The Towering Inferno (1974)

At the opening party of a collosal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.

Director:

John Guillermin

Writers:

Richard Martin Stern (novel), Thomas N. Scortia (novel),

Stars:

Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, William Holden

Won 3 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve McQueen	...	Chief Mike O'Hallorhan
Paul Newman	...	Doug Roberts
William Holden	...	Jim Duncan
Faye Dunaway	...	Susan Franklin
Fred Astaire	...	Harlee Claiborne
Susan Blakely	...	Patty
Richard Chamberlain	...	Simmons
Jennifer Jones	...	Lisolette
O.J. Simpson	...	Jernigan
Robert Vaughn	...	Senator Parker
Robert Wagner	...	Bigelow
Susan Flannery	...	Lorrie
Sheila Allen	...	Paula Ramsay (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton	...	Giddings (as Normann Burton)
Jack Collins	...	Mayor Ramsay

Storyline

Doug Roberts, Architect, returns from a long vacation to find work nearly completed on his skyscraper. He goes to the party that night concerned he's found that his wiring specifications have not been followed and that the building continues to develope short circuits. When the fire begins Michael O'Halleran is the chief on duty as a series of daring rescues punctuate the terror of a building too tall to have a fire successfully fought from the ground burns.

---

Plot Keywords:

fire | trapped | party | architect | skyscraper | 

---

Taglines:

You are there on the 135th floor, no way down, no way out.

---

Genres:

Action | Thriller

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Flammendes Inferno

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park - 1925 Las Virgenes Road, Calabasas, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$116,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Irwin Allen Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

165 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) Mono (35 mm optical prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paul Newman did most of his own stunts, including climbing up and down the bent stairwell railing.

---

Goofs

As the breeches buoy is being set up, the fireman in the Promenade Room of the tower signals to the helicopter with his flashlight. We hear clicks, as if the flashlight is being turned on and off, but it is on the whole time.

---

Quotes

Doug Roberts: I thought we were building something where people could work and live and be SAFE! If you had to cut costs, why didn't you cut floors instead of corners?
James Duncan: Now listen. Any decisions that were made for the use of alternate building materials were made because I as a builder have a right to make those decisions. If I remained within the building code and god-dammit I did!
Doug Roberts: [Chuckling] Building code? Jesus. Building code. Come on, Dunc, I mean now that's a standard cop-out for when you're in trouble. ...

---

Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures logos don't appear in the beginning.

---

Connections

Spoofed in The Sonny and Cher Show: Episode #2.5 (1976)

---

Soundtracks

"The Morning After"
(uncredited)
Written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
Played at the party when Roberts is first reporting the fire to Duncan

User Reviews

The more I think about it, the less I enjoyed it.

I saw "The Towering Inferno" when it was first released in theaters in 1974. I was about 12 years old. I thought it was really cool to see all of this death and destruction. I felt sorry for the so-called innocent or heroic characters who met their doom and hissed at the villain(s) who met their makers. It was big and bombastic, with, as a voice-over artist would say in the trailer "...an all-star cast" (long-term stars, has-beens, and the ones who are stars only from the eyes of their agents). I thought the movie was the best film I saw in my short life.

I've seen the movie several times since then and it's like watching a bad wreck. A semi-entertaining one but still a wreck.

I was looking at the list of other disaster movies Irwin Allen produced (which includes "The Poseidon Adventure", "The Swarm", "When Time Ran Out", etc.) and it's interesting how quickly the genre became a cliché:

***POSSIBLE SPOILERS***

1. If your name is above the title, you will survive.

2. If your name is below the title, you might die.

3. If you are a precocious child and you have a sibling, you'll survive.

4. If your role is to save a number of people from disaster in earlier scenes, very likely, you will die later in the movie. No worry, the audience will have "genuine sympathy" because you sacrificed your life so that others can live.

5. If you play the villain, YOU WILL DIE!!!!

6. If your character is a jealous spouse or is having an illicit affair, YOU WILL DIE A HORRIBLE DEATH!!!!!

7. If you're an extra, no matter which movie you're involved in, YOU WILL DIE A VERY, VERY HORRIBLE DEATH!!!!!!!!!