When Time Ran Out
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| When Time Ran Out | |
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| Directed by | James Goldstone |
| Produced by | Irwin Allen |
| Written by | Carl Foreman Stirling Silliphant |
| Starring | Paul Newman Jacqueline Bisset William Holden James Franciscus Ernest Borgnine |
| Music by | Lalo Schifrin |
| Cinematography | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | 1980 |
| Running time | 121 minutes |
| IMDb profile | |
When Time Ran Out... is a disaster film released in 1980, starring Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, James Franciscus, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Edward Albert and Barbara Carrera.
Produced by the "Master of Disaster," Irwin Allen, When Time Ran Out... is loosely based on a novel detailing the factual 1902 volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique, which killed 30,000 people in five minutes (by pyroclastic flow). When Time Ran Out... has the distinction of being both the last notable "disaster film" produced at the tail-end of the 1970s cycle of the genre, and Irwin Allen's last theatrically-released picture.
When Time Ran Out... deals with the eruption of a volcano on a remote Pacific island, threatening a newly-constructed, multi-million dollar resort, an oil drilling project, and a volcano observatory perched on the edge of the caldera. After a major eruption causes a lava flow to head directly towards the resort, a small group of people attempt to escape to safety on the opposite side of the island, while others remain behind.
Allen recycled many of the ideas and scenarios presented in his two huge hits, The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno, but substandard special effects, continuity errors, and a convoluted storyline negatively impact the film.
WTRO... was a critical and financial failure. While it cost an estimated $20,000,000 USD to produce, the film only grossed $1,700,000 USD.
Filmed on the "Big Island" of Hawaii (notably at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort and Spa), despite the exotic location, the film was rife with production problems. William Holden was ill, and was upset about his billing under Paul Newman (which was also the case in The Towering Inferno five years prior). Paul Newman was contractually obligated to do another Irwin Allen film after his starring role The Towering Inferno, and was less than enthusiastic about appearing in WTRO... (in a recent interview, when Newman was asked if he ever regretted making any film, he responded "that volcano movie"). Despite his reluctance, it is thought his salary for this film was used to start up his extremely successful Newman's Own company.
For early network television airings, an expanded version of the film was titled Earth's Final Fury.
