History Film / ThePoseidonAdventure

* AdaptationalExpansion: [[spoiler: Ironically, the film's stunt showcase, the capsizing sequence. In the novel, the ship is so top heavy that when it's hit by the wave and flipped, everyone is thrown across the dining room without warning. The floor literally drops out from under them, and then they all end up on the ceiling. In the film, the captain has time to react, albeit fruitlessly, to the incoming wave, and has time to warn the radio operator, who gets out a brief distress call before he's drowned (he doesn't get a chance at all in the novel.) They even get time to set off the warning alarm which sounds in the dining room, and the passengers there get time to react, although there's little they can do to brace themselves for what happens. We also get to see the ship first roll onto it's side, and the aftermath of that, before it turns completely over.]]

** James Martin, the meek haberdasher, and Hubert Muller, the San Francisco bachelor searching for love, are combined into one character for the movie, [[spoiler: so that Martin ends up with Nonnie (as Muller does in the novel, though in the novel, Nonnie is separated with other British survivors at the very end of the story and they part ways. Rogo calls him out for not going with her, or asking her to stay. In the film, Martin and Nonnie both board the rescue helicopter together.)

* CreatorInJoke: Robin jokes about almost dying in the bathroom, and Susan jokes it would be a silly way to die. [[spoiler: In the novel, Robin is last heard of when he's going to the bathroom]].

* DiesDifferentlyInTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: Acres doesn't visibly die in the novel. They encounter him on Broadway but his leg is broken, so he remains behind, and is assumed to have died when the ship sank. Linda Rogo does fall in the novel, but she gets impaled on a piece of broken metal as well, and calls Mike Rogo a son of a bitch before she dies. Also, she dies before Belle Rosen does. And while Belle does have a heart attack, she makes it all the way to shaft alley before she does, and her heart attack is brought on by exertion and a lack of air in the room. She's alive when they start cutting their way in for the rescue, but dies before the cutting is completed.]]

* DoomedContrarian: Played deadly ([[LaserGuidedKarma and immediately]]) straight with [[spoiler:the purser and the people who stay with him]]. Conspicuously averted with [[spoiler: Rogo, the most contrary member of the main group and one of the few survivors]].
** [[spoiler: The first one is actually subverted in the novel, where the people who stayed in the ballroom are the first to be rescued]].

* HopeSpot: Said by Mr. Rogo [[spoiler: after his wife dies in front of him]]. He'd actually started to believe Scott that they were going to survive. [[spoiler: Even before she dies, he's feeling it when Scott shows him the the door to the propeller shaft, right in sight.]]

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: [[spoiler:Although Susan and Robin survive, there's no way they were the only children on the ship...]]

* LargeHam: Creator/GeneHackman and Creator/ErnestBorgnine are seemingly locked in an actors battle to see who can out act the other, and/or chew the most scenery. Unlike other films, this battle actually ''makes'' the movie, and remains one of the film's many highlights. Even Creator/StellaStevens gets in on it, and she's just as fun to watch as Hackman and Borgnine.
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler: The purser, who convinces the majority of the dining room survivors to wait for rescue, and claims Scott's party will die. Scott barely leaves the room before there's an explosion, the ship shifts, and water starts pouring in, dooming everyone inside, especially the wounded purser.]]
* LighterAndSofter: Relatively speaking, of course -- this is still a disaster story we're talking about -- but the movie prunes away a lot of the more unpleasant elements of the original novel.

* MoodWhiplash: Mrs. Rosen, despite being an overweight woman in her fifties, gets a triumphant moment wherein she manages to swim a great distance underwater to rescue Rev. Scott -- [[spoiler:then she suffers a fatal heart attack.]]

** [[spoiler: Linda's reaction when, with the point of rescue literally in sight, the ship rocks from an explosion and she knows she's going to fall to her death.]]

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: As in the novel, the film's ending was supposed to show [[spoiler:a large flotilla of rescue craft surrounding the sinking ship]], but the budget ran out. The shot of [[spoiler: the helicopter lifting off the hull with the six survivors]] was done on the studio lot. The fact that you never actually see the ''Poseidon'' sink inspired Irwin Allen to make a sequel about a rescue team going back for more survivors, which wasn't nearly as well received.

** [[spoiler: Rogo's reaction after Linda falls to her death.]]

* TearsOfJoy: Everyone when they're rescued at the end, albeit bittersweet ones considering the ones they lost and that they're the only survivors overall. [[spoiler: Rogo has a moment where he's clearly overcome with grief, looking out to where Linda fell before collecting himself and reverting his gaze back to the opening being cut.]]
* TemptingFate: They think they can get an aging ocean liner across the Atlantic -- on her [[{{Retirony}} final voyage]], no less -- without a hitch? Not in Hollywood.
** The 2006 remake inverts the situation but still plays the trope straight -- the ship is brand new and is taking her [[UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic maiden voyage]].

** The [[spoiler: purser is the biggest non-lead example. He's honestly convinced the captain is coming to their aid, despite the fact that the captain went to the bridge, which was one of the ''first'' places flooded, with everyone in it killed. Scott tells him point blank that the captain is dead for sure, and the purses refuses to believe him and refuses to budge.]]

* TwiceShy: James Martin and Nonnie Parry. [[spoiler:They both survive and it is implied they get together afterwards.]]

* InNameOnly: Paul Gallico, reading the writing on the wall after the success of the 1972 film, actually wrote a direct sequel based on the events of the film, rather than his original novel, [[spoiler: as in his novel, Poseidon sinks in the end.]] The book comes up with a way to bring Mike Rogo, James Martin, and Manny Rosen back to the ship and retain them as main characters, (Nonnie, Susan and Robin have very brief cameos) while updating their appearances to match the actors that played them in the film, and adds two small groups of salvagers, one decent group that teams up with Rogo, and one ruthless group. The film abandons virtually everything about Gallico's sequel book save for the two groups of salvagers, and the location. In the Book, the only additional survivor found is the nurse from the bow group (who shares what happened to them, a thread left unplucked in the film, and only hinted at,) and a lion. Of everyone in the film, the only characters that have any book counterpart that is slightly similar are Mike Turner and Stefan Svevo, and even then, the similarity isn't much, while Rogo gets an expy in the form of new character Frank Rosetti.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Most of Schmidt's group are rescued, but as Harrison points out, it's hard to celebrate saving nine people when thousands have died]].

** Also, [[spoiler: James Martin.]]
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler: Shoshanna, apparently for being an active participant in an affair Richard wanted.]]

%%* InTheBack: [[spoiler: Captain Gallico]] dies this way.
* {{Jerkass}}: The cruise director, who babbles about Rogo's job as Sea Marshal, does his utmost to keep everyone in the dining room when the ship is obviously sinking, and hordes painkillers for himself when they could be used on other survivors. [[spoiler: He also yanks a woman off the Christmas tree as he tries to escape the flooding dining room]].

** Shelby. [[spoiler: Yes, Richard WAS having an affair with her, which sucks, but hating on her at every turn when she's just trying to survive along with everyone else on a ship that is ''capsized and sinking'' is a bit much.]]
* KarmaHoudini: Played with. [[spoiler: Shoshanna gets death as a comeuppance for having an affair with Richard, but Richard becomes contrite, so he's spared. It doesn't appear he's going to make amends completely with his faimly, however.]]

* OffscreenKarma: [[spoiler: The cruise director. While he does die with everyone else in the dining room, we don't get to see it]].

%%* RedShirt: [[spoiler: Kemal]].
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler: Captain Gallico is the first major character introduced, and he's murdered by the terrorists after the ship capsizes to close out the first part.]]
* SenselessSacrifice: [[spoiler: Once again, Belle suffers a heart attack after getting a guide-rope through a flooded hallway...except there was no reason for her to go in the first place, as the corridor wasn't completely flooded; anyone on the party could have done so just fine]].

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: Reverend Schmidt (while he's technically not Reverend Scott, he does fulfill the same role and purpose)]].

%%* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Badawi tries this near the end of the film. It doesn't work]].

The passengers and crew of the aging ocean liner SS ''Poseidon'' party without a care in the world as the ship -- making her final voyage en route to the scrapyard -- sails on across the Mediterranean. Already behind schedule, the representative of the ''Poseidon''[='s=] new ownership consortium overrides the objections of her captain and refuses to allow her to slow down and take on ballast to more safely ride out some heavy weather. On [[NewYearHasCome New Year's Eve]], an undersea earthquake strikes near Crete, creating a [[GiantWallOfWateryDoom massive rogue wave]]; when it hits ''Poseidon'', she capsizes. In the aftermath, one lone preacher, the Rev. Frank Scott, must lead a group of survivors in climbing from the now-upturned ship's ballroom to her hull to be rescued before she sinks. But will they make it?

[[/folder]]

* PrecisionFStrike: While moving the Christmas tree, Creator/ErnestBorgnine as Rogo seemingly breaks character briefly, and clearly says, "Holy FUCK, that's HEAVY."

* AdaptationalExpansion: [[spoiler: Ironically, the film's stunt showcase, the capsizing sequence. In the novel, the ship is so top heavy that when it's hit b the wave and flipped, everyone is thrown across the dining room without warning. The floor literally drops out from under them, and then they all end up on the ceiling. In the film, the captain has time to react, albeit fruitlessly, to the incoming wave, and has time to warn the radio operator, who gets out a brief distress call before he's drowned (he doesn't get a chance at all in the novel.) The even gets time to set off the warning alarm which sounds in the dining room, and the passengers there get time to react, although there's little they can do to brace themselves for what happens. We also get to see the ship first roll onto it's side, and the aftermath of that, before it turns completely over.]]

** James Martin, the meek haberdasher, and Hubert Muller, the San Francisco bachelor searching for love, are combined into one character for the movie, so that Martin ends up with Nonnie (as Muller does in the novel).

* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The first half hour takes its time introducing the characters who will be important to the story. Other characters are established though, who don't even survive the initial wave.

* {{Fanservice}}: Dagnabbit, those long skirts worn by Pamela Sue Martin and Stella Stevens are way too inconvenient for them to climb out of the ballroom in. Sorry, guess they'd better take them off. (Conveniently enough, the older and heftier Shelley Winters is not required to strip at all, though in fairness her dress was not as tight as theirs.)

* HopeSpot: Said by Mr. Rogo [[spoiler:after his wife dies in front of him]]. He'd actually started to believe Scott that they were going to survive.

** Shelby. [[spoiler: Yes, Richard WAS having an affair with her, which sucks, but hating on her at every turn when she's just trying to survive along with everyone else on a ship that is ''capsized and sinking'' is a bit much.
* KarmaHoudini: Played with. [[spoiler: Shoshanna gets death as a comeuppance for having an affair with Richard, but Richard becomes contrite, so he's spared. It doesn't appear he's going to make amends completely with his faimly, however.

* {{Jerkass}}: The cruise director, who babbles about Rogo's job as Sea Marshal, does his utmost to keep everyone in the dining room when the ship is obviously sinking, and hordes painkillers for himself when they could be used on other survivors. [[spoiler: He also yanks a woman off the christmas tree as he tries to escape the flooding dining room]].

* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler: Reverend Schmidt (while he's technically not Reverend Scott, he does fufill the same role and purpose)]].

The passengers and crew of the aging ocean liner SS ''Poseidon'' party without a care in the world as the ship -- making her final voyage en route to the scrapyard -- sails on across the Mediterranean. Already behind schedule, the representative of the ''Poseidon''[='s=] new ownership consortium overrides the objections of her captain and refuses to allow her to slow down and take on ballast to more safely ride out some heavy weather. On [[NewYearHasCome New Year's Eve]], an undersea earthquake strikes near Crete, creating a [[GiantWallOfWateryDoom massive rogue wave]]; when it hits ''Poseidon'', she capsizes. In the aftermath, a lone preacher, the Rev. Frank Scott, must lead a group of survivors from the upside-down ship's ballroom up to her hull to be rescued before she sinks. But will they make it?

The passengers and crew of the aging ocean liner SS ''Poseidon'' party without a care in the world as the ship -- making her final voyage en route to the scrapyard -- sails on across the Mediterranean. Already behind schedule, the representative of the ''Poseidon''[='s=] new ownership consortium overrides the objections of her captain and refuses to allow her to slow down and take on ballast to more safely ride out some heavy weather. On [[NewYearHasCome New Year's Eve]], an undersea earthquake strikes near Crete, creating a [[GiantWallOfWateryDoom massive rogue wave]]; when it hits the ''Poseidon'', she capsizes. In the aftermath, one lone preacher, Reverend Frank Scott, must lead a group of survivors from the ship's ballroom up to her hull to be rescued before she sinks. But will they make it?

* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Averted [[spoiler:with Robin Shelby (who disappears without a trace after going off alone to relieve himself), the Beamer (who drinks himself to unconsciousness), and Pamela (who refuses to leave the Beamer's side). The latter two end up making it out anyway on their own.]]

* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Averted [[spoiler:with Robin Shelby (who disappears without a trace after going off to relieve himself), the Beamer (who drinks himself to unconsciousness), and Pamela (who refuses to leave the Beamer's side). The latter two end up making it out anyway on their own.]]

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: The reaction of the young deckhand Herbert, after [[spoiler:learning the girl he raped (Susan) was a passenger, rather than a stewardess (which, in yet another example of the ValuesDissonance in that scene, would have apparently been perfectly okay).]]

* AndStarring: An odd variation, which is also used in Irwin Allen's ''Film/TheSwarm'' and ''Film/WhenTimeRanOut'': "and Shirley Jones", "and Karl Malden as Wilbur."

* TheAlcoholic: Tony "The Beamer" Bates, and to a slightly lesser extent Pamela Reid.
* GratuitousRape: [[spoiler:of Susan Shelby.]]

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Linda Rogo.]]

* MauveShirt: [[spoiler:Peters and Acre.]]

* OldMaid: Miss Kinsale.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Jane Shelby gives her husband one of these after [[spoiler:Robin's disappearance]].
* RedShirt: [[spoiler:Kreynos, the third engineer.]]
* ThoseTwoGuys: Peters and Acre, the friendly stewards.

* ChekhovsSkill: Earlier in the movie, Mrs. Rosen proudly boasts that in her youth, she was a champion swimmer.

* DisasterMovie: The TropeCodifier for the '70s-era Golden Age.

* TheLancer: Rogo, who naturally comes into conflict with TheHero Rev. Scott.

* LovableCoward: Nonnie. However, this is quite subjective, as her cowardice almost gets her killed a few times.

* ModestyShorts: Susan

* NoOneGetsLeftBehind: Martin towards Nonnie. [[spoiler:They both survive.]]
* NotNowKiddo: Rogo, repeatedly, despite Robin having a comprehensive knowledge of the ship's construction.

* TearsOfFear: Nonnie, though it's somewhat understandable given the situation.

* UglyGuyHotWife: Mike and Linda Rogo.

* TheAlcoholic: Tex.

* BaldOfEvil: Svevo (naturally, he ''is'' played by Creator/TellySavalas).
* BigBad: Svevo.
* CoolOldGuy: Wilbur.
* DadTheVeteran: Frank.
* DeadpanSnarker: Turner, Celeste, and Wilbur.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Wilbur.]]
* ImmediateSequel

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Frank. Turner is no softie, either.
* TheLoad: The others think Harold is going to be this because he is blind, but he seldom causes any actual burden on the group's part.
* LovableCoward: Celeste.

* PluckyComicRelief: Celeste, as ever.
* SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Frank and Wilbur.]]
* ScreamingWoman: Celeste, very often.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Svevo, when he works with Turner's group and poses as a doctor.
* TokenGoodTeammate: Wilbur and Nurse Gina both qualify.
* WackyAmericansHaveWackyNames: Dewey "Tex" Hopkins.

* InTheBack: [[spoiler: Captain Gallico]] dies this way.

* LargeHam: Acre, in his role as a vampire in Dylan's movie.

* RedShirt: [[spoiler: Kemal]].

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Badawi tries this near the end of the film. It doesn't work]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The [[https://play.google.com/music/preview/T3ik35e4yawhd3ay5pgbhz72g7m lyrics]] of the song Nonnie sings at the New Year's party are very on-the-nose considering what's about to transpire.

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Reverend Scott]] falls to his death after shutting off a steam valve so the rest of the group can reach the propeller shaft.

*** And [[spoiler:Acres. He clearly has a painful leg injury that he actively ignores to serve as a guide to Rev. Scott and the rest of the party. His knowledge of the ship's decks greatly helps them in their travels until he dies.]]

%% * UglyGuyHotWife: Mike and Linda Rogo.

* InNameOnly: Paul Gallico, reading the writing on the wall after the success of the 1972 film, actually wrote a direct sequel based on the events of the film, rather than his original novel, [[spoiler: as in his novel, Poseidon sinks in the end.]] The book comes up with a way to bring Mike Rogo, James Martin, and Manny Rosen back to the ship and retain them as main characters, (Nonnie, Susan and Robin have very brief cameos) while updating their appearances to match the actors that played them in the film, and adds two small groups of salvagers, one decent group that teams up with Rogo, and one ruthless group. The film abandons virtually everything about Gallico's sequel book save for the two groups of salvagers, and the location. Tin the Book, the only additional survivor found is the nurse from the bow group and a lion. Of everyone in the film, the only characters that have any book counterpart that is slightly similar are Mike Turner and Stefan Svevo, and their names are different in the book.

* InNameOnly: Paul Gallico, reading the writing on the wall after the success of the 1972 film, actually wrote a direct sequel based on the events of the film, rather than his original novel, [[spoiler: as in his novel, Poseidon sinks in the end.] The book comes up with a way to bring Mike Rogo, James Martin, and Manny Rosen back to the ship and retain them as main characters, while updating their appearances to match the actors that played them in the film, and adds two small groups of salvagers, one decent group that teams up with Rogo, and one ruthless group. The film abandons virtually everything about Gallico's sequel book save for the two groups of salvagers, and the location. Tin the Book, the only additional survivor found is the nurse from the bow group and a lion. Of everyone in the film, the only characters that have any book counterpart that is slightly similar are Mike Turner and Stefan Svevo, and their names are different in the book.

* InNameOnly: Creator/PaulGallico, reading the writing on the wall after the success of the 1972 film, actually wrote a direct sequel based on the events of the film, rather than his original novel, [[spoiler: as in his novel, Poseidon sinks in the end.] The book comes up with a way to bring Mike Rogo, James Martin, and Manny Rosen back to the ship and retain them as main characters, and adds two small groups of salvagers, one decent, and one not decent. The film abandons virtually everything about Gallico's sequel book save for the two groups of salvagers, and the location. Tin the Book, the only additional survivor found is the nurse from the bow group and a lion. Of everyone in the film, the only characters that have any book counterpart that is slightly similar are Mike Turner and Stefan Svevo, and their names are different in the book.

%% * TheAlcoholic: Tex.

%% * BaldOfEvil: Svevo (naturally, he ''is'' played by Creator/TellySavalas).
%% * BigBad: Svevo.
%% * CoolOldGuy: Wilbur.
%% * DadTheVeteran: Frank.
%% * DeadpanSnarker: Turner, Celeste, and Wilbur.
%% * HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Wilbur.]]
%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Frank. Turner is no softie, either.

%% * LovableCoward: Celeste.

%% * PluckyComicRelief: Celeste, as ever.
%% * SacrificialLion: [[spoiler:Frank and Wilbur.]]
%% * ScreamingWoman: Celeste, very often.
%% * TokenEvilTeammate: Svevo, when he works with Turner's group and poses as a doctor.
%% * TokenGoodTeammate: Wilbur and Nurse Gina both qualify.
%% * WackyAmericansHaveWackyNames: Dewey "Tex" Hopkins.

* OverprotectiveDad: Frank, who becomes suspicious of Larry simply because his daughter's dress is torn.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

-->'''Lookout:''' I never saw anything like it. An enormous wall of water coming at us.
-->'''Captain:''' ''(sees it)'' Oh, my God.

* InspiredBy: The author was on the RMS ''Queen Mary'' during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, when it was hit by a rogue wave and was a degree or so from being capsized. Naturally, he was inspired by what might've happened if she DID flip.