EARTHQUAKE (1974)
Article 1955 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-22-2006
Posting Date: 12-19-2006
Directed by Mark Robson
Featuring Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy

A huge earthquake devastates Los Angeles, affecting the lives of all in the vicinity.

I’m not sure to what extent this movie falls into the genres I’m covering. It might be considered borderline science fiction due to the fact that disasters of this magnitude could have enough of a devastating impact on the world, or it might be the plot element about the guy who has developed a way to predict earthquakes. At any rate, it’s your typical seventies disaster movie – great special effects coupled with dumb personal stories, and the usual array of character types – heroes, people for the heroes to rescue, people to die in sundry ways, people you want to die in sundry ways – you know the routine. Of course, there are lots of well-known names in the cast; outside of those listed above, we have Lorne Greene, Genevieve Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Marjoe Gortner, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, and Victoria Principal, and former East Side Kid Gabriel Dell. There’s also the guy who plays the drunk with really bad clothes sense; he’s just who you think he is, and that alias he uses in the final credits will fool nobody. It even had a big gimmick to go with it – SENSURROUND, in which heavy bass speakers caused the the place to vibrate in selected theaters. A sequel was planned, but never made.