Disaster on the Coastliner

*Disaster on the Coastliner*
Disaster on the Coastliner
Genre	Action; Drama
Written by	David Ambrose
Directed by	Richard C. Sarafian
Starring	Lloyd Bridges; Raymond Burr; Robert Fuller; Pat Hingle; E. G. Marshall; Yvette Mimieux; William Shatner; Paul L. Smith
Theme music composer	Gerald Fried
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Frank von Zerneck
Production locations	East Lyme, Connecticut; Groton, Connecticut
Cinematography	Fred J. Koenekamp
Editor	Robert Florio
Running time	100 minutes
Production companies	Filmways Television; Moonlight Productions
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	October 28, 1979

Disaster on the Coastliner is a 1979 American made-for-television action drama film. It was directed by Richard C. Sarafian and starred Lloyd Bridges, Raymond Burr, Robert Fuller, Pat Hingle, E. G. Marshall, Yvette Mimieux, William Shatner, and Paul L. Smith. It originally aired on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on October 28, 1979.

Plot

A disgruntled railroad employee attempts to cause a collision between two passenger trains.

Cast

Lloyd Bridges - Al Mitchell
Raymond Burr - Estes Hill
Robert Fuller - Matt Leigh
Pat Hingle - John Marsh
E. G. Marshall - Roy Snyder
Yvette Mimieux - Paula Harvey
William Shatner - Stuart Peters
Paul L. Smith - Jim Waterman / Victor Prescott
Lane Smith - John Carlson
Sandy McPeak - Hennessey
Michael Pataki - Tate
Peter Jason - LeBoux
John Brady - Locomotive Engineer

Production

The film was shot on a railway line in Connecticut. At his own suggestion William Shatner did his own stunts, including standing on top of a moving F40PH. Years later Shatner called the stunt "the most truly dangerous stunt I ever did" and couldn't imagine "what [he] was thinking" in suggesting it. Shatner compared it to the work he'd done in Kingdom of the Spiders, and wondered which was worse: "standing on top of a speeding locomotive without any kind of safety cable or gluing tarantulas to your face?"^[1]^{: 105–108} Jack Sessums worked on the miniature effects and had his work profiled in TV Guide.^[2]

Release

Disaster on the Coastliner premiered on The ABC Sunday Night Movie on October 28, 1979.^[3] Although no DVD or VHS has been released in America, the movie's current owner, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, has made the movie available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount plus in the United States.

References

^ Shatner, William (2008). Up Till Now. Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 978-0-312-37265-1.
^ Stuck, Nelda M. (December 18, 2004). "Jack Sessums, engineer, film special effects producer, dies". Redlands Daily Facts. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
^ Hal Erickson (2008). "Disaster on the Coastliner (1979)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2013-05-27.

External links

Disaster on the Coastliner at IMDb

[1] Shatner, William (2008). Up Till Now. Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 978-0-312-37265-1.

[2] Stuck, Nelda M. (December 18, 2004). "Jack Sessums, engineer, film special effects producer, dies". Redlands Daily Facts. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2013.

[3] Hal Erickson (2008). "Disaster on the Coastliner (1979)". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2013-05-27.

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