Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979)

Adventurers return to the overturned ship, seeking a fortune.

Director:

Irwin Allen

Writers:

Paul Gallico (novel), Nelson Gidding (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Caine, Sally Field, Telly Savalas

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Caine	...	Captain Mike Turner
Sally Field	...	Celeste Whitman
Telly Savalas	...	Captain Stefan Svevo
Peter Boyle	...	Frank Mazzetti
Jack Warden	...	Harold Meredith
Shirley Knight	...	Hannah Meredith
Shirley Jones	...	Nurse Gina Rowe
Karl Malden	...	Wilbur Hubbard
Slim Pickens	...	Dewey 'Tex' Hopkins
Veronica Hamel	...	Suzanne Constantine
Angela Cartwright	...	Theresa Mazzetti
Mark Harmon	...	Larry Simpson
Paul Picerni	...	Kurt
Patrick Culliton	...	Doyle
Dean Raphael Ferrandini	...	Castorp (as Dean Ferrandini)

Storyline

After "The Poseidon Adventure", in which the ship got flipped over by a tidal wave, the ship drifts bottom-up in the sea. While the passengers are still on board waiting to be rescued, two rivaling salvage parties enter the ship on search for money, gold and a small amount of plutonium.

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Plot Keywords:

sequel | repeat sequel | ship | salvage | money | 

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Taglines:

Terror Beyond Imagination.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 May 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Return of the Poseidon

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A tiger loose on the ship, and an underwater volcano erupting and destroying the ship in the film's climax, were also in various versions of the script.

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Goofs

The hull of a 40-year-old ship that's about to be scrapped would not be shiny bright red.

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Quotes

Suzanne Constantine: Please can we just get out of here as quickly as possible?
Captain Stefan Svevo: It took two years to put this thing together. You really believe I can get off, *without* it?
Suzanne Constantine: I've done everything you wanted. Now I just want to get out!
Captain Stefan Svevo: I understand, but I've got the bullet, if I could've avoided it. But since I'm here, since we're *both* here, we've got to see this thing through!

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Connections

Referenced in Cult Culture: The Poseidon Adventure (2003)

User Reviews

At least worth a look, but a pretty crummy sequel.

My Take: Formulaic disaster movie, but has its moments with its well-known cast. Otherwise, a pretty weak disaster movie.

This sequel is not as good as its hit predecessor "The Poseidon Adventure" was, but easily passable, depending on the yardstick you measure it with. I really like Irwin Allen's production films. They really show a great and realistic disaster and a great well-known cast. This elements would set the pattern to today's disaster hit films. Many bad things has been said about this failed sequel to the 1972 classic, so I guess this is quite a guilty pleasure to me. It's hardly a good movie, in fact its quite a mess upon further observation (plot holes, needless back stories, and one character is disposed of without explanation), but I did kinda enjoyed it on a "it wasn't the complete disaster" way.

The film resembles a little like the original disaster was. But I think it was meant to be that way. Anyway, most of the cast die heroically. Michael Caine gives a fine performance, but I really liked Sally Field here. She really gives a spunky performance. Field's character is the one Caine's character likes to call "monkey", but she turns out to be his love interest in the film. Telly Savalas makes a really good villain as Dr. Svevo. Jack Warden and Shirley Knight are fine as the couple who never seems to lose hope for each other. The other cast includes Karl Malden, Shirley Jones and Peter Boyle, do their best without being too embarrassing. But Slim Pickens is quite weird in his role as a Texan drunk, who never seems to let go of his priceless bottle through the entire film.

Overall, I kinda liked "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure", though I think a large amount of suspension of disbelief is required. Non-disaster buffs won't dig it, but for nostalgia, fans of the original may want to check it out. It wasn't as good as that film, but along with THE SWARM, it's kind of a guilty pleasure.

Rating: ** out of 5.