water and he says to her "There aren't any icebergs" to add a bit of cheerful advice to her. Also, at the beginning, the Britannic sets sail from Southampton, England, which was the first port from which the Titanic and her sister ship Britannic sailed at the beginning of their ill-fated voyages. The fictional Britannic's port of registry as seen painted on her stern in this movie is also Southampton. Interestingly, the ocean liner on which this movie was filmed, the T.S. Maxim Gorkiy, also struck ice in 1989 like the Titanic did, but her crew managed to prevent her from sinking.

---

Goofs

Young David sees a flag being hoisted and says it means that the ship is carrying explosives - before looking it up in his book. He should have looked it up first, as it is unlikely that he would have already memorised the flag.

---

Quotes

[Fallon is working to defuse one of the bombs, with Braddock copying his actions on another bomb, and Marder and his team in London making notes and offering advice]
Commander Marder: The reading on the left is some sort of trigger mechanism. On no account cut the red wire before isolating the relay contacts.
Lt. Cmdr. Anthony Fallon: I may be stupid, but I'm not *bloody* stupid.

---

Connections

Referenced in MacGyver: Countdown (1986)

---

Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
(1788)
Traditional Scottish 17th century music
Lyrics by Robert Burns
Played by a band when the Britannic is leaving port

User Reviews

Well worth a watch!

Actually, not a bad film at all: the ever reliable Richard Harris (probably getting warmed up for his Rafer Janders role in WILDGEESE) steals the show playing the slightly cynical, cocky bomb disposal trouble shooter whose tired of life and doesn't know who the good guy's are anymore! He plays the part well and is supported by Anthony Hopkins, Ian Holm, Omar Sharif and a huge assortment of fine British character actors.

There is no nudity, profanity, endless gun battles nor a huge body count but a lot of dialog, so anybody under the age of the 35 will be bored stiff and consequently unable to follow the movie! In addition because it was made in 1974 there is no scenes with anybody tapping away on a computer or cell phones going off all the time and lastly no American squared-jawed tough guy to save the day. Fashions and hairstyles can all come back into favor I suppose but to me the most dated part of the film was when one of the support staff back at central command was drawing the bomb on a black board with chalk! That type of support would be utterly ludicrous today in the light of new technology. Never the less it's well paced, engrossing and a very under valued 70's thriller which I would certainly recommend!

The DVD has been restored to full grace and viewers can see at first hand the gray miserable weather that you can get around the British Isles, as well as the outrageous fashions and hairstyles way back then. It's well worth a rent for all of the above! (Note: in the 1980's TV series MACGUYVER there was an episode where they ripped off the plot from this movie.)