Directed by Ernest Pintoff, written by Peter Bellwood and Larry Ferguson and based on a story by Michael Timothy Murphy and Larry Sturholm, St. Helens aired on HBO on May 18, 1981, a little more than a year after the real eruption.

St. Helens begins on March 20, 1980 with an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale being unleashing by the volcano, the first activity in more than a hundred years. It causes Otis Kaylor (Ron O’Neal) to nearly crash into some loggers as he makes an emergency landing.

United States Geological Survey volcanologist David Jackson (David Huffman) soon shows up to learn more. He’s actually playing someone very close to David Johnston, a scientist who died in the actual volcanic eruption. His parents were angry that not only was her son portrayed as a daredevil but also how much the movie got wrong about the science. Before the movie aired, 36 scientists who knew Johnston signed a letter of protest against the film, saying that “Dave’s life was too meritorious to require fictional embellishments” and that he “was a superbly conscientious and creative scientist.”

He soon becomes friends with a waitress and single mom named Linda Steele (Cassie Yates) and upsets her boss Clyde Whittaker (Albert Salmi) and the locals at Whittaker’s Inn about the danger of the eruption, all while Sheriff Dwayne Temple (Tim Thomerson) tries to keep law and order.

Watching this movie in 2024, it’s amazing how MAGA the people of the town are. It’s no accident that Bill McKinney from Deliverance is one of them. The loudest is the owner of the Mount St. Helens Lodge, Harry R. Truman (Art Carney), who refuses to leave the blast radius and becomes so famous for his stand that he basically can’t leave if he wants to live up to the character that he has created for himself. His sister, Gerri Whiting, served as a historical consultant for the film. According to her, Harry Truman and David Johnston were friends.

At 8:32 a.m. PDT on May 18, 1980, David hikes to find a massive bulge that has been growing on the north face of the mountain while Harry goes fishing in Spirit Lake. As David promised to the locals, they are both annihilated by a force similar to a nuclear bomb going off in their faces.

Sadly, the David who played David — David Huffman — died a sad death as well. He was only 39 years old when he was stabbed twice in the chest while fighting with a would be car thief. He died near instantly.

Why would I watch a movie so surrounded by death and sadness? Because it’s the first Hollywood movie scored by Goblin. Let me tell you, there’s nothing that says the Pacific Northwest more than Italian prog rock.

You can watch this on YouTube.