At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.At the opening party of a colossal, but poorly constructed, office building, a massive fire breaks out that threatens to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 13 wins & 14 nominations total
Sheila Allen
- Paula Ramsay
- (as Sheila Mathews)
Norman Burton
- Giddings
- (as Normann Burton)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBoth novels were inspired by the construction of the World Trade Center in the early-1970s, and what could happen with a fire in a skyscraper. In Richard Martin Stern's novel "The Tower", the fictional 125-story building was set next to the north tower of the World Trade Center. The climax of the novel was centered around a rescue mounted from the north tower.
- Goofs(at around 2h 35 mins) At the end of the movie the tower seems to be well lit despite the power outage caused by the fire.
- Quotes
Doug Roberts: I don't know. Maybe they just oughta leave it the way it is. Kind of a shrine to all the bullshit in the world.
- Crazy creditsThe 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Pictures logos don't appear in the beginning.
- Alternate versionsThe film was re-dubbed in 2003 for the German DVD release. All subsequent releases on DVD and Blu-ray feature this new dubbing, many TV airings as well.
- ConnectionsEdited into St. Elsewhere: The Abby Singer Show (1988)
- SoundtracksWe May Never Love Like This Again
Sung by Maureen McGovern
Words and Music by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschhorn
Featured review
"Grand Hotel"-styled disaster epic that, along with the original "Airport" and "The Poseidon Adventure", became a monstrous money-maker which dominated not only economically, but also critically. "The Towering Inferno" is an intense affair as a high-rise skyscraper in San Francisco seems to be a state-of-the-art marvel, but sometimes things are not as perfect as they seem. There are still flaws in the building and naturally a small spark in a utility room will lead to an overwhelming night of terror and heroism. A who's who cast in Hollywood at the time makes up the mind-blowing list of performers. Paul Newman, Robert Vaughn, William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen, Susan Blakely, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Wagner and Jennifer Jones all make lasting impressions. However it is Fred Astaire (in an Oscar-nominated role of a lifetime) and then-Buffalo Bill superstar O.J. Simpson (showing the style, grace and power that he showed on the playing field here in his debut screen performance) that stand out and create a higher dimension to an honestly corn-filled story. A terribly difficult production to pull off due to the very large scope involved. The technical effects compete well with the all-world performers to make a stunningly impressive movie. Near the top of the usually ho-hum genre of the period. 4 stars out of 5.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Infierno en la torre
- Filming locations
- 2898 Vallejo Street, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, USA(Roger and Patty Simmons' house)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $14,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $116,000,000
- Gross worldwide
- $116,001,993
- Runtime2 hours 45 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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