Flood! (1976)

Genres

Action, disaster

Reference

The year before this film aired Jaws featured a mayor who wouldn’t close the beach because he feared a loss of tourist dollars. I doubt it’s coincidental that the mayor in this movie refuses to heed warnings about the dam because he fears a loss in fishing revenue.

Elevator Pitch

Town drowns because the mayor buries a report that says the dam needs repairs.

Reasons to Watch

• Robert Culp, dashing helicopter pilot
• Richard Basehart, jerk
• Celebrities drown
• Fun cheap effects

Random Observation

Irwin Allen also produced the TV movies Fire! (1977) and Cave-In! (1979, but finally aired in 1983). Despite the exclamation points, all three of these are fairly tame movies compared to the high-casualty disaster films he produced for theaters.