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WELCOME TO HELL "...
...James Martin on entering the Engine Room...
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WELCOME TO HELL "... ...James Martin on entering the Engine Room... |
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Some of the most spectacular action in The Poseidon Adventure takes place on one of it's most spectacular sets - the engine room of the S.S. Poseidon, capsized by a monstrous wave. One of Red Buttons' lines here is "Welcome to Hell." And hell it is, as described by Paul Gallico, author of the novel on which the film is based: "An appalling scene of lacerated steel, twisted pipes, dangling wires and girders.....steam hisses from ruptured pipes and burning oil produces and eerie glow. Water rises menacingly from below". |
Legendary production designer William Creber turned soundstage 14 on the 20th Century Fox studio lot into just such a nightmarish world. His Academy Award nominated sets were some of the most extraordinary sets Hollywood had ever seen. Although ingeniously constructed to protect the actors, it was still a hazardous set rising to over 30 feet from the soundstage floor. |
William Creber designed this incredible set to serve as both Boiler Room and Engine Room, a cost cutting feat that brought production in and on budget precisely 2 days under its 70-day shooting schedule. This was something production experts thought would be a miracle. Mr. Crebers' clever use of space allowed simply redressing and re-lighting sections of the huge soundstage. A single large concrete pool was constructed. The actors entered the water and reemerged in the same spot as if a laborious swim had occurred.
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The Engine Room set photograph below reveals William Crebers' clever use of space... creating 2 sets in 1. Click on the smaller corner images to see a full-size version |
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The Poseidon Adventure was an extremely physical film for the stars. With their Academy Awards and other honors they might have been expected to project the more subtle nuances of their art - which they did - but they also climbed high into the wreckage; swam under water; were wet most of the time and smeared with oil. They did these things themselves without resorting to doubles, perhaps inspired of director Ronal Neame who believed that good acting was as important as action. |
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Red Buttons and Carol Lynley, certified 14-karat acrophobes (fear of heights), may have given the performances of their lives when they registered terror while climbing through the ruins of the capsized ship. They worked as high as 40 feet from the floor of the soundstage and Ronald Neame, who had had previous experience with acrophobia actors, complimented them for resisting their fears. |
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Stella Stevens' stunt double rehearses her fall. |
