Goliath Awaits (1981)

Simply A Masterpiece

best movie i've ever seen.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

1981's "Goliath Awaits" was a huge ratings winner for Operation Prime Time, enabling independent UHF stations the chance to compete with the 'Big Three' - ABC, CBS, NBC - but at lower advertising rates that benefited everyone but the networks, in those early days before cable really took off. A highly improbable scenario is made believable by a strong cast of familiar faces, but nominal lead Mark Harmon is often too shrill to be effective. The ocean liner Goliath is sunk by German torpedoes in 1939, yet the 337 people found alive more than 40 years later survived due to the ingenuity of first officer John McKenzie (Christopher Lee), rightfully revered as their leader and captain ever since. A rescue team of four (Mark Harmon, Robert Forster, Alex Cord, John Ratzenberger) venture inside to offer their solution to the inevitable collapse of this insulated existence, only one month left before the fuel supply runs out for good. We have a number of fine character vignettes, in particular John Carradine (veteran of OPT's 1979 miniseries THE SEEKERS) as Ronald Bentley, famed swashbuckling movie hero, in perhaps a nod to one of his dearest friends, the late Errol Flynn. As one of the original survivors from the long ago sinking, he has spent the time educating the young about his life experiences, enjoying the one movie of his that has survived the years, wanting to be remembered as the virile young actor he once was, great with action, less so with dialogue. Still, it is Christopher Lee who stands out as the ambiguous McKenzie, who resists any attempt at rescue, knowing that his days as absolute ruler were bound to end sooner or later, his mysterious associate Dan Wesker (Frank Gorshin) a self appointed 'Angel of Death,' dispensing with people unable to work or feed themselves. Originally broadcast in two parts at over 3 hours-plus, it's never boring and makes good use of stock footage, thanks to the editing skills of director Kevin Connor, who had previously worked with Lee and Ratzenberger on the 1979 "Arabian Adventure." Not all our questions are answered, and the climax is unfortunately drawn out too long to sustain the tension, but overall a commendable effort that stayed with viewers over the decades since, much like the occupants below the sea.

WPIX (Channel 11 in NYC) used to show this movie when I was a kid and I always loved it. WPIX had all those schlocky graphics for their 8 O'clock movie. I also recall them showing this on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. I think I saw it about 4 times in total. Fascinating story. I haven't seen it in 20 years probably but would love to see it again.I loved the music -- there was some big band numbers that they tended to repeat over and over again -- presumably because they were the only songs they knew how to play. I seem to recall the production quality was a bit weak but it was pure fantasy so who really cared.

I just finishing watching Goliath Awaits that I ordered from my library. I remembered it vaguely from years ago and wanted to watch it with my son. Anyway, the movie was less than 2 hours running time and I thought it was much longer when I first saw it. The back of the VHS box states that the Goliath "emtombs a Nazi file whose secrets could destroy the free world forever." The divers were supposedly on a covert mission to retrieve the demonic document. There was nothing even spoken about retrieving this document. Also, the box says that the "bestial ship's insatiable boiler feeds on human blood." That would make this a horror movie and there was also nothing revealed in the movie about this. I can't remember the details when I watched this years ago on TV...but could the back of this box actually be true? Maybe the 3 hour movie revealed more details??Just wondering if anyone knows anything about this.

I recently watched this movie again for the first time in 20 years! I purchased a VHS tape of the movie on Ebay for around 14 dollars.I first watched this movie when I was 11 years old. I remember my buddy and me were laughing all the way through it. Needless, not much has changed in 20 years! The movie quickly opens up with the Mark Harmon character investigating the wrecked ship when he sees a very beautiful woman peer though a small portal window. Some how he manages to convince the US Navy that he is not mad and that he actually saw a woman inside the ship! Thus, a full blown research dive unfolds! The Christopher Lee character is simply funny! I kept waiting for him to pull out a light saber and go mad! What really cracks me up is all the shooting of guns inside the hull? Did anyone think about a bullet piercing the weak frail hull under 1000 feet of water? I don't need to explain what would happens next if a round pierced the hull. Even more funny are all the sun tans the survivors have. None of em have pale skin and they look like they all got back from a vacation in the Florida Keys. The knock out blow for the movie revolves around the "Hitler" like society the survivors made for themselves.... all led by the Christopher Lee Character.... In addition, the Mark Harmon character is simply awful! He screams and hollers throughout the movie... and I just couldn't stand him! Never the less, this movie makes a nice addition to my collection. It's worth a good view, but I doubt I'll revisit this movie anytime soon. Ah yes.... "happy days are hear again... da da da blah blah blah"