Rollercoaster (1977)

A blackmailer threatens to sabotage roller coasters at various American amusement parks if he isn't paid a huge ransom.

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Sanford Sheldon (story), Richard Levinson (story)

Stars:

George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Widmark

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Segal	...	Harry Calder
Richard Widmark	...	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
Stephen Pearlman	...	Lyons
G.F. Rowe	...	Wayne Moore (as Gerald Rowe)
Wayne Tippit	...	Christie
Michael Bell	...	Demerest
Charlie Tuna	...	Rock Concert M.C.
Lonny Stevens	...	Federal Agent #1

Storyline

When a roller coaster in California goes off its track, killing several people, safety inspector Harry Calder, who had recently inspected the coaster, is assigned to investigate. After another amusement park suffers a suspicious fire, Calder uncovers a blackmail plot by a psychopathic terrorist. The terrorist seems to know everything Calder and the FBI say and do, and insists that Calder deliver the blackmail money personally at an amusement park in Virginia. After running Calder all over the park, the money drop is made and the terrorist gets away, but he discovers that the FBI had marked the money, making it useless to him. He plots to get revenge by blowing up a giant new roller coaster on its opening day, and it's up to Calder to stop him.

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Plot Keywords:

amusement park | vietnam war veteran | psychotronic film | male protagonist | fbi federal bureau of investigation | 

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Taglines:

Ride it...in Sensurround

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the amusement park scenes were shot at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, just north of Richmond. Kings Dominion is now owned by Cedar Fair.

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Goofs

When at King's Dominion, Harry buys a hat and has his name stitched on it.

When he puts it on, the start of the "H" curves up from the brim onto the main part of the hat and the "y" is complete.

When he is approached by the package delivery service runner, the "H" fits entirely on the brim and the "y" is completely missing its descender, so a different hat was used between the two shots.

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Quotes

Young Man: [after the young man tells Harry he is holding the bomb] Now, do I have your full attention?
Harry Calder: Screw you!

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Alternate Versions

This film was generally released uncut in cinemas and later in the 1980s on VHS. However, at the end of the 1980s/the beginning of the 1990s, a few seconds were removed from the ending of the film (bodies lying on the floor, a one second close-up of the young man's face, bloody and with his eyes open). This version was used worldwide for subsequent TV airings, VHS re-release and then DVDs.

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Connections

Referenced in Backstory: The Poseidon Adventure (2000)

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Soundtracks

Hello! Ma Baby
(uncredited)
Written by Joseph E. Howard and Ida Emerson
[Singing Mushrooms in amusement park]

User Reviews

Overlooked Suspense Gem

Like many others, I agree that this is an underrated suspense movie. I would rank it with other, similar suspense movies of the 70s that have aged pretty well--"The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3" and "Juggernaut" in particular. Of course, the clothes and music (including a performance from SPARKS) smacks of late '70s cheese. But it is gripping and has the perfect amount of humor (George Segal as a movie hero? Who would've guessed that?)

Plus it is the only movie where I can see some favorite places of my youth--Oceanview Park in Norfolk, VA. Not to mention King's Dominion, only 1 year old at the time

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rollercoaster

Filming Locations:

Hyatt Regency Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Sensurround Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1