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The Poseidon Adventure premieres at the National Theatre in New York. Adapted from Paul Gallico’s 1969 novel by Stirling Silliphant and Wendell Mayes, and directed by Ronald Neame, the story is set on New Year’s Eve aboard the SS Posiedon, a luxury liner which has been overturned by a freak tsunami wave in the middle of the Atlantic. With only a few air-pockets remaining, a small group of survivors sets out on a perilous climb upwards through the rapidly flooding compartments and corridors before the stricken ship submerges. The high profile cast – de rigueur for the big disaster movies of the 70s – is led by Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Roddy McDowell and Carol Lynley. The film is a huge success, winning Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and Best Original Song for Maureen McGovern’s The Morning After.
