Rollercoaster (1977)

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Tommy Cook (story)
Sanford Sheldon (screen story) ...

Release Date:

17 June 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

You are in a race against time...and terror. You are pursuing a nameless, faceless man through America's greatest amusement parks...and, for the first time, you are experiencing the most sensational rides of our time, IN SENSURROUND

Plot:

The plot is about a guile young terrorist who is able to blackmail a series of companies by placing...

Plot Keywords:

Amusement Park | Blackmail | Terrorist | Roller Coaster | Bomb Squad

Cast

George Segal	...	Harry Calder
Richard Widmark	...	Agent 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	...	Police Captain Christie
Michael Bell	...	Demerest
Charlie Tuna	...	Rock Concert MC
Lonny Stevens	...	Federal Agent #1

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Sensurround | Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Kings Dominion - 16000 Theme Park Way, Doswell, Virginia, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Craig Wasson's first film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the rollercoaster at Magic Mountain goes down for the first time, a shadow of the gear holding the camera is visible for a moment.

Quotes:

Fran: Harry?
Harry Calder: Mmh?
Fran: If you're trying to kill us, at least let me put on some lip gloss.

Soundtrack:

Big Boy

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