poster

WHEN TIME RAN OUT


This article was based on memories and some notes (of myself) about this picture. The last time I saw it (some years ago) it really striked me, how bad this movie was. I asked myself (on this very page) if it would it be possible that, now I'm in my thirties, I could watch it as "camp" ? YES, it's possible allright !!!
I finally found a copy and saw it again. Boy, is it bad. But camp it is, I enjoyed almost every minute of this stupid thing. I must say that my copy runs only 105 minutes. Less then any other copy I heard of.
It's "The Towering Inferno" meets "The Poseidon Adventure" with a little "Earthquake". And I'm not only talking storywise, but with its cast and crew as well ! Have a look at my (updated) thoughts.
(The German poster on the right is the best picture I could find, I'm sorry.)
  • Cast
    Paul Newman..............................................................................Inferno
    Jacqueline Bisset......................................................................."Inferno-character" (Faye Dunaway)
    William Holden............................................................................Inferno
    James Franciscus......................................................................."Inferno-character" (Richard Chamberlain)
    Veronica Hamel........................................................................."Inferno-character" (Susan Blakely)
    Red Buttons................................................................................Poseidon
    Ernest Borgnine..........................................................................Poseidon, Fire ! (and almost cast in Inferno)
    Burgess Meredith......................................................................."Inferno-character" (Fred Astaire)
    Alex Karras (football star).......................................................... Inferno (football star O.J. Simpson)
  • Crew
    Producer: Irwin Allen (who else)..................................................Poseidon AND Inferno (and Fire !)
    Screenplay: Carl Foreman, Stirling Silliphant..............................Poseidon AND Inferno (Silliphant)
    Director of Photography: Fred J. Koenenkamp, A.S.C................Inferno
    Special Photographic Effects: L.B. Abbott, A.S.C........................Inferno
    Costume Designer: Paul Zastupnevich.......................................Poseidon AND Inferno
    Sound: Herman Lewis.................................................................Poseidon AND Inferno
  • Towering Inferno-copy
    It's a brand new building, that just opened.
    Paul Newman arrives by helicopter, looking at the building.
    Paul talks about discovered problems to bad guy (Richard Chamberlain/James Franciscus).
    Old men (Fred Astaire/Red Buttons) do criminal acts with bonds (make fake ones/steal).
    There is an elevator accident.
    Paul brings a kid on his back to safety.
    A rescuechopper explodes.
  • Poseidon-copy
    "Are we leaving or staying ?"
    Long journey to safety.
  • Earthquake-copy
    Earthquake sequence (of course), including flood.
  • More bad news
    The sets are cardboard, especially the rock they pass on a small edge. In that scene there is also a matte painting that's so incredibly bad, you won't believe it. Have a look at the screenshot: at the top we see the actors, on the right real trees, and on the left the matte painting. You can see the border quite easily. Wow, what an artist.
    screenshot
    The special effects suck. The model vulcano (the main character of the movie !) is a disaster to look at.
    Paul Newman really looks despondent,as if he constantly thinks: "What the hell am I doing in this movie ?". Well, looking at the film a second time, Paul's not that bad. But then again, was he ever ?
    The scene when they cross the ravine doesn't seem to end but the movie itself ends very sudden (what a relief).
  • Some info (but who cares ?)
    • Screenplaywriter Carl Foreman also wrote "The Guns of Navarone"
    • Paul Zastupnevich got an Academy Award Nomination for this movie. Can anyone tell me why ???
    • Running time = 121 min., but the home video version was 141 min. (what ?? more, instead of less ??)
      and the title was changed into "Earth's Final Fury" (as if they could fool you). My home video version is a mere 105 minutes.
    • "When Time ran out" is proudly mentioned in "The Hollywood Hall of Shame - The most expensive
      flops in movie history" (Perigee Books - U.S.A.)
    • Doesn't it look pretentious when you cast a "Gayle Kanoniokalapontigay" as a waitress or "Edward S. Wheeler III" as the 1st male guest ?!
  • Wanna see for yourself ? MAIL ME ! I'll send a dvd+r (PAL, region free) of this movie for $15 (ex-shipping). It's a movie you won't find on dvd anywhere.

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