Condominium (miniseries)
7 /10 1 Votes
Director Sidney Hayers First episode date April 6, 1980 Network HBO Duration Language English | 6.8/10 IMDb Genre Action, Drama, Thriller Final episode date April 7, 1980 Country United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cast Steve Forrest Release date April 6, 1980 (Part 1)
April 7, 1980 (Part 2) Based on Condominium (novel) by John D. MacDonald Writer Steve Hayes (teleplay), Robert A. Cinader (adaptation), John D. MacDonald (novel) Similar movies Related Sidney Hayers movies | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A civil engineer (Dan Haggerty) and a millionaires wife (Barbara Eden) review a poorly built Florida high-rise in a hurricanes path.
Contents
Condominium is a 1980 two-part, three-hour television miniseries based on the novel by John D. MacDonald starring Barbara Eden, Dan Haggerty and Steve Forrest, and featuring an all-star cast: Ana Alicia, Richard Anderson, Ralph Bellamy, Larry Bishop, Macdonald Carey, Dane Clark, Linda Cristal, Elinor Donahue, Don Galloway, Pamela Hensley, Arte Johnson, Jack Jones, Dorothy Malone, Mimi Maynard, Lee Paul, Nehemiah Persoff, Nedra Volz, Carlene Watkins and Stuart Whitman.
Although produced by MCA TV/Universal for Operation Prime Time, a syndicated block of programming for independent television stations, Condominium premiered on Home Box Office (HBO) on April 6 and 7, 1980 and then broadcast in syndication seven months later under the Operation Prime Time banner on November 20 and 21, 1980.
The miniseries promotional tagline is: A playground for the rich, poised on the brink of destruction!
A new condominium is built right on the beach in Florida. Well, mother nature takes that as a challenge and decides to throw a hurricane at it. Of course, there is the mix of the mistress and wife finding out about each other, substandard building supplies, and stubborn people that won't evacuate.
Synopsis
The miniseries depicts events in the lives of the residents at the new Silver Sands Condominium in the fictional city of Fiddler Key, Florida – a complex built by a greedy and irresponsible corporation – and the problems that occur when a hurricane threatens to destroy Silver Sands.
Filming
Condominium was filmed from August to November 1979 on location at Pinnacle Port Condominiums in Panama City, Florida and Playa del Rey in Los Angeles, California; interior scenes were shot at Universal Studios in Universal City, California.
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 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 Stage 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.
Home video release
Condominium has never been released on home video in any medium in the United States.
References
Condominium (miniseries) WikipediaCondominium (miniseries) IMDb Condominium (miniseries) themoviedb.org