| Flood! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Written by | Don Ingalls |
| Directed by | Earl Bellamy |
| Starring | Robert Culp Martin Milner Barbara Hershey |
| Music by | Richard LaSalle |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Irwin Allen |
| Producer | Al Gail |
| Production locations | Brownsville, Oregon Eugene, Oregon Harrisburg, Oregon Fall Creek Lake,Oregon |
| Cinematography | Lamar Boren |
| Editor | Bill Brame |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production companies | Irwin Allen Productions Warner Bros. Television |
| Budget | $2,500,000[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | November 24, 1976 (1976-11-24) |
Flood! is a 1976 Americanmade-for-televisionadventure film directed byEarl Bellamy.[2]
A large freshwater lake above the small town ofBrownsville, Oregon is a popular tourist attraction and fishing destination, which provides the town with much of its economic activity. After a season of heavy rains, the lake is nearly overflowing. The mayor of the town refuses to open theflood gates to relieve pressure on the dam, for fear of impacting the sportsfishing industry, and the town's economy from the tourist trade.
When the dam starts sprouting small leaks due to the pressure, town board member, Paul Burke enlists the help of Sam Adams to determine the safety of the dam. When the dam starts showing signs of imminent collapse, and the floodgates are jammed and unable to be opened to lower the level of the lake, Burke enlists friend (and helicopter pilot) Steve Brannigan to free the stuck gates using a helicopter before the dam bursts, and floods the town below.
Irwin Allen had huge success with two disaster films. In 1975 he announced he would make three TV movies for ABC,The Forgotten World,Flood andTime Traveller.[3] The film ended up on NBC[4]
In August 1976, Robert Culp and Martin Milner signed to star.[5] Filming started that month at Fern Ridge Reservoir west of Eugene, Oregon.[6]Filming continued in Brownsville, Oregon and at the Fall Creek Lake dam, the featured dam in the film. The Brownsville Christian Church was used as the hospital, while the Brownsville Fire Station/City Hall was used as City Hall, but only for exterior shots, as was Main Street. The nearby Crawfordsville Covered Bridge was used also. Brownsville is also the same town that was used to film many scenes forStand By Me in 1985.[7]
TheLos Angeles Times said it "fails to offer much excitement".[8]