EPISODE 28 - “Golden Era Stars in 1970s Disaster Films” - 03/25/2024

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: 

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

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

The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) - John Wayne, Dean Martin, & 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, & Van Heflin;

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

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;

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

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

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