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(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Frank von Zerneck |
| Editor(s) | Robert Florio |
| Cinematography | Fred J. Koenekamp |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Filmways Television Moonlight Productions |
| Distributor | ABC |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release |
|
Disaster on the Coastliner is 1979 television film about a disgruntled railroad employee who attempts to cause a collision between two passenger trains. 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.
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
Production
The film was shot on a disused railway line in Connecticut. At his own suggestion William Shatner did his own stunts, including standing atop an 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]
See also
List of television films produced for American Broadcasting Company
References
- ↑ Shatner, William (2008). Up Till Now. Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 0-312-37265-5.
- ↑ Stuck, Nelda M. (December 18, 2004). "Jack Sessums, engineer, film special effects producer, dies". Redlands Daily Facts – via HighBeam (subscription required) . Retrieved May 27, 2013.
- ↑ "Disaster on the Coastliner (1979)". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-05-27.