One of the biggest (although not best) disaster epics on record, as buildings crack, totter and tumble and a giant dam threatens to break and release billions of gallons of water into the US countryside. Marvel at Charlton Heston's skill and authority in a routine role, whether saving his wife from yet another suicide attempt or risking death among the debris, and spot Walter Matthau's guest shot as a drunk. Despite the occasional glitch, the visual effects won a special achievement award at the 1975 Oscars. Co-star Ava Gardner -- still dodging falling concrete and steel at 52 -- was just seven years younger than Lorne Greene, who plays her father!

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