Deja View: Disastrous Designs

If you looked at the tale end of my most recent post, then you know I had the glorious opportunity not long ago to see two of my top ten favorite movies on the big screen: The Poseidon Adventure (1972) and The Towering Inferno (1974.) I thoroughly enjoyed watching them this way (in the case of Poseidon, it was my first time seeing it in a theater.) In fact, I'm still not over Inferno and over the last couple of evenings have been re-immersing myself in all the extras to be found on the Blu-ray. (If you've ever met me - or even if you haven't! - you know that I am totally obsessed with Faye Dunaway in said movie and can hardly believe how much of her footage was cut from the release print, thankfully saved in blurry, cropped form for the 4-hour network TV premiere in 1980.) 

My partner-in-crime for this foray into disaster on the big screen was longtime pal Joe, who did me one better than most anyone I know by once portraying Belle Rosen in "Poseidon! An Upside Down Musical" and bringing down the house with his shenanigans. Note "Nonnie" in the background with a stuffed figure meant to be her brother Teddy...!

Anyway, today, we're going to take a gander at a couple of the set design features of these two classic disaster epics and point out why they might seem familiar to loyal 20th Century Fox moviegoers. 

The extraordinary set for the S.S. Poseidon ballroom was symmetrically designed so that it could be used both before and after the stirring capsizing of the luxury liner. It just needed some materials to be reversed or relocated to the opposing point of the film stage. As you glance at the photo above, do take notice of the gilded panels in the back-left near the Christmas tree.  

Sprinkled throughout the dining salon are various large, gold panels depicting any manner of old-world activity from hunting to harvesting and the offering of said revenue to the gods, be it vegetation, fowl or who knows what else.

Though the ship is the S.S. Poseidon and so far as I know that was a GREEK god, the various etched panels are not!

Though it really only stands out after one closely inspects the artwork, these panels seem less self-contained than a designer might intend and appear more as if they are culled from a different far more elaborate overall scheme. Perhaps one like this...

Here we find one of the elaborate rooms to be found in the palace of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra! You may be aware of the 1963 movie which bore her name? 

I'm hard-pressed (and, in truth, don't exactly have the time) to match up specific bits of these pieces of wall art from film to film, but they were definitely recycled from Cleopatra to Poseidon.  

What I believe was done is that the Poseidon production designers wisely chose portions from the massive montage of etchings that were either just beyond camera range or otherwise less featured than some of the examples seen here. 

With that said, there's no mistaking the presence of the huge gent seen to the right of the door in back, with his bow drawn.  

He and the opposing figure were used for the Poseidon ballroom, but switched sides so that they were oriented to face one another rather than have their backs to each other. 

Once the overturning was complete, these panels were flipped the other way so that they'd be part of the upside-down effect. 

This is, of course, where the water eventually began pouring into the ballroom, drowning everyone who didn't climb upstairs with Gene Hackman's bombastic reverend. 

Thus, regardless of their initial design, they suddenly became topsy-turvy water-bearers to the hapless victims of the capsizing!

By the way, on the subject of deja "view," raise your hand if you knew that the attractive brunette seen here in-between The Rosens is Elizabeth Rogers a close friend and frequent cast member in Irwin Allen projects. She also happens to be (albeit with a totally different look) ----

-- one of the ten ladies selected at random to be rescued by helicopter in The Towering Inferno (1974.) 'Course, that doesn't exactly go according to plan. So the same ten ladies, along with two additions, are supposed to then be the only ones able to descend in the disabled scenic elevator. So conceivably she would be among them. 

However, the elevator takes off and, inexplicably, Rogers is left in the Promenade Room and now is primed to be the first woman to escape the fire with that method! (See her standing at the far left of this grouping.) 

Paul Newman asks who is the first to go and she raises her hand...

...then proceeds to make a whole spectacle out of being placed in the chair and lowered to presumed safety. See? Ya shoulda stayed with the elevator! LOL

For this exercise, Rogers received billing in the credits as "Lady in Buoy" at a time when not everyone in a movie got their name on screen! Rogers is but one of many people who appeared in both films. Some of the staff at The Glass Tower were crew members of the S.S Poseidon and there are many crossover party guests as well. 

But back to the subject at hand, which is set pieces being recycled, not people! Take this gargantuan tiered planter situated in the corner of the Promenade Room near the windows. It's HUGE and we're only seeing a small part of it. (The set was built eleven feet off the ground so that cameras could aim upwards towards the skyscraper's inhabitants and also so that water could drain off without collecting - and potentially drowning someone! - during the big finale.)

In the aforementioned finale, Jack Collins (as the mayor of San Francisco) has tied himself to a post near the planter, but the force of the water coming towards him quickly knocks him from his position. 

Soon he, having already signaled a possible heart issue, finds himself being washed over to the edge of the pit which is holding the planter. 

And he's hurled into the abyss, presumably drowned. (We're not expressly shown this, but William Holden seems to indicate that he was lost and he's never shown again.) This towering plant holder was not dripping with water for the first time, however... 

It can be spied here in 20th Century Fox's 1969 release Hello, Dolly! There, it was part of the eye-popping Harmonia Gardens restaurant set. (In fact, there wasn't just one. There was a set of them.) 

Thus, the "planter" which wound up serving as Mr. Collins' watery memorial headstone had once been a fountain in the vast splendor of a movie released five years prior. 

Who'da thunk that this hefty background piece (understandably being overshadowed by La Streisand during the title number!) would one day find itself on the 135th floor of the world's tallest building!? 

To bring this post fully around 360 degrees, the windows seen behind Dolly and the waitstaff in the prior pic are the same ones used to form the skylight-style fixtures on the "ceiling" of the Poseidon ballroom, one of which was the recipient of the legendary fall by Ernie Orsatti! And with that I'll say goodbye till next time. 

Our 1,000th Post! - A Few of My Favorite Things

Wow. Who'da thunk it? When I ventured into blogland a little over 15 years ago, the mere idea of ever reaching 1,000 posts here wasn't even a notion, much less a goal. I just wanted to get my feet wet in the sharing of people, projects, ideas and information that had long appealed to me personally. I didn't even know if anyone would even visit the dang place! The very first post (pic to follow) demonstrated not only my unawareness of who might visit here, but also consisted of a brevity which would soon fall (WAY) to the wayside! Ha ha! Considering I have SO much difficulty finding the opportunity to build posts here these days, I am very likely going to return to briefer, less exhaustive posts in the future. This being a milestone one, I was trying to come up with something a little special to mark the occasion.

Just about one year prior to starting up, I'd worked on a rather monumental production of the musical "Children of Eden." So the use of "In the Beginning" as a title still had a certain resonance to it for me as a title. (And you know I was going to toss in a nude Michael Parks as Adam for the photo! Even then I had intended to put some men on display! Ha ha!) Those early posts were brief and to the point, proclaiming my love for this and that. And I have to say that, lo these years later, I still adore the same things today...

 

Almost needless to say, I've had a lifelong affection for the very first movie I ever saw in a theater, The Sound of Music (1965) - on re-release in 1972, lest you think I was there the first time out! LOL I was reared on the soundtrack album, knew every word and note in every song and never really got over my obsession with both its stars, Miss Julie Andrews and Mr. Christopher Plummer.

What was firmly in place by 2009 was a sea change in my appreciation of Eleanor Parker, seen here on location in an intimate moment with Plummer while surrounded by teeming hordes of crew members. (Never let it be said that immense concentration isn't needed to block out all the distractions during motion picture filming...!) As a kid I don't think I could have hated her any more. As an adult, thanks to her knowing, sly and, ultimately, sympathetic performance, I became enraptured by her!

Oh, she misbehaved to be sure, but in the end she knew when she was licked and bowed out gracefully, handing over her fiance to the competition like a relay race baton. Maybe I forgave her  it's because I'd have done all she did and more in order to snare Georg myself! Ha ha! 

Anyway... Eleanor Parker's Baroness Elsa Schraeder remains the standard for high-toned elegance and regal sophistication that all others have to strive towards. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

It was The Sound of Music that drew me towards singing in general and it was an early highlight of my stage experience to get to play Captain Von Trapp.

Ten years (and a number of pounds and wrinkles!) later I essayed the part of Uncle Max, one of my most favorite assignments. If I were still on the boards, I'd probably be earmarked for Admiral Von Schreiber now!

The other life-changing example of serene glamour for me will come as no surprise to longtime readers. Over and over I've brought up the chiffon-billowing sensation that is Faye Dunaway in The Towering Inferno (1974.) Dunaway, who'd already blown my 6 year-old mind in The Three Musketeers (1973) is the first movie star I ever saw in more than one part. (I thought people in movies only appeared that one time! Ha ha!)

Dunaway's role in Inferno is barely a part at all... especially in the release print. (The extended TV version restores quite a bit of her deleted dialogue, though it's still certainly not a character of much consequence.) None of this matters in the slightest, though, because throughout the entire film she is acting, acting, acting with every cell of her being and every expression. I mean, we're talking Lillian Gish silent movie level emoting here, people!

...You thought I was kidding. Ha ha ha!

This blog is titled Poseidon's Underworld because a hundred years ago, when we paid for every minute of Internet time individually through AOL, I adopted the handle of Poseidon-3 in tribute to my beloved disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure (1972), first seen on TV after having been taken to Inferno at the theater. I posted on countless message boards (you see, I was always a blabbermouth, even online) and at imdb.com and it just stuck. However, over time I've grown to love Poseidon and Inferno almost equally. It would be so, so difficult to rank one above the other.  

The two are melded in my mind as the greatest achievements from the 1970s cycle of disaster flicks. I love all of them, though, even the most horrible ones imaginable such as Avalanche (1978), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), Meteor (1979) or The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979.)

Always crazy over "Box" style movie posters and ads with all the stars aligned in boxes across the sides, top or bottom, I made my own Facebook cover photos in tribute to some of these films. You're welcome to pilfer them if you please. I don't mind anything that keeps these movies alive in the hearts of viewers. (And, God knows, people nab things from P.U. anyway!)

An example of what I'm referring to. This TV broadcast of Airport (1970) was a record-breaking ratings event.

The montage I made in tribute.

I also did this one in tribute to my all-time favorite comedy series, The Golden Girls.

And we all know what a game show nut I am. So there's this one for Match Game.

Classic stars from To Tell the Truth.

Incidentally, when I'm hankering for a taste of what the S.S. Poseidon's dining room had to offer in the way of grandeur, I don't have to go very far.

Right here in good ol' Cincinnati is the Palm Court restaurant and bar, part of the Netherland Plaza Hotel. I think it's glorious architecture and decor outdoes even my much-adored movie and if there's ever an effort made to demolish it, you'll find me chained to one of the permanent fixtures!

One of my first posts concerned these people, the cast of The Big Valley, which was and is my very favorite TV western. To me, this was THE perfect television family with the iron-solid Barbara Stanwyck presiding over her morally-upright clan of good looking offspring. 

I loved every member of the cast, but felt that Linda Evans and Lee Majors (as half-brother and sister) were remarkably beautiful in particular. I faithfully watched The Six Million Dollar Man and Dynasty, but it was certainly a little odd seeing them paired romantically later on an extended episode of The Love Boat!

Another of my utter obsessions, one which has only grown over the years, is Miss Joan Crawford. (Do check out the most unusual and I daresay suggestive pleating on this gown!)

That FACE at any era of her unbelievable career will never fail to hold my attention.

That said, it's the late-career work which grabs hold of me the most. I can't deny I have a thing for female stars in their declining years. 'Course JC is hardly in decline here, showing off her fit physique in a judo lesson with Constance Ford during The Caretakers (1963.)

I LOVED the salt 'n pepper look on Joan, though she discarded it before very long, claiming it made her feel too old.

Some day, before I depart this earth, I hope I get to see the long-missing footage from Hush, Hush... Sweet Charlotte (1964) which Joan filmed prior to departing the angst-ridden production.

Was she sick? Was she faking? I really think her spirit was broken after some of the treatment she'd endured on location from her costar and that it was a little bit of both. True sickness, both emotional and physical, without the ability to face more of the same on set. It's a shame because that movie would have been next-level iconic had she been able to stick it out.

I loved her look in the stills from location on this film more than practically any other way she looked beyond the mid-1940s. It just clicks with me for whatever reason.

I came to know JC through a certain movie, based on a certain book, and had to work backwards from there to discover the real person. She remains a polarizing figure even now thanks to the notorious projects that have been manufactured. However (and I am FAR from alone in this - there are people out there who have slaved like dogs to unearth the real facts about her) I am fully in her camp. Do I think she was an ideal mother? Nope. Do I think she was relentlessly smeared and defamed by a jealous, selfish family member? Absolutely.

Trivia Tidbit: Did you know that Joan Crawford was Johnny Carson's first guest on The Tonight Show when he took it over? The video of the event is long gone, though audio remains. She was a HUGE star with legions of fans and graciously helped young Johnny get started on the right foot.

Another Joan, named after Crawford as a matter of fact, is Dame Joan Collins. This Joan has been an all-time favorite of mine since childhood when she appeared alongside Christopher Plummer in The Moneychangers, a star-packed miniseries.

As someone who has actually visited and enjoyed pages of this blog, Collins is practically a patron saint of the place. Staggeringly beloved by virtually everyone in her home country of England, she never stops going and doing, leaving the rest of us to marvel at her energy and enthusiasm.

Not satisfied with having graced, literally, hundreds - if not thousands - of magazine covers over the course of her remarkable career, she just landed another one when she was selected for the Arabian Harper's Bazaar for September 2024.

In the deliberately campy photo shoot (which included clothing solely from Arabian designers), she spoofed her gitzy diva image in a variety of ways.

Granted, these photos have been retouched (they do it for the 20-somethings, too, darling...!), but pray that you look this amazing when/if you are half her age.

If I didn't know whether, or for how long, this blog would continue to exist when I began it, I sure as hell never dreamed that a personage I have practically worshiped since childhood would someday look at it and eventually even know who I am...! It's all thanks to a mutual friend who came here first, then shared it with her. That action has led to a wealth of enrichment for me beyond anything I might have ever anticipated.

Here we have a very healthy-looking William Holden, later the costar of various Underworld faves such as the aforementioned The Towering Inferno as well as Damian: Omen II (1978) and the laughably bad, but nonetheless beloved When Time Ran Out... (1980) among others. While there are exceptions every now and again, we like our men with hairy chests. Many a post has seen its way to light here on the topic.

We like this shot a little bit less as we do not endorse cigarettes here, but again he's looking great, trim and nicely slunk into those abbreviated trunks.

Another of our little "likes" is the prospect of actors in towels. Seen here is Richard Johnson in Some Girls Do (1969), a spy flick updating the old hero Bulldog Drummond in a second outing (now called Hugh!)

Johnson, once the husband of Kim Novak for a little over a year, was reportedly offered the role of James Bond in Dr. No (1962), but declined. In the wake of that movie's success, he clearly regretted passing it up, but had to settle for this less-electrifying turn.

Sorry, but there's literally no comparison between this and what Sean Connery was bringing to the table as 007...!

Oh, and FYI... That is NOT me, blurred in the background waiting in the sauna for someone interesting to arrive. Ha ha ha!!!

Another screen trope which we always enjoy highlighting is the TV or movie bath. Here we see Anthony Zerbe on an episode of The F.B.I.

Rare is the instance when an on-screen bath is permitted to remain private...! In this case, John Marley has entered and pulled a gun.

Zerbe is ordered to make a certain phone call, against his will.

For all intents and purposes, if I see a movie or television bath by an actor, it's going to surface on this site.

The same can be said about the immortal Speedo. If I see one in action in a movie or TV show, I'm apt to share it at some point.

This example, modeled by actor William Zabka, is from - of all places - the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield comedy Back to School!

Sometimes the background players give better than the stars!

Dangerfield's son in the movie, Keith Gordon, donned a navy blue one in his diving scenes.

On a different installment of the aforementioned series The F.B.I., we find Scott Marlowe (playing - as was customary at the time -- don't send letters! -- a native American.)

Marlowe provides in this particular sequence what has become something of a hallmark of Poseidon's Underworld. The "bulge."

Sometimes certain people have difficulty grasping it, as evidence in the comments, but bulges on this site are not about finding gargantuan penises among vintage films and programs. Things like that are always available elsewhere with the click of a mouse or the touch of a link. It's about managing to see something that perhaps we were never intended to see or notice.

Sometimes they're everyday, sometimes not. What gets my attention is that in the majority of cases, we're seeing something we probably weren't supposed to notice.

It really was never a deliberate intention of mine to make bulges a significant part of this blog. What happened was that I did a series of posts on various exposures from TV stars of the 1970s & early 80s (chest hair, Speedos, bulges) and that one really took off in terms of visits/clicks. So, you know, give the people what they want. Ha ha! Come for the bulges, stay for the fun.

I haven't gone into ALL of my favorite things here, but it's a sampling. And there is more to come in the near future. As I say, I'm going to attempt briefer, more frequent posts instead of leaving so much time in-between. I was recently pleased to be able to revisit a site that had been blocked for me at work. I won't say that I slept with the IT Department, but I did turn on some Blanche Devereaux charm in order to have it freed up. The effort was about 75% successful (certain videos still won't play, but quite a few do, so I'll have greater access to things than I was having over the last several months.) Thanks for your continued support! Speaking of support, I close with Rock Hudson accidentally allowing us to see a glimpse of his own supporter. Till next time!