History Film / WhenTimeRanOut

* ArtisticLicenseGeology: Gilmore, while attempting to convince people,of the volcano's danger, says what made Mount Pelee's eruption so deadly was the explosive eruption sucking all the oxygen from the air. What actually made the eruption so deadly was the pryoclastic flow of gas and volcanic debris. When it hit, the entire town of Saint Pierre was destroyed in minutes. Out of the 29'000+ inhabitants of the town, there were only ''two'' survivors.
** The earthquake resulting from the volcanic eruption causes a tsunami which destroys an entire town on the same island. This would only be possible if the island was in a U-shape and even then, the waves wouldn't get nearly big enough to destroy buildings. Flooding, structural damage and cars moved around, certainly, but not an entire town wiped off the map.

* ClimacticVolcanoBackdrop

* DoomedHometown

* InspectorJavert: Tom Conti suspects that Francis Fendly was the one responsible for the theft of some jewelry (Fendly left no trace when he did so, but Conti remains sure of his hunch), and this has sworn to keep hounding down Fendly everywhere he goes until either Fendly makes a mistake and Conti arrests him, or Conti retires (and that is still some years down the road. Conti implies he will keep on hounding Fendly ''after'' he retires, too). True to the Trope, the fact that Fendly decides to save him when the disaster is at its worse (and Conti is blinded) is rewarded by Conti deciding to give Fendly a 'head start' on his getaway.

* MythologyGag: Once the volcano's eruption begins, William Holden chastises the people who wish to remain at the hotel, explaining that the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee destroyed an entire town and killed over 29'000 people in ''minutes''. When Time Ran Out was originally going to be a far more loyal adaptation of the 1969 novel, ''The Day The World Ended'', itself a non-fiction account of the 1902 Mount Pelee eruption before it was decided to set the story in the present time and have a fictional volcano causing trouble.

** Points must go to the brain surgeons who apparently thought it was a good idea to build a base on the mouth of a volcano.

* InfantImmortality: The native children. Their father, of course, isn't as lucky.

''When Time Ran Out...'' is a 1980 DisasterMovie notable for marking the end of Creator/IrwinAllen's theatrical career (though he only produced the film; it was directed by James Goldstone), and arguably marking the end of the golden era for the disaster genre.[[note]]Though [[Film/{{Airplane}} another movie that came out the same year]] probably helped with that.[[/note]] The film stars Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/JacquelineBisset, Creator/WilliamHolden, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Creator/BurgessMeredith, Creator/PatMorita, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[AndStarring and James Franciscus as Bob Spangler]].

''When Time Ran Out...'' is a 1980 DisasterMovie notable for marking the end of Creator/IrwinAllen's theatrical career (though he only produced the film; it was directed by James Goldstone), and arguably marking the end of the golden era for the disaster genre. The film stars Creator/PaulNewman, Creator/JacquelineBisset, Creator/WilliamHolden, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Creator/BurgessMeredith, Creator/PatMorita, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[AndStarring and James Franciscus as Bob Spangler]].

''When Time Ran Out...'' is a 1980 DisasterMovie notable for marking the end of Creator/IrwinAllen's theatrical career (though he only produced the film; it was directed by James Goldstone), and arguably marking the end of the golden era for the disaster genre. The film stars Creator/PaulNewman, Jacqueline Bisset, Creator/WilliamHolden, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Creator/BurgessMeredith, Creator/PatMorita, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[AndStarring and James Franciscus as Bob Spangler]].

* AnyoneCanDie: Subverted, none of the leads perish, though [[spoiler:James Franciscus, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, and Pat Morita all bite it]].

* ThoseTwoGuys: Thief Francis Fendly (Buttons) and Detective Tom Conti (Borgnine), who become friends after Fendly personally watches over a [[spoiler:temporarily blinded]] Conti. Made even funnier due to the fact that the two played similar characters in ''ThePoseidonAdventure.''

* InspectorJavert: Tom Conti suspects that Francis Fendly was the one responsible for the theft of some jewelry (Fendly left no trace when he did so, but Conti remains sure of his hunch), and this has sworn to keep hounding down Fendly everywhere he goes until either Fendly makes a mistake and Conti arrests him, or Conti retires (and that is still some years down the road. Conti implies he will keep on hounding Fendly ''after'' he retires, too). True to the Trope, the fact that Fendly decides to save him when the disaster is at its worse (and Fendly is blinded) is rewarded by Conti deciding to give Fendly a 'head start' on his getaway.

''When Time Ran Out...'' is a 1980 DisasterMovie notable for marking the end of Creator/IrwinAllen's theatrical career (though he only produced the film; it was directed by James Goldstone), and arguably marking the end of the golden era for the disaster genre. The film stars Creator/PaulNewman, Jacqueline Bisset, Creator/WilliamHolden, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Burgess Meredith, Pat Morita, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[AndStarring and James Franciscus as Bob Spangler]].

Despite being a critical and financial disaster, the film did get an AcademyAward nomination for best costume design. And on a happier note, it's also believed that Paul Newman's salary went towards starting his highly successful "Newman's Own" food company.

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: It seems that Bob will express some regret to Nikki about cheating on her with Iolani. Instead, he flat-out says to her face that she should have went with Shelby, because she "doesn't belong" anymore.

Despite being a critical and financial disaster, the film did get an Academy Award nomination for best costume design. And on a happier note, it's also believed that Paul Newman's salary went towards starting his highly successful "Newman's Own" food company.

'''''When Time Ran Out...''''' is a disaster film notable for marking the end of IrwinAllen's theatrical career (though he only produced the film; it was directed by James Goldstone), and arguably marking the end of the golden era for 70's disaster movies. The film stars Creator/PaulNewman, Jacqueline Bisset, Creator/WilliamHolden, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Burgess Meredith, Pat Morita, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[AndStarring and James Franciscus as Bob Spangler]].

Mildly based on the novel, ''The Day the World Ended'', the film can essentially be described as ''Film/DantesPeak'' meets a soap opera, and, in the established Irwin Allen formula, follows a group of famous celebrities as they try to escape a catastrophe of some kind (in this case, an erupting volcano), while working out an incredibly complex web of emotional infidelity, leaving behind those who didn't listen to their warnings of imminent disaster, and having an old person with a special talent that will save the day. Oh yeah, and there's also a [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking guy attempting to win cockfights with his prized rooster]].

'''''When Time Ran Out...''''' is a disaster film notable for marking the end of IrwinAllen's theatrical career (though he only produced the film; it was directed by James Goldstone), and arguably marking the end of the golden era for 70's disaster movies. The film stars Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset, William Holden, Edward Albert, Red Buttons, Barbara Carrera, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Alex Karras, Burgess Meredith, Pat Morita, Creator/ErnestBorgnine, [[AndStarring and James Franciscus as Bob Spangler]].

* AndStarring: and Ernest Borgnine... and James Franciscus as 'Bob Spangler.'
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Spangler. The people who choose to stay behind at the hotel count as this.]]
* BetaCouple: Bob Spangler and Iolani.

* CloudCuckoolander: Tiny Baker probably counts. The man is oblivious to everything going on around him that doesn't involve cockfighting.
* CoolOldGuy: [[spoiler:Rene Valdez, when he recreates his tightrope act to safely hoist a child on his back across the remnants of the bridge. Which is still barely standing over LAVA, at that.]]

* DisasterMovie

* DroppedABridgeOnHim: [[spoiler:Sam, quite literally, during the infamous bridge crossing scene.]]

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Tiny and Kelly.
* InfantImmortality: The native children.

* LoveTriangle: [[spoiler:Hank, Kay, and Shelby; Spangler, Brian, and Iolani.]]
* MsFanservice: Kay, Nikki, and Iolani.
* OhCrap: It's a disaster movie. These kinds of reactions are a given.
* PoliceAreUseless: Tom Conti, [[spoiler:at least after he is blinded.]]

* ThoseTwoGuys: Thief Francis Fendly (Buttons) and Detective Tom Conti (Borgnine). Made even funnier due to the fact that the two played similar characters in ''ThePoseidonAdventure.''

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Tiny Baker actually chases after his chicken in the streets of the frantic town, as a giant tidal wave washes in over them.]]

** How about the idiots who [[spoiler:disobey Hank, hijack a helicopter (the only means of escaping the island), and crash it headfirst into the side of a cliff?]]

* AllStarCast

* [[spoiler:BittersweetEnding: Nearly the entire community and population of an island have been wiped out by a mildly active volcano... but at least there are SOME survivors.]]

* FakeNationality: Edward Albert (whose father is EDDIE ALBERT) and Barbara Carrera (a Nicuraguan) as Pacific Islanders.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Bound to come up a lot, since the cast features the likes of character faces Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Pat Morita, and Burgess Meredith.
** Oddly enough, two members of the Wild Bunch appear in this film: William Holden and Ernest Borgnine, yet they don't share any dialogue.

* MoneyDearBoy: The only reason Paul Newman starred in the film.

* OldShame: When asked by Larry King if he had any films he regretted making, Paul Newman said, "That volcano movie."

* RecycledScript: There are many plot elements re-used from earlier Allen movies, such as older character who possess a skill that will save the day, love triangles, leaving disbelieving survivors behind who are going to die, and [[spoiler: an elderly woman who dies after begging her partner to stay alive for the sake of children]].
* [[spoiler:RopeBridge: The climax of the film involves the survivors crossing a wooden plank bridge over a pit of occasionally exploding molten lava.]]