Tonight's Movie: Rollercoaster (1977)

It's been a while since I've seen a disaster movie, and ROLLERCOASTER (1977) filled the bill nicely -- although for the most part it's actually more police procedural than disaster movie. But that was fine with me!

It was a nice surprise to discover during the opening credits that the screenplay was written by Richard Levinson and William Link of COLUMBO.

An even bigger surprise was discovering the screenplay was based on a story by former teen actor Tommy Cook. I double-checked to be sure, and according to IMDb it's the same Tommy Cook who appeared in films such as CRY OF THE CITY (1948) and who made an appearance at least year's Noir City Hollywood Festival. Cook is now 94.

George Segal plays Harry Calder, a safety inspector who was the last person to inspect a wooden rollercoaster before it collapses, killing a number of riders.

Shortly after the rollercoaster disaster, a fire erupts at a different amusement park, and it's realized that the same person was responsible for both incidents. The rollercoaster at the first park didn't collapse, it was bombed.

The saboteur (Timothy Bottoms) attempts to extort money from theme park owners, and Calder works with a short-tempered FBI agent, Hoyt (Richard Widmark), to try to catch the man before he kills again.

ROLLERCOASTER is for the most part engaging and at times nicely suspenseful. That said, I found Widmark's perpetually irate FBI man more interesting than Segal's bland inspector.

I don't think I've ever seen Segal in anything other other than a bit in THE LONGEST DAY (1962), and this film doesn't make me anxious to see more. He's not bad, just rather dull.

ROLLERCOASTER runs 119 minutes, and the movie could have also used a more compact screenplay. Eliminating the characters of Harry's girlfriend (Susan Strasberg) and daughter (13-year-old Helen Hunt) would have streamlined things.

The movie throws out a red herring with the girlfriend and daughter to make viewers anxious they'll end up in harm's way, but that aspect comes to nothing, and removing them from the story would have saved several minutes of screen time. What does watching young Helen Hunt riding at an equestrian center add to the story?

Henry Fonda basically phones in a cameo as Harry's boss, who's as cranky as Widmark's character, but it's good to see him.

I found it especially enjoyable seeing William Prince (PILLOW TO POST) as one of the theme park owners; his film roles went back to the '40s. Another of the owners is longtime DAYS OF OUR LIVES star Quinn Redeker.

Producer Jennings Lang's wife, singer-actress Monica Lewis, is said to have played a bit role but I didn't spot her. Lang produced several well-known '70s disaster films, in which Lewis had small roles.

One of the things I particularly enjoyed about ROLLERCOASTER was the location shooting, including at Magic Mountain, which I visited with my Girl Scout troop roughly around the year the movie was shot. Magic Mountain's Revolution rollercoaster, which is a focal point of the story, had opened in real life in May 1976.

The film also features lots of '70s Harvest Gold and avocado decor, including an eye-popping hotel lobby.

I also enjoy seeing how the lack of modern cell phone technology impacts stories like this which take place in the relatively recent past; here we see the use of pay phones, walkie-talkies, and even an early version of a car phone. (I remember when the attorney I worked for got a car phone; they weren't around long, pushed out by cellphones.)

ROLLERCOASTER was directed by James Goldstone and filmed by David M. Walsh. The musical score was by Lalo Schifrin.

I watched ROLLERCOASTER on DVD.

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