Michael Douglas wears an unidentified watch

Michael Douglas plays Richard Adams in The China Syndrome, a cameraman who captures footage of a near-meltdown at a nuclear power plant and fights to get it on the air. James Bridges directed this 1979 thriller, which arrived in theaters twelve days before the Three Mile Island accident made its fictional scenario feel uncomfortably real. Jane Fonda plays the television reporter who witnesses the incident, and Jack Lemmon plays the plant supervisor who realizes the danger is worse than anyone admits. Douglas produced the film and took the supporting role, playing Adams as someone who understands the footage he shot matters more than his career. The title refers to a theoretical worst-case scenario where a reactor core melts through the containment vessel and keeps going toward China. His watch has not been identified.