The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

Get a closer look at these actors from their many TV and streaming series roles.

Streaming Stars, Then and Now

Although originally a journalist by occupation, Allen had always loved films and had always wished to be a part of them. He became one of the biggest names in show business during the 1970s in the process, both producing and directing some of its most popular films. After working in magazines and advertising, he produced the documentary film The Sea Around Us (1953). This excellent film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary and he decided to branch out into commercial film. His parody film of human history, The Story of Mankind (1957), was both a critical and commercial disaster, but he scored box office success with the films The Big Circus (1959), The Lost World (1960), a color remake of the classic silent film The Lost World (1925), and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961).

As the 1960s began, he became interested in science fiction and scored considerable success in that genre. The TV spin-off of his film Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1961), also titled Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), struck a chord with TV audiences, and so did the succeeding TV series Lost in Space (1965), The Time Tunnel (1966) and Land of the Giants (1968).

However, it was during the 1970s that Allen truly became became a household name. Noting the massive box office success of the film Airport (1970), he immediately branched out into disaster films and was able to obtain star-studded casts. Allen's film The Poseidon Adventure (1972), about passengers abroad a capsized cruise ship, was one of the biggest box office hits of the year and its theme song, "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern, won an Academy Award for Best Song. He followed up that triumph by both producing and co-directing the smash hit film The Towering Inferno (1974), about a group of people trapped in a burning skyscraper, which also drew huge audiences and profits. In his personal life, at that time he fell in love with actress Sheila Allen (Sheila Matthews), whom he married in 1974. He briefly returned to TV with the TV series Swiss Family Robinson (1975), but it only lasted two seasons before it was canceled. It was then that his popularity was at its peak, and he had become known as "The Master of Disaster". He then both produced and directed the killer bee film The Swarm (1978). In spite of both a big budget and a star-studded cast, both its poor special effects and its poor dialogue made it a box office bomb. The following year he made, produced and co-directed the sequel and conclusion to his previous film The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), which audiences thought was dull and implausible. In 1980, he attempted to make a comeback with the film When Time Ran Out... (1980), about tourists and Native Americans both struggling to escape the eruption of a a volcano. The lavishly financed film did draw attention when Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupted during its release, but it was also a box office bomb. After making three expensive disaster films that had lost huge amounts of money, Allen was never again able to make films on such a grand scale. He did remain active in the entertainment industry during the 1980s, however. He designed a special effects ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and also produced some TV miniseries. He died of a heart attack in 1991 and Sheila, his widow, today helps run an official website that is dedicated to his memory.

Irwin Allen in The Towering Inferno (1974)

Me, if I can blow up the world in the first 10 seconds, the show is a flop.

Starting a picture starts with a picture.

Nightmares are my best source of entertainment.

I&#39;m not going to run out of disasters. Pick up the daily newspaper -- which is my best source for crisis stories -- and you&#39;ll find 10 or 15 every day. People chase fire engines, flock to car crashes. They thrive on tragedy. It&#39;s unfortunate, but in my case it&#39;s fortunate. The bigger the tragedy, the bigger the audience.

[on catering to his actors and actresses] I suffer along with them. We have many story conferences. As a writer / director / producer, I have triple agonies. I&#39;m bucking to be known as the most sympathetic producer in town.

[on the budget for the film <a class="ipc-md-link ipc-md-link--entity" href="/title/tt0072308/?ref_=nmqu_qu">The Towering Inferno (1974)</a>] Eleven million, one hundred and ten thousand dollars for miniatures? It&#39;s only money.

Quotes

Irwin Allen

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