You would think the setup of a volcano blowing up at a remote, yet crowded location, leaving a handful of survivors to fend for themselves until they can be safely rescued would be a good one. Unfortunately, this movie shows just how poorly that premise can be executed.
The plot - what there is of it - centers around a resort hotel located close to a picturesque, and supposedly dormant volcano. The hotel is owned by successful businessman, Shelby Gilmore (William Holden), and his greedy son-in-law, Bob Spangler (James Franciscus). Gilmore is openly disapproving of Spangler, since he suspects that Spangler has only married his daughter, Nikki (Veronica Hammel), in order to become his business partner, and get his money. Gilmore's disapproval is justified by Spangler's affair with native Iolani (Barbara Carrera). The other natives of the island, those who don't work at the hotel, seem to spend their time either cockfighting, or drinking at a bar owned by Sam (Pat Morita) and Mona (sheila Allen, Irwin's wife, a little nepotism here?). Gilmore is interested in Kay Kirby (Jacqueline Bisset), who is in turn interested in oil driller, Hank Henderson (Paul Newman). When the ground starts rumbling during drilling, Henderson suspects their may be a problem with the supposedly dormant volcano, so he goes to talk to the scientists who work at a lab precariously perched on the lip of the volcano. While there, Henderson goes into the volcano in a gondola to inspect it, and nearly gets dropped into the lava. Somehow, he is able to see that eruption is imminent, even though the head of the lab, John Webster (John Considine), doesn't. Spangler doesn't want to cause a panic, or lose money, so he refuses to evacuate the hotel. While Henderson and Kirby are on a picnic, the volcano blows up, causing a tidal wave which wipes out half the island, including the cockfighting population. The hotel guests are in a panic when Henderson and Kirby arrive back there, as the volcano is spewing lava bombs at them. Once again, Spangler refuses to evacuate, and encourages the guests to sit tight. A small group, which includes a private eye (Ernest Borgnine) and the thief he is trying to catch (Red Buttons), and a retired high wire walker (Burgess Meredith) and his wife (Valentina Cortese), decides to follow Henderson to higher ground to get away from the lava, and we follow them for most of the rest of the movie, with a break to watch the hotel get destroyed by a surprisingly accurate lava bomb.
Clear as mud, right. The writers tried to cram so many subplots into the movie that the result is a tangled mess. It's hard to tell who is who, much less who is involved with whom. And that makes it hard to develop a sense of concern about their well being. You watch so many gratuitous characters die throughout the course of the movie that you are too numb to react to the deaths of the important ones. Simplifying things somewhat would not only have shortened a movie that seems tediously long, but it would have helped to keep the viewer focused on the important characters.
The writing also has a contrived feel to it, relying so heavily on clichés that it becomes unintentionally comical. We have not one, but two love triangles. In addition, we have a noble thief, who helps the cop out when he becomes disabled. Then there's the rickety bridge over the river of lava, which, of course, gives way before everyone gets over it. There are two deaths by falling into the lava, one by heart attack, and one by falling onto hard rock. There are two foolish children who become so frightened that they run away, and must be rescued. And there just happens to be an aerialist around when you need one. All in all, it adds up to a bit much to swallow.
The science of the movie is laughably bad. Oil is unlikely to be found near a volcano, active or dormant, and you wouldn't drill near a volcano, because the release of pressure would cause the volcano to erupt. A volcano is not a mountain with a shaft in the top that leads down to a lake of lava. If a fissure like that opened up, the volcano would simply erupt because the pressure forcing the magma up would be greater than the pressure holding it down. If the volcano caused a tidal wave, chances are it would head away from the island, rather than heading back to it. And then there's the lab at the lip of the volcano. Who in their right mind would build a lab in such a place, much less work at it? Volcano observatories are usually safely away from the lava flow, not right in the path of it. It just doesn't make sense.
The effects were horribly cheesy, and the cinematography was just awful. Who thought it would be a good idea to have an actress in a red dress fall into a red river of lava? All you see are her head, hands, and feet while she tumbles into the lava.
With the kind of star power assembled in the cast, one would think that the acting would at least be decent, but in truth, the entire cast seems embarrassed to have been involved in the project, delivering their lines with a kind of sheepishness that makes the movie seem all the more embarrassing.
All in all a bad movie, but oddly enough, it can be enjoyable if you're willing to suspend disbelief to a great degree, and lower your expectations. If you don't take it seriously, it can be an amusing little diversion.
The plot - what there is of it - centers around a resort hotel located close to a picturesque, and supposedly dormant volcano. The hotel is owned by successful businessman, Shelby Gilmore (William Holden), and his greedy son-in-law, Bob Spangler (James Franciscus). Gilmore is openly disapproving of Spangler, since he suspects that Spangler has only married his daughter, Nikki (Veronica Hammel), in order to become his business partner, and get his money. Gilmore's disapproval is justified by Spangler's affair with native Iolani (Barbara Carrera). The other natives of the island, those who don't work at the hotel, seem to spend their time either cockfighting, or drinking at a bar owned by Sam (Pat Morita) and Mona (sheila Allen, Irwin's wife, a little nepotism here?). Gilmore is interested in Kay Kirby (Jacqueline Bisset), who is in turn interested in oil driller, Hank Henderson (Paul Newman). When the ground starts rumbling during drilling, Henderson suspects their may be a problem with the supposedly dormant volcano, so he goes to talk to the scientists who work at a lab precariously perched on the lip of the volcano. While there, Henderson goes into the volcano in a gondola to inspect it, and nearly gets dropped into the lava. Somehow, he is able to see that eruption is imminent, even though the head of the lab, John Webster (John Considine), doesn't. Spangler doesn't want to cause a panic, or lose money, so he refuses to evacuate the hotel. While Henderson and Kirby are on a picnic, the volcano blows up, causing a tidal wave which wipes out half the island, including the cockfighting population. The hotel guests are in a panic when Henderson and Kirby arrive back there, as the volcano is spewing lava bombs at them. Once again, Spangler refuses to evacuate, and encourages the guests to sit tight. A small group, which includes a private eye (Ernest Borgnine) and the thief he is trying to catch (Red Buttons), and a retired high wire walker (Burgess Meredith) and his wife (Valentina Cortese), decides to follow Henderson to higher ground to get away from the lava, and we follow them for most of the rest of the movie, with a break to watch the hotel get destroyed by a surprisingly accurate lava bomb.
Clear as mud, right. The writers tried to cram so many subplots into the movie that the result is a tangled mess. It's hard to tell who is who, much less who is involved with whom. And that makes it hard to develop a sense of concern about their well being. You watch so many gratuitous characters die throughout the course of the movie that you are too numb to react to the deaths of the important ones. Simplifying things somewhat would not only have shortened a movie that seems tediously long, but it would have helped to keep the viewer focused on the important characters.
The writing also has a contrived feel to it, relying so heavily on clichés that it becomes unintentionally comical. We have not one, but two love triangles. In addition, we have a noble thief, who helps the cop out when he becomes disabled. Then there's the rickety bridge over the river of lava, which, of course, gives way before everyone gets over it. There are two deaths by falling into the lava, one by heart attack, and one by falling onto hard rock. There are two foolish children who become so frightened that they run away, and must be rescued. And there just happens to be an aerialist around when you need one. All in all, it adds up to a bit much to swallow.
The science of the movie is laughably bad. Oil is unlikely to be found near a volcano, active or dormant, and you wouldn't drill near a volcano, because the release of pressure would cause the volcano to erupt. A volcano is not a mountain with a shaft in the top that leads down to a lake of lava. If a fissure like that opened up, the volcano would simply erupt because the pressure forcing the magma up would be greater than the pressure holding it down. If the volcano caused a tidal wave, chances are it would head away from the island, rather than heading back to it. And then there's the lab at the lip of the volcano. Who in their right mind would build a lab in such a place, much less work at it? Volcano observatories are usually safely away from the lava flow, not right in the path of it. It just doesn't make sense.
The effects were horribly cheesy, and the cinematography was just awful. Who thought it would be a good idea to have an actress in a red dress fall into a red river of lava? All you see are her head, hands, and feet while she tumbles into the lava.
With the kind of star power assembled in the cast, one would think that the acting would at least be decent, but in truth, the entire cast seems embarrassed to have been involved in the project, delivering their lines with a kind of sheepishness that makes the movie seem all the more embarrassing.
All in all a bad movie, but oddly enough, it can be enjoyable if you're willing to suspend disbelief to a great degree, and lower your expectations. If you don't take it seriously, it can be an amusing little diversion.