When Time Ran Out

When Time Ran Out...
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Goldstone
Written by
Based onThe Day the World Ended
by Gordon Thomas
Produced byIrwin Allen
Starring
CinematographyFred J. Koenekamp
Edited by
  • Edward Biery
  • Freeman A. Davies
Music byLalo Schifrin
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • March 28, 1980 (1980-03-28)
Running time
121 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million
Box office$3.8 million

When Time Ran Out... is a 1980 American disaster film directed by James Goldstone and starring Paul Newman, Jacqueline Bisset and William Holden. The supporting cast features James Franciscus, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Burgess Meredith, Valentina Cortese, Veronica Hamel, Pat Morita, Edward Albert and Barbara Carrera.

Produced by Irwin Allen, the screenplay by Carl Foreman and Stirling Silliphant is loosely based on the 1969 novel The Day the World Ended by Gordon Thomas and Max Morgan-Witts detailing the factual 1902 volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée on Martinique, which killed 30,000 people in five minutes by pyroclastic flow.

It marked the second and final time Newman and Holden appeared in a film together following the box office triumph of The Towering Inferno six years earlier, as well as reuniting Borgnine and Buttons from The Poseidon Adventure. When Time Ran Out..., however, was a commercial flop and Allen's last theatrical release and is often regarded as the final 1970s era disaster film. The film was critically panned, and it was a commercial disappointment. Paul Zastupnevich's work on the film was recognized by a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.