Disaster on the Coastliner

Fun stuff for it's time. An ABC Sunday Night Movie, made by Shatner largely after he completed principal photography on STAR TREK-THE MOTION PICTURE, in 1978. I happened to be on an Amtrak train in 1979,going to a "Star Trek" Convention. The conductor explained to me that that very route-Rhode Island/Connecticut to NYC, was actually the very route and train(Amtrak) on which much of the film was shot, including several stunt sequences involving a small bridge. Many "out the window" reaction shots and some of the interaction was filmed with Connecticut whizzing by the windows. The crew apparently rented out three of the cars to do some quick filming on, however the conductor had access to all of them, so he got to meet the cast used in the sequences.

Of course it was an "all star film" like many of the time. And miniatures were used in the film as well.

An interesting anecdote.

Taut, tense telemovie concerning a grieving widow and father (Paul Smith) whose family was killed in a railways accident the cause of which he attributes to gross negligence, but which he alleges has been covered up. To make his point, he hijacks a commuter train and sets it on a collision course with a train carrying the mayor's wife. Told from myriad vantage points, various characters come into focus as heroes and villains emerge amid the ensuing chaos.

Key perspectives include the distrusting relationship between special agent Bridges and wily schedule controller Marshall, whilst on board the potential train-wreck, affable con artist Shatner woos the affections of scorned Mimieux, her philandering husband (Fuller) in turn, up to no good on the opposing train. Raymond Burr appears later in the film as the newly appointed railways director, with a sympathetic ear for Smith's allegations, causing feathers to fly in his corrupt coop.

Solid cast, full of familiar faces (Peter MacLean, Harry Caesar, Lane Smith, Rockne Tarkington, Michael Pataki just to name a few) complements the taut action sequences with remarkable depth and quality for a telemovie. Peripheral characters are given multiple opportunities to establish persona's, and the skills of director Sarafian (an experienced feature film director) is evident in adding this dimension.

Elements of distinction include the intelligent dialogue peppered with wry humour, impressive action sequences and stunt-work, and most importantly, an engaging narrative that builds to a satisfying climax. Even the music, and its pulsating high octane rhythm is fitting. But overall it's Sarafian's fluent narrative, and attention to character depth that elevate this movie beyond formula disaster fodder. Riveting stuff and very entertaining.

Two trains are about to collide and Lloyd Bridges is in the control room trying to sort things out.

I am a 1970s disaster movie lover, and I finally saw this long lost film on YouTube in 2012 or 2013. I think it has been taken down now. I remember being thrilled by the screening.

The thing that lingers in the mind is the amusing Airplane-type character played by Lloyd Bridges. Shatner is funny as well.

Being a TV movie, don't expect any lavish special effects, just enjoy the ride and the funny quirks of the people in the film.

Ah, you have to love the 70s. Time of the made for TV movies.

This train tale of terror includes a lot of separate scenes cut together to appear like some semblance of an actual movie. Scenes range from railroad track construction, several train car interiors, and my favorite: the people gathering to protest. Why or what they are protesting is not really explained but you have to love the shoddy signs and workmanship.

The acting does its best to keep the movie bustling along the tracks. Lloyd Bridges is angry, annoyed and tries to take control pretty much in every scene he is in. I knew I recognized E.G. Marshall from somewhere but didn't recognize him without cockroaches crawling all over as from his performance in the classic Creepshow. E.G. and Lloyd butting heads trying to find a solution provide some highlights.

Bill Shatner saves this from being a true disaster. I can never get enough seeing Bill smoke cigarettes, do his mack daddy Kirk routine, and eluding the authorities all at once. He pretty much stands out whenever on screen and the epic finale makes this worth the ride.

Take the ticket for this 70s version of Speed on trains..except it's better.

Disaster on the Coastliner (1979)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Lloyd Bridges, Raymond Burr, William Shatner, Pat Hingle, E.G. Marshall, Robert Fuller and Paul L. Smith headline this made-for-TV disaster pic that contains some good suspense even though the actual story is perhaps the dumbest of the genre. A man (Smith) wants to prove that a derailment six years earlier was covered up so he hijacks a train, rigs all the computer controls and is prepared to crash the train into another one that just happens to be carrying the Vice President's wife. I love disaster films and anyone who does will probably want to check this thing out, although there's no question that the actual story might be the dumbest I've ever seen. Now, I'll admit that I'm no railroad expert but the bad guy had way too easy of a time getting his plan carried out and it seems like the good guys had way too much trouble trying to stop the train. We get a few reasons as to why they can't stop the train but these here are just incredibly silly and quite often had me laughing pretty hard. One of the stories is that the bad guy is communicating with the other engineer and tells him that terrorists are trying to take the train over. There are other small gimmicks that the bad guy uses to try and pull this off and they're just as silly. Half-way through the picture we get the reason that the bad guy is doing all this stuff and the film tries to make us feel sorry for him but this little plot point didn't work even though Smith gives the best performance in the film. Shatner gets to play a bad guy with a heart of gold. Burr pretty much just stays seated but he's at least entertaining. Bridges is a real hoot playing a government guy at the trains main station and seeing him pull out of gun twice in the film will give you a guaranteed laugh. As silly as many of the plot points are, there's no question that the movie also has some very tense moments. The entire lead-up to the disaster are very well directed and I thought the final fifteen-minutes were extremely tense. It's a real shame that a lot of these tense moments as well as some nice action pieces are letdown due to a rather weak screenplay. With that said, if you enjoy these made-for-TV movies then you might as well check this one out.