Earthquake

"When the big one finally hits L.A."

1974 2h 3m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 384

ActionDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.

“When the big one finally hits L.A.”

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Cast

Charlton Heston
Stewart Graff
Ava Gardner
Remy Royce-Graff
George Kennedy
Sgt. Lew Slade
Lorne Greene
Sam Royce
Geneviève Bujold
Denise Marshall
Richard Roundtree
Miles Quade
Marjoe Gortner
Jody
Barry Sullivan
Dr. Willis Stockle

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mark Robson
Writers: George Fox, Mario Puzo
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

Grossed $80M — a 11.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

52 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

233+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mark Robson, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner and George Kennedy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When the big one finally hits L.A.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mark Robson directs. Philip H. Lathrop behind the camera. John Williams scores. Dorothy Spencer cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $80M — a 11.4× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
252 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3233+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Mark Robson, shot by Philip H. Lathrop. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by John Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Dorothy Spencer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlton Heston and Ava Gardner and George Kennedy carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "When the big one finally hits L.A.".
9IMDB entry: tt0071455 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 22 themes, including "fire", "supermarket", "skyscraper", "architect".

The technical file

Cinematography: Philip H. Lathrop
Original score: John Williams
Editing: Dorothy Spencer
Production design: Alexander Golitzen
Costume design: Burton Miller
Makeup / hair: Connie Nichols
Stunt coordinator: John Daheim
Runtime: 123 min · 2h 3m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $79,666,653
Return: 1138% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Earthquake (1974)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Sound

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Mark Robson

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522019-08-28
★ 6/10
Not a great disaster movie and a far far cry from The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno (a personal favorite of mine) but some decent special and miniature effects even when the performances were always the best. Still passable 1970s-era entertainment.
John Chard2019-09-28
★ 7/10
This used to be one hell of a town, officer. Earthquake is directed by Mark Robson and written by Mario Puzo and George Fox. It stars Charlton Heston, George Kennedy, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Bujold, Lorne Greene, Richard Roundtree & Marjoe Gortner. A catastrophic earthquake hits Southern California and begins to level Los Angeles... "It's not a negative to have heart in the disaster genre of film" Take yourself to 1974, are you there? Good, now maybe you can appreciate this film a little more? Maybe? Earthquake does suffer from old age, it's a statement we see and hear a lot, but it's a fact that some film's stand the test of time whilst others do not. In this desensitised computer age, it is easy to forget that not all the tools available in film making today were available back when film's like this were being made. So as is my want, I firmly judge this as a 1974 offering, to which it delivers enough entertainment to fully satisfy my genre leanings and entertainment persuasions. The main complaint of many is the long build up of the characters, cries of boring can be read across internet forums and critics blogs. I just don't see it that way, yes we want the quake and the mayhem destruction that will follow it, because really this is a disaster film after all, but is it so bad that the film has heart to go with the crash bang wallop? After the build up of characters, where relationships and character traits are formed, the disaster strikes and it doesn't disappoint, utter destruction as effects and noise fill the eyes and ears, where those with a good home cinema system finding it literally does rock the house. We are then treated to a series of sequences that hold and engage our attention, upsetting passages of human sadness, punctured by heroic surges as Heston and the fabulous Kennedy set about saving life, hell! saving the town even. Then it's the film's fitting finale, where there are no cop outs, the makers choosing to go out with a darker edge than the detractors give it credit for. Some can scoff at a blood splat effect, or rant about some of the acting on show, but Earthquake achieves two important things. One is that it entertains as a visual experience (quality model work), the other is that it doesn't soft soap the devastating effects of an earthquake. As the camera pulls away from a ravaged L.A. the impact is sombre, where reflection is needed and most assuredly surely gotten. 7/10