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Filled
with actors from other disaster movies and packed with clichés
that producer Irwin Allen himself originated, When Time Ran Out
(1980) was a fitting title for the film that proved to be the last
hurrah of the 70's disaster genre and the final theatrical film
for Allen.
As
his private jet arrives at his newly opened tropical resort, William
Holden presents Jacqueline Bisset with a diamond engagement ring.
It's obvious that Holden has been round the block more than a few
times. "What would I be now," she asks him, "Sixth…
seventh?" It seems her heart is set on working man Paul Newman
who has his hands full drilling the islands rich oil fields. Though
May/December onscreen romances are nothing new, it's unsettling
that Bisset must choose between two such, shall we say… mature
suitors. Holden is twenty-six years her senior and Newman nearly
twenty.
Various
subplots are introduced as guests arrive at the luxury hotel. Burgess
Meredith and Valentina Cortese play the prerequisite elderly couple.
They're retired high-wire performers and she continually pops pills
for her ailing health. Ernest Borgnine is an NYC police detective
on the trail of white collar criminal Red Buttons who may or may
not be guilty.
Every
disaster movie needs a smarmy scapegoat, the one guy who could prevent
(but doesn't) all the death and disaster to come. When Time Ran
Out has lying businessman James Franciscus. He's married to
beautiful socialite Veronica Hamel but is having an affair with
island beauty Barbara Carrera. She's been "promised to"
native boy Edward Albert. Since Carrera had mainly played "exotic"
types up to that point, it's easy to see her (to a certain extent)
as a Pacific Islander. Believing blue-eyed Albert as a South Seas
native is a bit of a stretch.
Newman
is concerned with some unusually high pressure readings, so he and
Franciscus visit the scientific observation center, a monitoring
facility that has literally been built on the rim of the island's
active volcano. In an Irwin Allen movie, science fact often becomes
science fiction. Hence, everyone hops into the zany glass bottomed
viewing chamber, a pod that can be lowered into the crater so its
occupants can get an up close peek at the volcano!
As
they slowly make their decent, a volcanic explosion causes a malfunction
(a flashing button tells us so) and the glass bottom blows out,
leaving them dangling over a miniature pit of bubbling goo. Once
the capsule is brought back up, Newman's assessment of the situation
is that, "This things a powder keg."
Franciscus,
twitchy and desperate to gloss over the severity of their eminent
doom, clashes with Holden over the possibility of a volcanic eruption.
With everything that he's built threatened by Mother Nature's cruel
fate, Franciscus (who has obvious daddy issues) throws a lava rock
paperweight at a creepy portrait of his deceased father.
Meanwhile,
Newman and Bisset share a romantic picnic on a remote beach. Newman
regales her with stories about his school days teaching faculty
wives needlepoint, which inexplicably sends Bisset into stitches.
"I don't need the wine," she breathlessly giggles, "You
get me drunk."
"Come
on over here," he commands. As they lean in for a big smooch
the earth moves… literally. Their ridiculous dialog is interrupted
by the volcano which begins to rumble right on cue. They hop into
their helicopter and watch as the observation platform is destroyed
by the volcanic eruption. Oddly inserted into the mayhem are scenes
of an airport tarmac buckling and a sports car careening over a
hillside. Since none of the main characters are at the airport and
we don't know who's inside the car, these images are hilariously
superfluous.
Newman
and Bisset airlift Hamel from her horse ranch, saving her from the
oncoming flow of lava stock footage. Two ranch hands are forced
to brave the helicopter ride by hanging on outside, riding on the
struts. Not surprisingly, one of them loses his grip and falls to
a fiery death.
Franciscus
assures his hotel guests that there is nothing to worry about, but
Holden considers him responsible, "We have contingency plans
for anything that can possibly go wrong…except the volcano."
Except the volcano?! Frankly, if they're that stupid then
they deserve to die.
"The
lava is coming directly for the hotel." Bisset warns. Panic
ensues and several stunt extras die trying to escape in the helicopter.
A
fishing village on the other side of the island is rocked by tremors.
The camera shakes as pieces of buildings fall and extras scurry
around the Hollywood set. It's all so wonderfully false and rehearsed
that you expect a back lot tram tour to pass by. The town and its
inhabitants are eventually engulfed by a gigantic tidal wave. The
only people who manage to escape are bar owners Pat Morita, his
corpulent wife Sheila Allen and two of their "working"
girls.
The
entire cast watches as the matte painting mountain spews forth giant
fireballs that explode on hotel grounds. An ignited Borgnine is
saved by the quick thinking of Buttons. Newman is determined to
lead everyone to safer/higher ground but Franciscus, with his tremendous
ego and hubris, insists that they all stay where they are. So, Newman
punches him.
After
some pre-trip melodrama, most of the films stars leave the hotel
in a caravan. They drive and drive and drive. The endless footage
of traveling down tropical roadways is exacerbated by the plodding
orchestral march that accompanies it. As they journey onward, we're
treated to the thrilling sight of characters drinking apple juice!
Burgess Meredith also mentions for the thousandth time that he's
a retired circus performer.
Their
first obstacle comes in the form of a blocked roadway. They must
continue on foot. A frail Cortese welcomes the challenge of shimmying
along a narrow ledge which is all that is left of the collapsed
jungle road. "It wasn't long ago I was walking a high wire."
We know, we know!
Everyone
shuffles along the matte painting edge. Borgnine, whose face and
hands are bandaged, stumbles along with Buttons leading the way.
The second ranch hand, who cheated death by surviving the earlier
helicopter ride, isn't so lucky now. He slips and falls to his death,
leaving behind his adorable children.
Night
comes and despite all the chaos around him, Franciscus can't keep
his hands off Carrera. When Hamel walks in on them, she realizes
that standing by her man may not have been the best idea.
The
next challenge for our intrepid band of movie stars is to cross
a rickety bridge over a river of hot lava. With plastic jungle foliage
and forced perspective mountains built into the island backdrop,
this outdoor obstacle course is an obvious soundstage set.
After
Newman checks the stability of the bridge, Borgnine, Buttons and
Albert are the first to cross. For some reason, the lava they're
traversing continually explodes. A plank gives way and they almost
fall as fireballs erupt around them. They eventually make it safely
to the other side. Holden escorts Mathews and they make it across
as well.
Despite
making it this far together, the adorable geriatric couple must
say their final goodbyes to one another. As her heart gives out,
Cortese insists that her beloved return to the circus. Bisset, Morita
and the two girls are next but the railing collapses and Morita
does a hilarious slow-motion tumble into the lava. A fiery explosion
then destroys most of the bridge. All that is left is a narrow trestle.
"Years
ago in the circus I used to do something special, I walked a high
wire," Meredith tells Newman, "I carried somebody on my
back." Gee, what a convenient skill to have. With a giant bamboo
stick for balance and a little kid holding on tight, Meredith makes
the treacherous crossing. As Newman makes his way across what is
left of the bridge, an explosion leaves him holding on for dear
life. As he and the little girl dangle over the fiery river, Meredith
comes to their rescue.
Our
rag-tag group of survivors watch the volcanic pyrotechnics from
the safety of an island cave. It's difficult to say just how close
the hotel was built to the bubbling volcano. Depending on the effects
shot, it could be miles away from or right next to eminent disaster.
Inconsistencies aside, a final massive fireball hurtles towards
the resort. The destruction of the hotel and deaths of several main
characters should've been the spectacular finale to this disaster
melodrama. Instead, it's over in mere moments with sloppy fire footage
substituting for anything truly remarkable. At daybreak, Newman
and the rest of the survivors make their way to the cove where two
rescue boats await them.
Deleted
scenes and additional footage found their way back into the movie
when Earth's Final Fury (the film's TV title) made its debut
on network television. This extended 143 min version was released
on VHS as the "expanded video edition" with some of the
additional scenes retaining their tell-tale "fade to black"
commercial edits.
Among
other things, the love triangle between Franciscus, Carrera and
Albert received more screen time. Before the caravan leaves the
hotel, Albert not only learns that Carrera has been unfaithful,
but that Franciscus is his half brother! This revelation helps explain
why Albert was cast as a Pacific Islander. Without these scenes
his part isn't much more than an extended cameo role. Scenes featuring
Alex Karras and a cockfight at Mona's bar/whorehouse were added
as well as a moment where Pat Morita gets to smack a hysterical
Sheila Allen. Knowing that Allen is the producer's wife only makes
the slap more enjoyable.
The
theatrical version of When Time Ran Out runs at a comfortable
two hours. The cuts that were made help sharpen the pace and don't
interfere with the story too much. The cockfighting subplot is nearly
gone and the painfully long caravan sequence has thankfully been
trimmed to a more agreeable length. Unfortunately, Cortese's death
scene near the end of the movie was also trimmed out. Her character
dies off camera.
The
theatrical version also includes some scenes that didn't make it
to the longer video edition. The introduction to the Franciscus
and Hamel characters is longer. Their scene in the hotel suite ends
with a mutual shower. A scene where a winded Borgnine chases after
a jogging Red Buttons is included. It's a comical moment that draws
attention to the fact that the two played similar characters years
earlier in The Poseidon Adventure (1972). The precarious
ledge sequence also is slightly longer. The body of the dead ranch
hand is shown at the bottom of the ravine and reaction shots from
each of the main characters are shown. A few shots of them hiking
through picturesque island wilderness before nightfall are also
included.
While
most of Irwin Allen's disaster epics have found their way to DVD,
When Time Ran Out still languishes in the full frame, analog
world of VHS. The "expanded video edition" of When
Time Ran Out is out of print, but can still be found at most
online retailers and on auction sites.
Though
the genre was briefly revived in the 90's (remember those competing
asteroid and volcano projects?) disaster movies have, for the most
part, been relegated to the CGI enhanced world of lackluster TV
movies. When Time Ran Out should be cherished and appreciated
because it truly was the last of its kind. A wild and crazy all-star
fight for survival amid marginal special effects. For lovers of
cool cinema trash it's a pity…because they simply don't make
them like this anymore.
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