Rollercoaster

"Somewhere in the crowd is a killer who can turn smiles into screams."

1977 1h 59m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

53%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.3

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 162🥫53%Rotten Tomatoes★6.3IMDB · 7,079

ActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A young terrorist kills and injures patrons of a Norfolk amusement park by placing homemade explosives on the track of one of its roller coasters. After staging a similar incident in Pittsburgh, he sends a tape to a meeting of major amusement park executives in Chicago, demanding $1 million to make him stop.

“Somewhere in the crowd is a killer who can turn smiles into screams.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Cast

George Segal
Harry Calder
Richard Widmark
Agent Hoyt
Timothy Bottoms
Young Man
Harry Guardino
Keefer
Susan Strasberg
Fran
Henry Fonda
Simon Davenport
Helen Hunt
Tracy Calder
Dorothy Tristan
Helen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: James Goldstone
Writers: Richard Levinson, William Link, Tommy Cook
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 91% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

49 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by James Goldstone, shot by David M. Walsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Edward A. Biery shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

George Segal and Richard Widmark and Timothy Bottoms carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Somewhere in the crowd is a killer who can turn smiles into screams.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0076636 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

James Goldstone directs. David M. Walsh behind the camera. Lalo Schifrin scores. Edward A. Biery cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 91% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
249 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by James Goldstone, shot by David M. Walsh. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Lalo Schifrin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Edward A. Biery shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6George Segal and Richard Widmark and Timothy Bottoms carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Somewhere in the crowd is a killer who can turn smiles into screams.".
8IMDB entry: tt0076636 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 12 themes, including "bomb", "blackmail", "fbi", "investigation".

The technical file

Cinematography: David M. Walsh
Original score: Lalo Schifrin
Editing: Edward A. Biery
Production design: Henry Bumstead
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Status: Released
Budget: $9,000,000
Box office: $8,200,000
Return: 91% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Rollercoaster (1977)
Rotten Tomatoes: 53% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.3/10 · 7,079 votes
MPAA: PG

Also by

James Goldstone

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-07-24
★ 8/10
Wrong psychological profile, Harry. I'm not in this for kicks. Rollercoaster is directed by James Goldstone and co-adapted to screenplay by Sanford Sheldon, Richard Levinson and William Link from a suggested Tommy Cook story. It stars George Segal, Timothy Bottoms, Richard Widmark, Harry Guardino, Susan Strasberg and Helen Hunt. A Panavision/Technicolor production in Sensurround, it features music by Lalo Schifrin and photography by David M. Walsh. A psychopathic bomber known only as "Young Man" (Bottoms) is causing terror at American theme parks. When safety inspector Harry Calder (Segal) is brought in to investigate, it sets off a cat and mouse game as the "Young Man" ups the ante... Even now Rollercoaster is still wrongly being lumped in with the disaster movie genre that surfaced in the 1970s. Released at a time when that particular genre of film was fading out, Rollercoaster is anything but a disaster movie. What it is, in fact, is a psychopath character based thriller that adheres to procedural values and character involvement. As it runs at nearly two hours in length should notify viewers that it isn't a film chocked full of Rollercoaster sequences and explosive pyrotechnics. Yes, there's some exciting "Coaster" sequences, neatly shown to us in POV, and in spite of the (obvious 1970s) use of dummies for the plot set up carnage, this thrives on human interest and race against the clock suspense. The marker is set early on as Bottoms' smirking killer sets up his first murderous act whilst listening to some deathly string arrangement on his cassette player. We then segue into funfair music as the joys of the amusement park brings a warmth and calm to the viewer, this however is soon vanquished as the terror that a terrorist can bring comes right to the fore. From here on in the Bottoms character remains mysterious, but we now know just what he is capable of. Likewise does Segal's character, as do the likes of Widmark's Agent Hoyt and the rest of the "suits" frantically scratching around trying to avert further tragedy as the fresh faced bomber demands money with menaces. This ensures the bulk of the film is made up of Calder and Young Man interactions and police procedural movements. It has much talk, very much so, but it's well scripted dialogue and heightens the tension as we enter the final third. One of the few films to feature the Sensurround gimmick, the film perhaps logically loses much impact on the small screen. Prints of the film are only adequate, and the sound mix doesn't shake your lounges in the way it certainly did back in 1970s theatres. Yet this is still a damn fine suspense picture, a pic that also carries with it some stoic performances from Segal and Widmark - and a chillingly effective villainous turn from the undervalued Bottoms. Henry Fonda is on the credits, but really it's just an early cameo appearance, while there's much interest value in watching future Academy Award winner Helen Hunt as the young daughter of Harry Calder. Expect a taut thriller like "Two-Minute Warning", which was released the previous year, and you hopefully will not feel at all let down. Expecting a two hour disaster movie full of Coaster Carnage, however, will only lead to a crushing disappointment. 8/10

Production companies