City on Fire (1979)

Director:

Alvin Rakoff

Writers:

Jack Hill (writer) &
David P. Lewis (writer) ...
(more)

Release Date:

31 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

What Happened to Them Could Happen to You ... In Any City Anywhere!

Plot:

A pyromaniac, ex-employee of a city oil refinery creates an explosion at the facility which starts a chain-reaction of fires that engulf the entire city.

Plot Keywords:

Fire | City | Mayor | Explosion | Doctor

Cast

Barry Newman	...	Dr. Frank Whitman
Susan Clark	...	Diana Brockhurst-Lautrec
Shelley Winters	...	Nurse Andrea Harper
Leslie Nielsen	...	Mayor William Dudley
James Franciscus	...	Jimbo
Ava Gardner	...	Maggie Grayson
Henry Fonda	...	Fire Chief Albert Risley
Jonathan Welsh	...	Herman Stover
Hilary Labow	...	Mrs. Adams
Richard Donat	...	Fire Captain Harrison Risley
Mavor Moore	...	John O'Brien
Donald Pilon	...	Dr. Matwick
Terry Haig	...	Terry James
Cec Linder	...	Councilman Paley
Ken James	...	Andrew - Deputy Fire Chief
Jefferson Mappin	...	Beezer (as Jeff Mappin)
Earl Pennington	...	Mr. Clark
Sonny Forbes	...	Tom
Bronwen Mantel	...	Sarah Watts
Janice Chaikelson	...	Debbie Watts
Steven Chaikelson	...	Gerald Watts
Murray Cruchley	...	Tony Miller (as Lee Murray)
Jérôme Tiberghien	...	Fireman Joe Waller
Melody Ryane	...	Nurse Florence Stoddard
Tony Sherwood	...	Sam
John Friesen	...	Albert
Nancy Beatty	...	Mary Stover
Doug Smith	...	Attendant Franks
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria De Aragon	...	Head nurse

Directed by
Alvin Rakoff

Writing credits
Jack Hill		(writer) &
David P. Lewis		(writer) &
Céline La Frenière		(writer)

Produced by
Harold Greenberg	....	executive producer
Sandy Howard	....	executive producer
Claude Héroux	....	producer
Howard Lipson	....	associate producer
Larry Nesis	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Matthew McCauley
William McCauley

Cinematography by
René Verzier

Casting by
Ann Bell		(as Ann Hunter Bell)
Ingrid Fischer
Karen Hazzard
Victoria Mitchell
Anna St. Johns

Production Design by
William McCrow

Art Direction by
Claude Marchand

Set Decoration by
Csaba András Kertész		(as Csaba Kertész)

Costume Design by
Yvon Duhaime

Makeup Department
John Alese	....	special makeup
Jocelyne Bellemare	....	assistant makeup artist
Thomas Booth	....	assistant hair stylist
Pierre David	....	hair stylist
Michèle Dion	....	makeup artist
Stephan Dupuis	....	assistant makeup artist
Chantal Ethier	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Roger Héroux	....	production manager
Lyse Lafontaine	....	unit manager
Kate Morris	....	production manager: Los Angeles
Danny Rossner	....	assistant unit manager
John Shirley	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles Braive	....	assistant director
Lamar Card	....	second unit director
Pedro Gandol	....	third assistant director
Daniel Hausmann	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Jean Bourret	....	props
Jacques Chamberland	....	property master
Myles Clarke	....	assistant set decorator
Pierre Fournier	....	assistant set props
Jef Melamed	....	assistant production designer
Roméo Turcotte	....	construction manager

Sound Department
David Appleby	....	sound recording mixer (as Dave Appleby)
Martin Ashbee	....	dialogue editor
Dennis Drummond	....	sound effects editor
Robert Grieve	....	sound effects editor
Wayne Griffin	....	dialogue editor
Austin Grimaldi	....	sound recording mixer
Joe Grimaldi	....	sound recording mixer
Kenneth Heeley-Ray	....	sound designer
Thierry Hoffmann	....	boom operator (as Thierry Hoffman)
Patrick Rousseau	....	sound mixer
Don White	....	foley recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Thomas L. Fisher	....	special effects assistant
Carol Lynn	....	special effects
Frank Varbel	....	special effects assistant
Cliff Wenger Jr.	....	special effects assistant
Cliff Wenger	....	special effects (as Cliff Wenger Sr.)

Visual Effects by
William Cruse	....	visual effects
Cliff Culley	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Stunts
Matt Birman	....	stunt performer
Grant Page	....	stunt coordinator
Jérôme Tiberghien	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Berrie	....	gaffer
Michel Paul Bélisle	....	best boy gaffer
Jean Courteau	....	electrician
John Daoust	....	dolly grip
Marc de Ernsted	....	second grip
Attila Dory	....	still photographer
Daniel Fournier	....	camera operator: second unit
Jean-Jacques Gervais	....	clapper loader (as J. Jacques Gervais)
Denis Gingras	....	focus puller
Paul Gravel	....	focus puller
Walter Klymkiw	....	best boy gaffer
Georges Krawzykowsky	....	focus puller
Frank Lenk	....	camera operator: second unit
André Ouellette	....	key grip
Yves Paquette	....	generator operator
Gérald Proulx	....	electrician
Bert Tougas	....	focus puller
René Verzier	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Hannele Halm	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Jean-Marc Castilloux	....	dresser
Mario Davignon	....	assistant costume designer
Andrée Gaboury	....	wardrober
Christiane Galop	....	dresser
Lise Poirier	....	dresser
Corinne Verzier	....	dresser

Editorial Department
Jacques Clairoux	....	editor: video
Jean-Pol Passet	....	editor: video
Jim Doyle	....	assistant video editor (uncredited)

Other crew
Joy Berger	....	unit publicist
Manon Bougie-Boyer	....	production accountant
Monique Brasseur	....	production secretary
Peter Cohen	....	medical advisor (as Dr. Peter Cohen)
Susanna David	....	script supervisor
Quinn Donoghue	....	unit publicist
Dona Friedberg	....	video designer/coordinator
James A. Mendrala	....	television photographic effects supervisor
Dave Novak	....	unit publicist
L. Claude Teweles	....	production executive
Louise Vincent	....	assistant production secretary
Laurie Wenger	....	assistant accountant

Production Companies

• Astral Bellevue Pathé
• Astral Films
• Canadian Film Development Corporation (CFDC) (participation)
• Famous Players Film Corporation (participation)

Distributors

• AVCO Embassy Pictures (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Astral Films (1979) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Film France Distribution (1979) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1982) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Rank Film Organization (UK)
• X-Gabu Film (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Brigade des Pompiers de Montréal Est  thanks
• CTM-Channel 10, Montréal  thanks
• Ciments Lafarge Ltée (Région du Québec)  thanks
• Dominion Gallery, Montréal  thanks
• Fire Brigade, Los Angeles  thanks
• Fire Brigade, New York  thanks
• Karen Hazzard Casting  casting
• Liberty Furniture Industries Ltd., Montréal  thanks
• Mobile Video Services, New York  thanks
• Pathé Sound and Post Production Center  sound facilities
• Pathé Sound and Post Production Center  sound post-production
• Rougier Inc., Place Bonaventure, Montréal  thanks
• Shell Canada Ltd.  thanks
• Vermont Army National Guard  thanks
• Ville de Montréal Est  thanks

Also Known As:

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Astral Bellevue Pathé

Trivia:

German Import DVD has a Super-8 Version (German language only), as a special feature on the disc.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Several French language signs can be seen around the "American" city in the film.

Quotes:

[last lines]
Chief Albert Risley:All it takes is one man, could be anybody... your neighbor, my neighbor... one man to destroy a city.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Last Chase (#1.20)" (1989)

That's Barry, not Gary Numan.

MST3K did a nice job with this in their first season. It is one of the better films Joel and the Bots have roasted - not saying much since most of their little treats occupy the worst 300 films of all time here on IMDb.

The acting is variable, and you occasionally feel as if you are watching two different films which were spliced together in order to reach an hour and a half. Leslie Nielson, as ridiculous as it may seem, delivers the best dramatic performance of the lot.

Basically, a obsessive individual gets the wrong promotion at an oil refinery, mouths off at his boss and then, after getting fired, leaks oil all over the entire city and sets it ablaze. Like most of the disaster films of its time, we are introduced to 3-4 different characters who will play some role as either heroes or commentators on the events. The film climaxes as the massive fire approaches a brand-new hospital where Mr. Numan plays one of the heads of surgery.

If you get a chance to see this in its MST3K version, by all means do so. It is one of the earliest truly funny episodes of the legendary show. If you can't see this with Joel and the bots, avoid it at all costs. It burns....