Goliath Awaits

1981 American made-for-television mini-series by Kevin Connor

Goliath Awaits

Genre| Action
Adventure
Drama
Romance
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Written by| Richard Bluel
Pat Fielder
Directed by| Kevin Connor
Starring| Mark Harmon
Christopher Lee
Eddie Albert
John Carradine
Alex Cord
Robert Forster
Frank Gorshin
Jean Marsh
John McIntire
Emma Samms
Music by| George Duning
Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
Production
Executive producer| Larry White
Producers| Hugh Benson
Richard M. Bluel
Pat Fielder
Production locations| RMS Queen Mary - 1126 Queens Highway, Long Beach, California
Edinburgh, Scotland
North Sea
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California
Cinematography| Al Francis
Editors| J. Terry Williams
Donald Douglas
Running time| ~200 min (original)
110 min (VHS/laserdisc)
Production companies| Larry White Productions
Gay-Jay Production
Columbia Pictures Television
Operation Prime Time
Budget| $4 million[1]
Original release
Network| Syndication
Release| November 16 (1981-11-16) –
November 17, 1981 (1981-11-17)

Goliath Awaits is a 1981 American made-for-television action adventure science fiction thriller film originally broadcast in two parts in November 1981 on various stations as a part of Operation Prime Time's syndicated programming.[2][3] It is about an ocean liner sunk by a German U-boat in 1939 whose wreck is discovered in 1981, with over 300 survivors and their descendants living in an air bubble inside the ship.

## Plot

[edit]

On September 4, 1939, the British ocean liner RMS Goliath, carrying 1,860 passengers, is torpedoed by a German U-boat and sinks within minutes while on a transatlantic crossing to the United States three days after the outbreak of war.[2][3]

Scientists aboard a research ship in 1981 discover the wreck of the Goliath lying upright in 1,000 feet (305 m) of water,[3] and divers are sent down to investigate the wreck. Oceanographer Peter Cabot (Mark Harmon) hears systematic banging and music coming from the ship[4] and is shocked to see the face of a beautiful young woman (Emma Samms) inside a porthole. Cabot and his colleagues discover 337 people, survivors and their descendants, living in an air bubble in the wreck caused by the vessel's having slowly sunk in relatively shallow water. The residents of Goliath, who have invented some technologies to help them survive, some not even known to the outside modern world, live in a superficially utopian society under the autocratic leadership of John McKenzie (Christopher Lee), a junior officer at the time of the sinking credited with saving a sizable number of passengers and crew.[2] The scientists are surprised to discover that McKenzie and some of the ship's residents are not at all interested in being "rescued", and that there are outcasts and rebels opposed to McKenzie's seemingly beneficent leadership, which also includes brutal discipline, mandatory contraception, euthanasia, and outright murder disguised as a mysterious disease.

Complicating things, the Goliath had been carrying some sensitive documents to President Roosevelt. A joint American/British military team is sent by Admiral Wiley Sloan (Eddie Albert) to retrieve and destroy the documents.[2][4]

## Principal cast

[edit]

* Mark Harmon as Peter Cabot
* Christopher Lee as John McKenzie
* Eddie Albert as Admiral Wiley Sloan
* John Carradine as Ronald Bentley
* Alex Cord as Dr. Sam Marlowe
* Robert Forster as Commander Jeff Selkirk
* Frank Gorshin as Dan Wesker
* Jean Marsh as Dr. Goldman
* John McIntire as Senator Oliver Bartholemew
* Jeanette Nolan as Mrs. Bartholomew
* Duncan Regehr as Paul Ryker
* Emma Samms as Lea McKenzie
* Kirk Cameron as Liam
* Lori Lethin as Maria
* John Ratzenberger as Bill Sweeney

## Production

[edit]

Richard Bluel and Pat Fielder developed the premise in the early 1960s when rumors of the Titanic's discovery led to a discussion of what if the passengers had survived on the sunken wreckage, laying the initial foundation for the premise.[1]

The interiors of Goliath were principally filmed on location aboard the RMS Queen Mary in California.[2][5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Kelley, Bill (December 1981). "Goliath Awaits". Archive. Cinefantastique. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
2. ^ a b c d e "Goliath Awaits". jimusnr.com. Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
3. ^ a b c McLean, Robert A (November 5, 1981). "High Adventure at the Bottom of the Sea". The Boston Globe. p. 1.
4. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (November 16, 1981). "TV: 'Goliath Awaits,' Undersea Yarn". The New York Times. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
5. ^ Gore, Robert J (May 30, 1981). "Queen Mary Is Setting for Sci-Fi Film". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved April 14, 2008.

## External links

[edit]

* Goliath Awaits at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Kevin Connor

* From Beyond the Grave (1974)
* The Land That Time Forgot (1974)
* Trial by Combat (1976)
* At the Earth's Core (1976)
* The People That Time Forgot (1977)
* Warlords of Atlantis (1978)
* Arabian Adventure (1979)
* Motel Hell (1980)
* Goliath Awaits (1981)
* The House Where Evil Dwells (1982)
* Mistral's Daughter (1984)
* The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1987)
* The Lion of Africa (1987)
* Diana: Her True Story (1993)
* Sunset Grill (1993)
* Jack Reed: Badge of Honor (1993)
* Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story (1995)
* The Little Riders (1996)
* Mother Teresa: In the Name of God's Poor (1997)
* Mary, Mother of Jesus (1999)
* In the Beginning (2000)
* Santa Jr. (2002)
* Just Desserts (2004)
* Frankenstein (2004)
* A Boyfriend for Christmas (2004)
* Domestic Import (2006)
* Blackbeard (2006)
* Marco Polo (2007)
* Always and Forever (2009)

* v
* t
* e

Operation Prime Time

Series|

* Entertainment Tonight (1981)
* Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous (1984)
* Solid Gold (1980)
* Star Search (1983)

Movies/mini-series|

* Captains and the Kings (1976)
* Testimony of Two Men (1977)
* The Bastard (1978)
* Evening in Byzantium (1978)
* The Immigrants (1978)
* The Rebels (1979)
* The Seekers (1979)
* Jack Frost (1979)
* Top of the Hill (1980)
* Condominium (1980)
* The Dream Merchants (1980)
* The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything (1980)
* Tourist (1980)
* Mom, the Wolfman and Me (1980)
* Yogi's First Christmas (1980)
* Goliath Awaits (1981)
* A Woman Called Golda (1982)
* Sadat (1983)
* Blood Feud (1983)
* Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues (1984)
* The Jesse Owens Story (1984)
* A Woman of Substance (1985)
* The Key to Rebecca (1985)
* Jenny's War (1985)
* Hold the Dream (1986)

Key affiliates|

* KCOP-TV (Los Angeles)
* KSTW (Tacoma)
* KTVU (Oakland)
* WPIX (New York)
* WGN-TV (Chicago)

Distributors|

* Columbia Pictures Television (list of series)
* Hanna-Barbera (list of works)
* Paramount Television (original) (list of series)
* Universal Television (list of shows)

Miscellaneous|

* Bristol-Myers
* Broadcast syndication
* Fourth television network
* General Foods
* Al Masini

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