Disaster on the Coastliner

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.

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.

Two commuter trains are set on a collision course by a computer programmer who has a grudge against the railroad company. It is then a race against time to save the hundreds of passengers on the two trains (including the vice presidents wife) from impending disaster.

Reasons to love this movie

• Its full of stars - the guy from star trek, the guy from ironside, the guy from men in black its great to see all these 'stars' and to see how they were then.

• Its got tension, excitement and the implausible ending (which any classic disaster movie needs) -

Finally it has Lloyd Bridges reprising his role from Airplane - "Now, this is no time for coffee" What more do you need?

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.

When speaking of disaster movies from the 70s decade, you automatically think of the gloriously flamboyant and heavily budgeted productions of Irwin Allen, with dazzling all-star casts and spectacular stunt work as most recognizable trademarks. As much as I worship those, I must admit that many made-for-TV disaster movies from that same era are just as awesome, or even more awesome, despite their much smaller budgets.

"Disaster on the Coastliner" is such a fantastic TV-film, but for some inexplicable and totally undeserved reason, it's unknown and entirely forgotten. I can't possibly fathom why that is, because it has a terrific yet textbook disaster movie plot, a downright fantastic cast and a more than competent director (Richard C. Sarafian of "Vanishing Point"). Paul Smith is terrific as an embittered and vengeful employee of the Railway company who sabotages the computerized controls and arranges for two passenger trains to head towards each other at high speed, and on the same tracks. In the control room, as well as on both trains and even at Amtrak headquarters, people slowly realize that a catastrophic head-on collision becomes unavoidable.

The film has everything! There's suspense, fast-paced action, a garden variety of interesting characters, odd humor and an edge-of-your-seat climax. Despite this being a TV-production, there are some impressive action sequences and the finale with the miniature derailment is excellent. The sequences in the control room, and especially the interactions between Lloyd Bridges and E.G. Marshall, are quite funny, since Bridges can complain non-stop about computers and modern technology, and you can't help thinking of him in "Airplane!" the entire time. Furthermore, the stellar cast includes Yvette Mimieux, Robert Fuller, Pat Hingle, Lane Smith and the great William Shatner who depicts a petty criminal who nevertheless becomes the hero who saves the day.