When Time Ran Out
Encyclopedia
When Time Ran Out... is a disaster film
released in 1980, starring Paul Newman
, Jacqueline Bisset
, William Holden
, James Franciscus
, Ernest Borgnine
, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith
, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel
, Pat Morita
, Edward Albert
, and Barbara Carrera
.
Produced by the "Master of Disaster," Irwin Allen
, When Time Ran Out... is marginally based on the novel The Day the World Ended by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts
detailing the factual 1902 volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée
on Martinique
, which killed 30,000 people in five minutes by pyroclastic flow
. It marked the second and final time Newman and Holden apeared in a movie togther after the box office triumph of The Towering Inferno
just six years prior. When Time Ran Out... also has the distinction of being both the last notable "disaster film
" produced at the tail-end of the 1970s cycle of the genre and Allen's last theatrically released picture as well as both Paul Newman's and William Holden's most resounding flop despite being released not long after the height of Newman's career and Holden's career comeback.
Shelby Gilmore, who owns the hotel, isn't sure how concerned to be. Bob Spangler, who runs it, ignores all warnings and assures guests that the volcano's threat is a total exaggeration.
Anderson and love interest Kay Kirby organize a getaway to a safe side of the island. Spangler persuades many of the hotel's guests not to go, including his mistress Iolani, and they pay for it with their lives when the volcano does indeed blow.
A small band of survivors head for higher ground. Among them are Rene and Rose Valdez, long-ago circus tightrope performers, and Francis Fendly, an embezzler being tailed by Conti, a private investigator. Conti is blinded during the volcano's eruption, so Fendly becomes his personal guide.
Some of the survivors don't make it. Rose Valdez dies from a weak heart and during the crossing of a rickety bridge some inevitably fall into the boiling lava below. Rene Valdez recreates his tightrope act carrying a child and saves the boy's life. Ultimately Anderson, Kirby and a few more are able make it to the island's other side safely.
, but substandard special effects, continuity errors, and a convoluted storyline negatively impacted the film.
Filmed on the "Big Island" of Hawaii
(notably at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay
Resort and Spa), despite the exotic location, the film was rife with production problems. Holden was ill, and was upset about his billing under Newman (as was the case in The Towering Inferno
five years prior). Newman was contractually obligated to do another Allen film after Inferno and was less than enthusiastic about appearing in this one. (In a 1998 interview with Larry King
, when Newman was asked if he ever regretted making any film, he bitterly responded "that volcano movie".) Despite his reluctance, on a positive note, it is thought his salary for this film was used to start up his highly successful Newman's Own
company.
reported a 39% rating from the public as of July 2010, with some users declaring it as one of "the worst disaster movie[s] of all time", along with Titanic II. Movie critic Leonard Maltin's annual publication of capsule film reviews dubbed the film "When Ideas Ran Out" or "The Blubbering Inferno."
Despite being a flop, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
The DVD was released February 17, 2009 in widescreen format. It was the final Irwin Allen film to be released on DVD. For reasons unknown, it does not include the extended version (23 minutes extra) as the VHS
release did in 1994. It has also been cut to 109 minutes instead of the original 121.There also was an even earlier VHS version in 1986 put out by Warner Brothers Home Video that had an even longer version that was 144 minutes long.
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
released in 1980, starring Paul Newman
Paul Newman
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
, Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset
Jacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
, William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
, James Franciscus
James Franciscus
James Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
, Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel
Veronica Hamel
Veronica Hamel is an American actress.- Biography :After Hamel graduated from Temple University, she worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford...
, Pat Morita
Pat Morita
Noriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
, Edward Albert
Edward Albert
Edward Albert was an American film and television actor. He was also known as Edward Laurence Albert, Laurence Edward Albert and occasionally Eddie Albert, Jr.-Early life:Albert was born Edward Laurence Heimberger in Los Angeles, California, to actor Eddie...
, and Barbara Carrera
Barbara Carrera
Barbara Carrera is a Nicaraguan-born American film and television actress as well as a former model. She is best known for her roles as Bond girl Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again and as Angelica Nero on the soap opera Dallas.-Early life:Barbara Kingsbury was born in San Carlos, Río San Juan,...
.
Produced by the "Master of Disaster," Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series.- Biography :...
, When Time Ran Out... is marginally based on the novel The Day the World Ended by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts
Max Morgan-Witts
Max Morgan-Witts is a British producer, director and author of Canadian origin.Morgan-Witts was a Director/Producer at Granada TV. He directed hundreds of popular television shows for Granada, including: 50 episodes of The Army Game, a forerunner of the American show Bilko and at the time Britain's...
detailing the factual 1902 volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée
Mount Pelée is an active volcano at the northern end of the island and French overseas department of Martinique in the Lesser Antilles island arc of the Caribbean. Its volcanic cone is composed of layers of volcanic ash and hardened lava....
on Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, which killed 30,000 people in five minutes by pyroclastic flow
Pyroclastic flow
A pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving current of superheated gas and rock , which reaches speeds moving away from a volcano of up to 700 km/h . The flows normally hug the ground and travel downhill, or spread laterally under gravity...
. It marked the second and final time Newman and Holden apeared in a movie togther after the box office triumph of The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
just six years prior. When Time Ran Out... also has the distinction of being both the last notable "disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
" produced at the tail-end of the 1970s cycle of the genre and Allen's last theatrically released picture as well as both Paul Newman's and William Holden's most resounding flop despite being released not long after the height of Newman's career and Holden's career comeback.
Plot
On a remote Pacific island with a newly constructed luxury resort, oil rigger Hank Anderson's scientists are warning him that a nearby active volcano is about to erupt.Shelby Gilmore, who owns the hotel, isn't sure how concerned to be. Bob Spangler, who runs it, ignores all warnings and assures guests that the volcano's threat is a total exaggeration.
Anderson and love interest Kay Kirby organize a getaway to a safe side of the island. Spangler persuades many of the hotel's guests not to go, including his mistress Iolani, and they pay for it with their lives when the volcano does indeed blow.
A small band of survivors head for higher ground. Among them are Rene and Rose Valdez, long-ago circus tightrope performers, and Francis Fendly, an embezzler being tailed by Conti, a private investigator. Conti is blinded during the volcano's eruption, so Fendly becomes his personal guide.
Some of the survivors don't make it. Rose Valdez dies from a weak heart and during the crossing of a rickety bridge some inevitably fall into the boiling lava below. Rene Valdez recreates his tightrope act carrying a child and saves the boy's life. Ultimately Anderson, Kirby and a few more are able make it to the island's other side safely.
Cast
- Paul NewmanPaul NewmanPaul Leonard Newman was an American actor, film director, entrepreneur, humanitarian, professional racing driver and auto racing enthusiast...
as Hank Anderson - Jacqueline BissetJacqueline BissetJacqueline Bisset is an English actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. She is known for her roles in the films Bullitt , Airport , The Deep , Class , and the TV series Nip/Tuck in 2006...
as Kay Kirby - William HoldenWilliam HoldenWilliam Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
as Shelby Gilmore - Edward AlbertEdward AlbertEdward Albert was an American film and television actor. He was also known as Edward Laurence Albert, Laurence Edward Albert and occasionally Eddie Albert, Jr.-Early life:Albert was born Edward Laurence Heimberger in Los Angeles, California, to actor Eddie...
as Brian - Red Buttons as Francis Fendly
- Barbara CarreraBarbara CarreraBarbara Carrera is a Nicaraguan-born American film and television actress as well as a former model. She is best known for her roles as Bond girl Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again and as Angelica Nero on the soap opera Dallas.-Early life:Barbara Kingsbury was born in San Carlos, Río San Juan,...
as Iolani - Valentina Cortese as Rose Valdez
- Veronica HamelVeronica HamelVeronica Hamel is an American actress.- Biography :After Hamel graduated from Temple University, she worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford...
as Nikki Spangler - Alex KarrasAlex KarrasAlexander George "Alex" Karras , nicknamed "The Mad Duck", is a former football player, professional wrestler, and actor, best known for his stint with the Detroit Lions of the National Football League from 1958–1962 and 1964-1970 and for his role as Mongo in the film Blazing Saddles...
as Tiny Baker - Burgess MeredithBurgess MeredithOliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
as Rene Valdez - Ernest BorgnineErnest BorgnineErnest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
as Tom Conti - James FranciscusJames FranciscusJames Grover Franciscus was an American actor, known for his roles in the series The Naked City and The Investigators, and in feature films.-Life and career:...
as Bob Spangler - John ConsidineJohn ConsidineThis article is about the writer and actor. For his grandfather, the vaudeville pioneer, see John Considine . For the former Florida state representative, see John J...
as Webster - Sheila AllenSheila AllenSheila Allen is an American actress.Sheila Ann Mathews was born in New York City. She was married to producer Irwin Allen until his death in 1991. She appeared in several of her husband's TV series and movies through 1986....
as Mona - Pat MoritaPat MoritaNoriyuki "Pat" Morita was an American actor of Japanese descent who was well-known for playing the roles of Matsuo "Arnold" Takahashi on Happy Days and Mr. Miyagi in the The Karate Kid movie series, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1984.-Early life:Pat...
as Sam - Lonny ChapmanLonny ChapmanLonny Chapman was an American television actor best known for his numerous guest star appearances on detective dramas, including Quincy, M.E., The A-Team, Murder, She Wrote, Matlock, and NYPD Blue...
as Kelly - Sandy KenyonSandy KenyonSandy Kenyon, born Sanford Klein was an American voice-over artist and character actor, best-known for voicing Jon Arbuckle in the first Garfield animated television special Here Comes Garfield, and other roles in film and television...
as Henderson
Production
Allen recycled many of the ideas from his two huge hits, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering InfernoThe Towering Inferno (film)
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
, but substandard special effects, continuity errors, and a convoluted storyline negatively impacted the film.
Filmed on the "Big Island" of Hawaii
Hawaii (island)
The Island of Hawaii, also called the Big Island or Hawaii Island , is a volcanic island in the North Pacific Ocean...
(notably at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay
Keauhou Bay
Keauhou Bay is a historic area in the Kona District of the Big Island of Hawaii.The name comes from ke au hou which means "the new era" in the Hawaiian Language.-Kamehameha III's Birthplace:...
Resort and Spa), despite the exotic location, the film was rife with production problems. Holden was ill, and was upset about his billing under Newman (as was the case in The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno (film)
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
five years prior). Newman was contractually obligated to do another Allen film after Inferno and was less than enthusiastic about appearing in this one. (In a 1998 interview with Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
, when Newman was asked if he ever regretted making any film, he bitterly responded "that volcano movie".) Despite his reluctance, on a positive note, it is thought his salary for this film was used to start up his highly successful Newman's Own
Newman's Own
Newman's Own is a food company and for-profit corporation founded by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner in 1982. Newman received all of the profits from product sales and donated 100% of the proceeds, after taxes, to various educational and charitable organizations of his own selection...
company.
Reception
It performed poorly at the box office. While it cost an estimated $20,000,000 to produce, the film grossed only $1,700,000. Reportedly, it was highly disliked by Newman, Holden and other cast members themselves. Critics have not taken a position on this film, but the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
reported a 39% rating from the public as of July 2010, with some users declaring it as one of "the worst disaster movie[s] of all time", along with Titanic II. Movie critic Leonard Maltin's annual publication of capsule film reviews dubbed the film "When Ideas Ran Out" or "The Blubbering Inferno."
Despite being a flop, this film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
Other media
For early network television airings, an expanded version of the film was retitled Earth's Final Fury.The DVD was released February 17, 2009 in widescreen format. It was the final Irwin Allen film to be released on DVD. For reasons unknown, it does not include the extended version (23 minutes extra) as the VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
release did in 1994. It has also been cut to 109 minutes instead of the original 121.There also was an even earlier VHS version in 1986 put out by Warner Brothers Home Video that had an even longer version that was 144 minutes long.