''Condominium'' is a 1980 American two-part, four-hour

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

disaster film A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, offensive (military), military/terrorism, terrorist att ...

starring

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...

, Dan Haggerty and Steve Forrest and featuring an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

of well-known television actors, including Ana Alicia,

Richard Anderson Richard Norman Anderson (August 8, 1926 – August 31, 2017) was an American film and television actor. One of his best-known roles was his portrayal of Oscar Goldman, the boss of Steve Austin (Lee Majors) and Jaime Sommers (Lindsay Wagner) in ...

Ralph Bellamy Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 65 years on stage, film, and television. During his career, he played leading roles as well as supporting roles, garnering acclaim and award ...

Larry Bishop Larry Bishop (born November 30, 1948) is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He is the son of Sylvia Ruzga and comedian Joey Bishop. He has been featured in many Hollywood movies including '' Hell Ride''. Early life Bishop atte ...

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera '' Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast membe ...

Dane Clark Dane Clark (born Bernhardt Zanvilevitz; February 26, 1912September 11, 1998) was an American character actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average." Early life Clark was born Bernhardt Zanvilevitz (later Bernard Zanvill ...

Linda Cristal Marta Victoria Moya Peggo Burges (24 February 1931 – 27 June 2020), known professionally as Linda Cristal (), was an Argentine–American actress. She appeared in a number of Western films during the 1950s, before winning a Golden Globe Awar ...

Elinor Donahue Elinor Donahue (born Mary Eleanor Donahue; April 19, 1937) is an American retired actress known for playing the role of Betty Anderson, the eldest child of Jim and Margaret Anderson, on the 1950s American sitcom ''Father Knows Best''. Early li ...

, Don Galloway, Pamela Hensley,

Arte Johnson Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson (January 20, 1929 – July 3, 2019) was an American actor and comedian who was best known for his work as a regular on television's ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In''. Biography Early life Johnson was born January 20, 19 ...

, Jack Jones,

Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone (born Mary Dorothy Maloney; January 29, 1924 – January 19, 2018) was an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years, she played small roles, mainly in B-movies, with the exception of a supporting rol ...

Mimi Maynard Mimi Maynard is an American film and television actress and voice artist. Career Since 1975, she has appeared in at least ten films and seventeen television productions, including voicing the character "I.Q's Mom" in the animated family-adventu ...

Lee Paul Paul Lee Kroll, also known as Lee Paul, (June 16, 1939 – September 22, 2019) was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for playing as the bodyguard of Doyle Lonnegan ( Robert Shaw) in the 1973 film ''The Sting'', alo ...

Nehemiah Persoff Nehemiah Persoff (; August 2, 1919 – April 5, 2022) was an American actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and theatre productions, and also performed as a voice artist in a career spanning 55 years. His fir ...

, Nedra Volz,

Carlene Watkins Carlene Watkins (born June 4, 1952) is an American actress best known for such television series and films as '' Best of the West'', '' Bob'', '' Dear John'', ''The Tortellis ''The Tortellis'' is an American sitcom television series and the ...

and

Stuart Whitman Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...

. Directed by Sidney Hayers and adapted from a novel of the same name by John D. MacDonald, the film depicts events in the lives of the residents at Silver Sands Condominium – a Florida complex built by a greedy and irresponsible corporation – and the problems that occur when an impending hurricane threatens to destroy Silver Sands. ''Condominium'' was originally broadcast on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

on April 6 and 7, 1980 and then broadcast commercially in syndication seven months later on November 20 and 21, 1980 as part of

Operation Prime Time Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of American independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Television Program Enterprises (TPE), were formed by ...

syndicated programming.

Plot

Part 1

The residents of Silver Sands Condominium in Fiddler Key, Florida are dealing with rising condominium association fees, as well as interpersonal relationships and conflicts taking place within their building. Barbara Messenger (

) is the younger wife of wealthy retired industrialist Lee Messenger (

) who is dying of cancer. She develops an attraction to hydraulics engineer Sam Harrison ( Dan Haggerty), who is visiting his friend Gus Garver ( Steve Forrest), a retired engineer acting as chairman of the condominium homeowners association whose wife Carolyn ( Virginia Leith) is recovering from a stroke in the hospital. Sam is the one who first discovers the cracks in the building's foundation and notices the poor materials and workmanship characterizing the construction of the building. Meanwhile, Jack Messenkott ( Don Galloway), a middle-aged man and his emotionally fragile younger wife Thelma ( Ana Alicia) are an unhappily married couple: Jack is frustrated with Thelma and does not share her love of the natural environment surrounding the condominium while he prefers spending time playing tennis. Julian Higbee (

), a playboy and the sleazy manager of Silver Sands, is married to the beautiful Lorrie (

) but is having an affair with nurse Bobbie Fish (

). Sam begins working closely with Gus, the Messengers, former CIA agent Henry Churchbridge (

) and his wealthy aristocratic Italian wife Carlotta (

) to try to make unscrupulous construction magnate Marty Liss (

) pay for a seawall and other repairs that might help provide reinforcement for the building. The residents of Silver Sands do not realize that Liss and his construction operation are a front to launder syndicate money and that construction of the condominium was the result of these endeavors. Liss cut corners on the building's construction in order to pocket some of the budget for the construction costs for himself.

Part 2

As Sam and Gus try to raise the consciousness of the other Silver Sands residents regarding the potential safety issues concerning the building, they must eventually deal with the impending arrival of the deadly Hurricane Ella. Conlaw (

), a ruthless Miami mobster that Marty Liss works for who financed the construction of Silver Sands, is outraged when he learns Liss embezzled money from the construction budget for his own personal gain, especially since his elderly mother ( Nedra Volz) is living in the building. Meanwhile, Lorrie and Bobbie are both fed up with Julian and turn to each other for emotional support; when Lorrie mentions to Bobbie that she is leaving Julian once and for all, Julian walks in on them and Lorrie stands up to him and both women walk out on Julian for good. As the storm approaches with winds of 130 miles an hour, most of the residents vacate to the mainland for safety, while other residents who refuse to vacate decide to stay behind and throw a "Hurricane Party". Hurricane Ella powerfully generates a storm surge that strikes Fiddler Key and crashes into the condominium, causing the building to crumble into the ocean. A guilt-stricken Marty Liss commits suicide as he overhears the horrible events of the storm being reported on the radio. One month later, Gus's wife is still recovering at the hospital; Henry and Carlotta Churchbridge have relocated to Switzerland to begin a new life; Barbara and Sam are reunited in Fiddler Key and, still shocked by the destruction of Silver Sands Condominium, they realize they must continue to live their lives with the after-effects of Hurricane Ella.

Cast

;

as Barbara Messenger :Barbara is a beautiful young woman; she is married to wealthy older husband Lee Messenger but is also attracted to Sam Harrison ; Dan Haggerty as Sam Harrison :Sam is a hydraulics engineer visiting Silver Sands; he is a friend of Gus Garver and attracted to Barbara Messenger ; Steve Forrest as Gus Garver :Gus is a retired engineer acting as Chairman of the condominium homeowners association; his wife Carolyn is recovering from a stroke in the hospital ; Ana Alicia as Thelma Messenkott :Thelma is an emotionally fragile young woman who loves to explore the nature surrounding Silver Sands; Jack Messenkott's younger wife ;

as Henry Churchbridge :Henry is a retired government intelligence officer; Carlotta's husband ;

as Lee Messenger :Lee is a wealthy retired industrialist dying of cancer; Barbara's older husband ;

as Julian Higbee :Julian is a sleazy playboy and building manager of Silver Sands; he is married to Lorrie but is having an affair with Bobbie Fish ;

as Dr. Arthur Castor :Dr. Castor is administrator of the local hospital where Gus's wife is recovering from a stroke ;

as Pete McGinnity :Pete is president of the board of directors of Silver Sands Condominium Association ;

as Carlotta Churchbridge :Carlotta is a wealthy aristocratic Italian woman; Henry Churchbridge's wife ;

as Audrey Ames :Audrey is a resident of Silver Sands; Brooke Ames's wife ; Don Galloway as Jack Messenkott :Jack is a middle-aged man and tennis player; unhappily married to younger wife Thelma ; Pamela Hensley as Drusilla Byrne :Drusilla is an attractive associate of Marty Liss spying on Silver Sands residents; she is attracted to Gus Garver ;

as Brooke Ames :Brooke is a resident of Silver Sands; Audrey's husband ; Jack Jones as Cole Kimber :Cole is a building contractor working for Marty Liss; attracted to Drusilla Byrne ;

as Molly Denniver :Molly is a friend and lover of Marty Liss; married to County Commissioner Justin Denniver ;

as Lorrie Higbee :Lorrie is a resident of Silver Sands; Julian Higbee's wife ;

as Conlaw :Conlaw is a ruthless Miami mobster who financed the construction of Silver Sands for Marty Liss; Mrs. Conlaw's son ; Nedra Volz as Mrs. Conlaw :Mrs. Conlaw is an elderly resident of Silver Sands; Conlaw's mother ;

as Bobbie Fish :Bobbie is a nurse and resident of Silver Sands; she is the mistress of sleazy playboy and building manager Julian Higbee ;

as Marty Liss :Marty is an unscrupulous construction magnate of a greedy and irresponsible corporation

Production notes

''Condominium'' was filmed from August to November 1979 on location at Pinnacle Port Condominiums in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Route 98 in Florida, U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida, Pe ...

and Playa del Rey in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

; interior scenes were shot at

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

Universal City, California Universal City is an unincorporated area within the San Fernando Valley. Approximately within and immediately outside the area is the property of Universal Pictures NBCUniversal's film studio, one of the five major film studios in the United ...

. According to production notes, in the scene where Barbara Eden, Dan Haggerty and Ralph Bellamy are struggling to reach the mainland during the hurricane which was filmed at Falls Lake on the backlot of Universal Studios, executive producer Robert A. Cinader had a real challenge to create hurricane-like forces on a beautiful sunny California day. Combining the forces of the

Los Angeles County Fire Department The Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) provides firefighting and emergency medical services for the unincorporated parts of Los Angeles County, California, as well as 59 cities through Contract city, contracting, including the city of ...

in the use of three fire engines, a deluge truck, a portable deluge gun and eight firemen, Cinader was able to pump 9,500 gallons of water per minute into the lake toward the boat housing the cast; with the aid of special effects coordinator Dave Lopez and his crew, water cannons, large wind machines, wave and rain-making machines were all put into action. Although the skies were blue and cloudless, and the sunshine was enough to burn the skin, the result was a stormy, dark effect with crashing, water-swollen waves which ultimately capsized the boat. Much of this equipment was driven to the Florida location also to be used in creating dramatic hurricane scenes at the actual condominium site. The interiors and the exterior of the condominium were duplicated in miniature size for the hurricane scenes. To get the realistic effect of a hurricane tidal wave crashing into the condominium, a sixty-man crew at Universal Studios on Soundstage 27 created an 8-foot high replica of the actual Florida condominium, complete with swimming pool. The tidal wave effect called for 10 wind machines, six wave-makers and four dump tanks that unleashed 80 tons of water down three chutes. Chaos and Catastrophe in the Movies
retrieved February 1, 2015 Taglines: *"A playground for the rich, poised on the brink of destruction!" *"They thought they were buying Paradise. What they got was a killer hurricane!" *"Mammoth tidal wave puts Condominium residents on a collision course with disaster!" ''Condominium'' was one of the many TV movies, miniseries and other shows syndicated to local independent television stations in the USA in the late 1970s-early 1980s as part of a project known as

, in an effort to compete with the three major broadcast networks.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Condominium (film) 1980 films 1980 television films 1980s disaster films 1980s action drama films American disaster films American action drama films Disaster television films Films based on American novels Films based on works by John D. MacDonald Films set in Florida Films shot in Florida Films about hurricanes Condominium Films scored by Gerald Fried Films directed by Sidney Hayers HBO television dramas Operation Prime Time 1980 drama films American drama television films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language action drama films