MILLIONS of female fans were distraught when circumstances 'Gorgeous George' Clooney quit the hit medical drama ER, which had catapulted him to fame and fortune.

But since then the versatile star has proved he's more than just a good looking TV doctor with a clutch of successful Hollywood movies behind him, including Out of Sight and Three Kings.

His latest is The Perfect Storm, based on the true story of Halloween night in 1991, when a group of Massachusetts fishermen lost their lives at sea after three raging weather fronts unexpectedly collided to produce the fiercest storm in modern history.

Director Wolfgang Petersen has fashioned this heroic true story into a star-laden blockbuster, employing computer power to whip up the terrifying titular storm.

George Clooney plays Billy Tyne, captain of the Andrea Gail who has been plagued by bad luck at sea and is on poor run of catches. Frustrated by the huge hauls of the Hannah Boden, captained by Linda Greenlaw (Mary Ann Mastrantonio), Tyne decides to head back out to sea for the Flemish Cap, a remote area renowned for its rich fishing prospects.

He is joined by a number of his regular crew including Billy Shatford (Mark Wahlberg), Dale Murphy (John C Reilly), David Sullivan (William Fichtner), Alfred Pierre (Allen Payne) and Michael Moran (John Hawkes).

Sure enough, Tyne's luck changes for the better at the Flemish Cap and the Andrea Gail catches a full haul. Buoyed by the money that awaits them back home, the crew sets off back to Gloucester, but disturbing weather patterns hamper their progress, and they soon find themselves battling against 100ft waves and 120mph winds that threaten to tear the boat apart.