Short Walk to Daylight

I remember the first time I saw this film on the Movie of the Week...it was a very well-done movie IIRC. The idea of an earthquake hitting New York seemed kinda far-fetched, but you overlooked that due to the cast and the great direction.

Something odd happened to 'Short Walk to Daylight' when it went into syndication and was playing on the 'late night' slots: I seemed to remember that new footage was added creating a sub-plot of young radicals that had planted a bomb in NYC that caused the devastation to the subway system. Does anyone remember this version? I believe Univseral Studios was BIG on doing this to other movies of theirs, like 'Airport '75' when it came to TV. Their modus Operandi was to add deleted or film new scenes to movies to make them more 'sellable' to TV audiences. In the case of 'Short Walk to Daylight' the subplot of terrorists might have been a way to make the disaster more plausible since an earthquake of the magnitude indicated in the movie hitting New York is rather slim to none.

The original (excellent) film was certainly the talk of high school the day after it premiered (we all took the NYC subway to school). I was utterly shocked when I saw it again, perhaps a decade or more later, in syndication (as other posters haven commented), with added footage (perhaps to fill it out to a 2 hour running time). While "blockbuster" films during the 70s and early 80s did have extra footage added to them -- usually for special network TV showing-- in the case of "Short Walk," the addition completely subverted the tension and drama of the original! I wonder about the current state of this lost minor classic...

I remember when this movie was first broadcast on the ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week - a 90 minute slot, so you basically had to produce a 75 minute or so movie. It was also out at a time when disaster movies were gearing up. Except for the junkie committing suicide, it worked well.

A lot of good movies were produced for that slot. Most notable: Steven Spielberg's "debut", "Duel". Also notable: "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler", featuring Darren McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak. The character was subsequently given a weekly series.

One other note: I believe there was an alternate version I saw on cable, where the disaster is given an explanation: A radical group planted a series of bombs at locations that caused the survivors to keep hitting dead ends. It detracted by adding unnecessary padding, and taking us from the survivor's point of view.

RELEASED TO TV IN 1972 and directed by Barry Shear, "Short Walk to Daylight" chronicles events when eight people struggle to make it out of the dark tunnels of the New York subway system after an apparent earthquake.

Although "Airport" (1970) is considered the first 'disaster film' of the 70s, it was "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972) that drove the craze home and honed the genre, leading to movies like "Earthquake" (1974), "The Towering Inferno" (1974), "Rollercoaster" (1977) and "Meteor" (1979). "Short Walk to Daylight" had a similar plot to "The Poseidon Adventure," both featuring a small group of people trying to escape a disaster and not all making it. But "Short Walk to Daylight" debuted on TV seven weeks BEFORE "The Poseidon Adventure" was released in theaters. "Short Walk" came out October 24, 1972, while "Poseidon" debuted December 13th.

Despite this, "Short Walk to Daylight" is actually the knock-off. What happened is this: Producers caught wind of the big production of "The Poseidon Adventure" and rushed to take advantage of the situation by producing a low-budget movie with a similar plot. This happens all the time to this day. Yet you can't really call "Short Walk" a 'knock-off' since the disaster is so radically different. Plus "Short Walk" doesn't have a whiz kid.

The later wannabe blockbuster "Daylight" (1996) used "Short Walk to Daylight" as a blueprint. I much prefer "Short Walk" myself, which is more realistic. "Daylight," as I remember, was a typical overblown Stallone action flick, which isn't to say it's worthless; it's just not gritty realistic like "Short Walk."

The appeal of movies like "Short Walk to Daylight" and "The Poseidon Adventure" is that they bring ordinary people from different walks of life together in a confined setting wherein they are forced to work together to survive. None of them are heroes and they're all flawed in some manner, but they mostly rise to the challenge and formulate working relationships, even if they're undeclared 'adversaries' in normal life. The macho police officer who tries too hard (James Brolin) and the 'cool' black dude, Al (Don Mitchell), are a prime example.

"Short Walk to Daylight" is probably too low-key for most modern viewers, but there's some decent (melo)drama and it works up some quality suspense in the last half hour. I found myself caring and rooting for the protagonists. But it's too small of a movie to rival the superb "The Poseidon Adventure" (the original). Plus it fails to take advantage of its feminine resources as "Poseidon" excellently did. Speaking of the women, you might remember Laurette Spang, who plays the druggie's babe, Sandy, as Cassiopeia from the original Battlestar Galatica (1978-1979). At the end of the day "Short Walk to Daylight" is a fairly effective disaster flick in its subdued, realistic way, although it's hampered by flashes of contrived melodrama. The on-location sets are quite impressive.

THE ORIGINAL TELECAST VERSION RUNS 1 hour, 13 minutes (with a 1 hour, 8 minutes version currently available on Youtube). I should add that there was a syndicated version that came around in the 80s, which contained additional footage about terrorists who caused the disaster with explosives, which bulked up the runtime to about 90 minutes. This unnecessary subplot bogged the film down. LOCATIONS: Brooklyn, New York City. WRITERS: Philip H. Reisman Jr. and Gerald Di Pego wrote the teleplay from Edward Montagne's story.

GRADE: B

Various people are traveling the subway. Then an earthquake hits totally uprooting the subway car. Some of the passengers survive and, with hard-boiled James Brolin leading the way, they try to find a way out.

Caught this on TV when I was 10 and never forgot it. The earthquake scene was great and the acting was pretty good (for TV). Also they all have to face numerous obstacles to get out so I was never really bored. Haven't seen it since its premiere and I don't think I want to. Chances are what I liked when I was 10 will not hold up now when I'm in my 40s! Still it's worth catching if it ever pops up again. I give it a 6.