When Time Ran Out... (1980)

User Rating:

3.8/10   

Director:

James Goldstone

Writers:

Carl Foreman (screenplay) &
Stirling Silliphant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 March 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

An all-star cast is on the run when Mother Nature blows her top!

Plot:

An active volcano threatens a south Pacific island resort and its guests as a power struggle ensues between the property's developer and a drilling foreman.

Plot Keywords:

Island | Volcano | South Pacific | Natural Disaster | Tidal Wave

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Paul Newman	...	Hank Anderson
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Kay Kirby
William Holden	...	Shelby Gilmore
Edward Albert	...	Brian
Red Buttons	...	Francis Fendly
Barbara Carrera	...	Iolani
Valentina Cortese	...	Rose Valdez (as Valentina Cortesa)
Veronica Hamel	...	Nikki
Alex Karras	...	Tiny Baker
Burgess Meredith	...	Rene Valdez
Ernest Borgnine	...	Tom Conti
James Franciscus	...	Bob Spangler
John Considine	...	Webster
Sheila Allen	...	Mona
Pat Morita	...	Sam

Also Known As:

The Day the World Ended (Philippines: English title) (USA) (video title)
Earth's Final Fury (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

121 min | USA:141 min (video version) | USA:109 min (DVD version)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | USA:PG | Norway:16 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa - 78-128 Ehukai Street, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, USA

Company:

International Cinema

Trivia:

After Steve McQueen turned down a sequel to "The Towering Inferno", this film was made instead.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Gilmore says the death toll from the Mt. Pelée eruption resulted from suffocation when the volcano's explosion sucked oxygen out of the air. In actual fact the major killer was a pyroclastic flow of gas and volcanic debris that buried and almost entirely incinerated the town of Saint-Pierre.

Quotes:

Hank Anderson: This thing's a powder keg!

Movie Connections:

Edited into La classe américaine (1993) (TV)

Excellent multiple personality disaster movies.

I am relatively indifferent to most action movies but I am willing to make an exception in this case. I was strongly attracted to the multiple personal stories and thus cared a lot about which of these fictional characters survived and which perished. Thus, I am surprised by the cold reception given this film by many writers, both amateur and professional. The characters were all carefully developed, quite an accomplishment for a movie that tells so many personal stories. Examples: We have a ratfink male whose greed gets lots of people killed. He doubles as one third of a love triangle involving two ladies with plenty of misplaced loyalty and very little common sense. We have a reluctant hero who leads many to safety. We have a retired tightrope walker whose former trade will be put to good use before almost everything melts away in the finale. We are treated to the complex relationship between a gentleman crook and his pursuer; the former risks his own survival by going out of his way to render assistance when the latter becomes disabled. A lot of the characters are caught participating in a sadistic cockfight when all hell breaks loose. What happens to most of them before the movie is over seems like a severe penalty, even for cockfighting.

Hollywood first realized the merits of multiple plot movies with the introduction of "[Vicki Baum's] Grand Hotel", circa 1932. This pattern has since been followed many times, usually successfully. Examples: "Stagecoach", "The Bridge of San Luis Rey", "Airport", "[Arthur Hailey's] Hotel", "Lone Star", "The Big Chill" and "Matewan". I believe that those responsible for "When Time Ran Out..." also did an excellent job of multiple character development and I loved every minute of it.