Me loves disaster movies, and me also loves tense & short made-for-television thrillers. And you know what is so great about the 1970s? They had both in one and the same film! Next to boisterous and massively budgeted disaster blockbusters (like "Towering Inferno", "Poseidon Adventure", etc.) there also exist a handful of modest and inconspicuous but nevertheless fantastic disaster films that were part of the legendary "ABC Movie of the Week" series. "Runaway!", "The Day the Earth Moved", and "Heatwave" are splendid examples, and I'm now also adding "The Elevator" to the shortlist.
Simple, straightforward, compelling, and loaded with strong performances from a great cast. That's how you can describe the majority of "ABC Movies of the Week"; - "The Elevator" included. Right before a long holiday weekend, eight people get trapped in an elevator somewhere around the 30th floor of a still unfinished fancy building. The group remains relatively calm and rational, except for one person... And he's an armed robber with briefcase full of stolen money and a severe case of claustrophobia!
James Farentino ("Dead & Buried") is very convincing as the panicky thief Eddie, but some of the supportive characters are even better. There's veteran Roddy McDowall as the uptight real-estate salesman, Myrna Loy as the elderly lady with lots of vivid stories, and Don Stroud as Eddie's psychotic partner who just "missed" the elevator.
Simple, straightforward, compelling, and loaded with strong performances from a great cast. That's how you can describe the majority of "ABC Movies of the Week"; - "The Elevator" included. Right before a long holiday weekend, eight people get trapped in an elevator somewhere around the 30th floor of a still unfinished fancy building. The group remains relatively calm and rational, except for one person... And he's an armed robber with briefcase full of stolen money and a severe case of claustrophobia!
James Farentino ("Dead & Buried") is very convincing as the panicky thief Eddie, but some of the supportive characters are even better. There's veteran Roddy McDowall as the uptight real-estate salesman, Myrna Loy as the elderly lady with lots of vivid stories, and Don Stroud as Eddie's psychotic partner who just "missed" the elevator.