Beyond the Poseidon Adventure

The capsized ocean liner Poseidon is still adrift, its hull pointing skyward and its decks slowly flooding, when two competing groups board the wreck. One is led by Mike Turner, a tugboat captain who arrives hoping to claim a valuable cargo for himself; the other is a party of criminals under Stefan Svevo, who have their own designs on the gold and plutonium said to be aboard. The survivors trapped inside must contend with both sets of intruders as the water keeps rising.

Irwin Allen directed and produced the film, following The Swarm in 1978 as the second of the two features he directed. The screenplay was written by Nelson Gidding and Paul Gallico. Michael Caine plays Turner, with Sally Field as Celeste Whitman, Telly Savalas as Svevo, Peter Boyle as Frank Mazzetti, and Jack Warden and Shirley Knight as Harold and Hannah Meredith. It was made by Warner Bros. Pictures on a budget of 10 million dollars, and runs 114 minutes.

The film is set in the same continuity as an earlier Poseidon adventure, taking place after that ship was overturned and left floating upside down. Audience response has been muted: on IMDb it holds a rating of 4.7 from around 6,500 votes, and on TMDB a rating of 5 from roughly 145 votes.