Plot
A psychopathic bomber (Timothy Bottoms, credited only as "Young Man" and never referred to by any name in the film) sneaks into Ocean View Amusement Park and places a small radio-controlled bomb on the tracks of the park's wooden roller coaster, The Rocket. The bomb detonates, causing the ride to derail, which kills several riders. Harry Calder (George Segal), a ride inspector who is trying to kick his smoking habit, is called to the park to investigate what initially appears to have been an accident. Calder determines that there was an unauthorized man on the track, thus eliminating structural problems as the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, the bomber flies to Pittsburgh where he sets a dark ride at another park on fire, although everyone escapes without injuries. Unable to discover any more information from the parks, Calder heads to Chicago where the heads of the parks are having a meeting. The room where the meeting is held has been bugged by the bomber, who has disguised himself as a bell boy. Calder demands to be let into the meeting, then plays a tape the Young Man has sent, wherein he demands $1 million to stop his bombing campaign.
When Calder returns home he receives a call from the Young Man, who heard from his bugging of the meeting room that Calder is to go to Virginia, where the money is to be delivered to the bomber. The FBI arrive, led by Agent Hoyt (Richard Widmark), who confirms that the extortion money is to be delivered by Calder. Although reluctant, Calder flies to Kings Dominion in Richmond. He is told to wait at a telephone in the park, and is called by the bomber who is secretly watching him from the Eiffel Tower replica in the park. He tells Calder that there is a bomb in the park, and is given a two-way radio by a courier sent by the bomber. Over the radio, Calder is ordered to go on various rides in the park including Rebel Yell, the park's racing wooden coaster.
When he gets on the Skyway, the Young Man tells Calder that the bomb is in his radio but he must not throw it away because it will explode on impact, and the paths below the Skyway are crowded with patrons. Calder is then ordered to falsely signal that he has made the delivery once leaving the Skyway, in order to distract the FBI who are watching him. The bomber tells Calder to leave the money on a bench for the Young Man in Hanna-Barbera Land. When the Young Man fails to respond to on the radio, Calder turns around to see the bag gone. After a heated argument with Hoyt and the discovery that Hoyt marked the money (against the Young Man's condition that he be paid with unmarked bills), Calder demands to be sent home leaving the bomb squad to take care of the radio-bomb.
Once home, Calder receives a call in the middle of the night from the Young Man. He blames Calder for having the money marked and threatens another attack. Calder suspects that the Young Man will strike The Great American Revolution at Magic Mountain as his next target, because it is one of the coasters that Calder personally inspected and cleared. By so doing, Calder figures, the Young Man can take revenge on both the FBI and Calder. Though Hoyt and the other FBI agents don't believe Calder's theory, they decide to go there anyway to investigate, as the ride is scheduled to debut on July 4. While inspecting the ride disguised as park maintenance men, the agents find a bomb attached to the tracks. They are able to cut the bomb's antenna just moments before the Young Man realizes that his bomb has been discovered and tries to detonate the explosives.
The bomber returns to his car and gets a new bomb just as the Revolution is about to open for the first time. In order to get on board, he pays $100 for a "Gold Ticket" which entitles him to be on the first train of the new ride. He places the new bomb under his seat in the back of Revolution's train. As the riders get off, Calder recognizes the Young Man's voice while he is interviewed at the exit of the ride. He immediately chases after the bomber, telling the other agents he might have placed something in train. However, it is too late to stop the train since it has already passed the chain lift on its second ride through.
Intrigued by Calder's intelligence, the cornered bomber threatens to blow up the ride, holding the detonator in his hand while the agents try to jam the signal. The Young Man demands a firearm, which Calder takes from an agent. As Calder is about to hand him the gun, the FBI succeed in jamming the detonator's signal. Calder shoots the Young Man who then runs away. He hops a fence into the field below the Revolution, running blindly, not realizing he is going in a circle that leads him right back to Calder. The bomber climbs onto the track of the Revolution and prepares to escape, but sees Calder and freezes. Distracted, the Young Man is hit and killed by the coaster. The film ends with Calder requesting a cigarette and a light from a stranger, but then drops them on the ground, deciding not to smoke, as the ride proudly re-opens.
Read more about this topic: Rollercoaster (1977 Film)
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