When Time Ran Out... (1980)

People are voting emotionally.

I'll tell you why so serious

Good concept, poorly executed.

An Exercise In Nonsense

Irwin Allen brought the 1970s disaster-film cycle to an inglorious end with 1980's "When Time Ran Out". As usual, Irwin signed several prominent actors to the production, including Paul Newman, Ernest Borgnine, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, James Franciscus, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Burgess Meredith, and even Alex Karras.The film opens and proceeds according to Allen's established formula. First, everyone is vacationing at an island resort and all is well. Then, a volcano violently erupts, endangering the resort and causing the smart people to flee for their lives. Third, a group of brave survivors fights huge odds to escape, losing many members of their little band to gruesome deaths (including predictable falls into molten lava). In a usual Allen plot device, the slimy villain (in this case James Franciscus) dies a spectacular death.Allen's last disaster epic received horrible reviews, bombed at the box office, and disappeared from theaters in a big hurry. There's a reason for that—it just isn't very good. Still, it's fun to watch this great cast and to try to guess who's going to die next. You know that Newman and Bisset will survive, and you know that Franciscus won't, but the survivors' trek is entertaining. Maybe if you find this movie in the DVD bargain bin for $2.99, it might be worth watching.

You gotta hand it to Irwin Allen, he believed he could continue producing disaster themed movies in the 80's, even though everyone knew that the genre's best days were long behind it. Right up to 1983's Cave In, he strived to capture the heady heyday of Messrs Poseidon Adventure and Towering Inferno in the 70's. When Time Ran Out saw him throw all his budget on a star cast and hoped that would be enough? It wasn't.Plot basically follows standard disaster movie formula, a bunch of people are introduced to us, each with on going "issues" that keep the human interest factor on the high heat. Then a disaster strikes, in this case a volcano erupting on a Pacific Island, cue panic, arguments and little groups forming as they go about their attempts to survive death's scythe. Some will make it, some will not, but hopefully there will be great edge of seat drama in the process.When Time Ran Out has a couple of good sequences that stop it being a flat out stinker as such, some Helicopter shenanigans and a finale involving a crumbling bridge over a molten lava river, are enjoyable, especially when you got the likes of Paul Newman, William Holden and Burgess Meredith taking it all seriously! But the cheap photographic effects are laughable and really take you out of the movie, with the repeat shot of the volcano erupting looking like a Bunsen Burner alight behind a painting being particularly cheesy.It has always been a much maligned genre anyway, but there were some great films produced that brought joy to many film fans (myself included), unfortunately When Time Ran Out is one entrant that has left an indelible garbage stain upon disaster movies. 5/10

Time should have ran out on the making of this movie as it is yet another waste of good talent by Irwin Allen. The plot is predictable and formulaic, it is basically the Poseidon Adventure on a volcanic island. You have the intrepid group fleeing from the volcano, warning the rest to come with them but scoffed at. Sound familiar? Well that is exactly what happened in the Poseidon Adventure. You have your token victims picked off one by one but unlike the Poseidon Adventure where the danger was every present and it was claustrophobic, fleeing from lava flows, the danger was just not there. A real Paul Newman turkey, this one, not sure why he did it because it certainly did not enhance his reputation.

Lately and for no apparent reason, I find myself to be quite massively obsessed with disaster movies from the 70's decade. These flicks guarantee spectacular action and thrills but, admittedly, it's also a sub genre that can all too easy be labeled as inferior and derivative. It's undeniable that you can summarize practically all 70's disaster movies by listing just a handful of recurring trademarks. #1: without producer Irwin Allen, there wasn't a budget for special effects and thus no movie. #2: all disaster movies star one major star (especially Charlton Heston and Paul Newman were prime choices) and a long list of "secondary" stars (like Ernest Borgnine, Leslie Nielsen,…). #3: The characters are usually split into two camps with completely opposite ideals and/or initiatives. The camp with the lead star is obviously the triumphant camp. #4: Regardless what type of disaster we're dealing with, variants of the exact same perilous situations are always applicable. #5: always remember that, when the situation appears to be at it worst, it can and will still get even worse! Not coincidentally, "When Time Ran Out" answers to ALL the above trademarks and thus ranks as the ultimately clichéd disaster flick. This shouldn't come as too much as a surprise as the film was released in 1980, which is more than half a decade after the disaster movie hype was at its peak. Paul Newman stars as the robust macho workman Hank Anderson drilling for oil on a Pacific island that is particularly famous for its tropical holiday resort run by the stubborn and obnoxious island patriarch Brian Franciscus. Everyone's victorious when Newman and C° hit the black gold jackpot, but he warns about the oil's pressure causing the island's volcano to regain activity. Almost everybody disregards Hank's warnings, even when the volcano does erupt and spits out flaming balls of fire. Anderson eventually gathers a small group of intelligent people to flee towards higher grounds, but the majority of tourists and workmen stupidly remain at the resort to await a certain and painful death. "When Time Ran Out" is a bad movie mainly because the characters are walking, talking caricatures and never cease to take really stupid decisions. Take Brian Franciscus, for example. He refuses to leave or even stop the drillings because he desperately wants to prove to his father that he's a successful businessman and resort owner. But his father is dead and all that remains of him is a stern portrait on the wall. The tourists are even worse. Franciscus initially assures them the volcano will not erupt. He was wrong. Later on, he assures them the volcano won't be spitting out any fireballs. He was wrong again. Finally he claims the volcanic lava will never reach the resort and these idiots still believe him! Wouldn't it be smarter to stay close to the guy who has been right about the volcano since the beginning? I guess not, since only the actors with a slightly bigger paycheck accompany Paul Newman on the perilous journey across the island. I didn't think it was possible, but the script becomes even dumber from then onwards. There's a tidal wave approaching the island even though it should go the other direction and into the ocean and Newman's group shrinks in number due to some textbook clichés like steep rocks and ramshackle wooden bridges over lava rivers. If all this isn't trite enough for you just yet, we still have some additional clichés on sale, like the elderly who sacrifices his life to rescue a child, the triangular relationship between the hero, the millionaire and the hot rebellious girl and the ridiculously abrupt ending. There is one remotely ingenious sub plot that is worth mentioning, however. Ernest Borgnine plays a cop indiscreetly following around a fraudulent banker, but during the environmental disaster they become close friends and dependent on each other. In conclusion: "When Time Ran Out" is literally a disaster of film. It's a volcanic eruption of derivative ideas, predictable moves and cheesy effects. But, on the other hand, I didn't get bored for one second throughout the entire 121 minutes of running time and that alone might be worth a recommendation!