GOLDEN ERA STARS IN 1970s DISASTER FILMS (Ep. 28)

Just when many classic films stars thought they were finished in showbiz, a wonderful thing happened — 1970s disaster movies! Producers like IRWIN ALLEN and JENNINGS LANG shepherded in an exciting, over-the-top, new genre that capitalized on our fears. They also smartly cast many classic film actors in these movies, providing familiar faces who added comfort and emotional investment. These films proved not only lucrative for these golden era stars, but kept them in the public eye longer and often revived careers. Listen this week as we talk about our favorite film icons as they are shaken, flipped, torched, and dropped from the sky in the great 70s disaster films.

SHOW NOTES:

Sources:

Charlton Heston: Hollywood’s Last Icon (2017), by Marc Eliot;

Burt Lancaster: An American Life (2000), by Kate Buford

Trust Me: A Memoir (2011), by George Kennedy

Steps In Time: An Autobiography (2008), by Fred Astaire;

Master of Disaster: Irwin Allen - The Disaster Years (2009), by John William Law;

Disaster Movies: The Cinema of Catastrophe (2006), by Stephen Keane;

Disaster Movies: A Loud, Long, Explosive, Star-Studded Guide To Earthquakes, Floods, Meteors, Sinking Ships, Twisters, Viruses, Killer Bees, Nuclear Fall Out, and Alien Attacks in the Cinema (2006), by Glen Kay and Michael Rose;

The Stewardess Is Flying The Plane: American Films of the 1970s (2005), by Ron Hogan and Peter Bogdanovich;

IMDBPro.com;

Wikipedia.com

Movies Mentioned:

Take One False Step (1949) - William Powell, Shelley Winters, and Marsha Hunt;

Airport (1970) - Burt Lancaster, Dean Martin, George Kennedy, Van Helflin, & Helen Hayes;

Criss Cross (1949) - Burt Lancaster, Yvonne DeCarlo, and Dan Duryea;

Sorry Wrong Number (1948) - Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, & Wendell Corey;

The Killers (1946) - Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, & Edmond O’Brien;

Sweet Smell of Success (1957) - Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, & Fred MacMurray;

Elmer Gantry (1960) - Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, & Shirley Jones;

Straight Jacket (1964) - Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Lief Erickson, & George Kennedy;

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) - John Wayne, Dean Martin, Martha Hyer, & George Kennedy;

The Sin of Madame Claudet (1931) - Helen Hayes, Robert Young, & Lewis Stone;

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott & Kirk Douglas;

Johnny Eager (1942) - Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Edward Arnold, & Van Heflin;

Act of Violence (1949) - Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, & Mary Astor;

All That Heaven Allows (1955) - Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Agnes Moorhead, & Virginia Grey;

Back Street (1961) - Susan Hayward, John Gavin, Vera Miles, & Virginia Grey;

Madame X (1966) - Lana Turner, John Forsyth, Ricardo Montalban, & Virgina Grey;

Earthquake (1974) - Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Geneviéve Bujold, Lorne Green, Barry Sullivan, Lloyd Nolan, and Monica Lewis;

Touch of Evil (1958) - Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, & Janet Leigh;

The Hucksters (1947) - Clark Gable, Deborah Kerr, & Ava Gardner;

Autumn Leaves (1956) - Joan Crawford, Cliff Robertson, & Vera Miles;

Michael Shayne: Private Detective (1940) - Lloyd Nolan & Marjorie Weaver;

Jeopardy (1953) - Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Sullivan, & Ralph Meeker;

Suspence (1946) - Belita, Barry Sullivan, & Bonita Granville;

The Bad Men of Tombstone (1949) - Barry Sullivan, & Marjorie Reynolds;

Payment on Demand (1951) - Bette Davis, Barry Sullivan, & Kent Taylor;

The Towering Inferno (1974) - Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Fred Astaire, & Jennifer Jones;

Skyjacked (1972) - Charlton Heston, James Brolin, Yvette Mimieux, Claude Akin, Jeanne Crain, & Walter Pidgeon;

The Hindenburg (1975) - George C. Scott, Anne Bancroft, & Roy Thinnes;

Beyond The Poseidon Adventure (1977) - Michael Caine, Sally Field, & Telly Zavalas;

The Swarm (1978) - Michael Caine, Katharine Ross, Richard Widmark, Olivia de Havilland, Ben Johnson;